Oriental Studies – Egyptology

Full-time, first and second-cycle studies in Polish.

The field of Oriental Studies – Egyptology has a strong interdisciplinary character, although the leading discipline is the study of culture and religion. The unique didactic programme is implemented exclusively at the Faculty of Oriental Studies at the University of Warsaw, which has more than 90 years of experience in teaching Oriental/African cultures and languages, including the Egyptian language in all its stages of development (Classical, Old and New Egyptian, Demotic and Coptic), which was confirmed by the creation of the unique course of Oriental Studies – Egyptology. The didactic programme is based on many years of experience and practice in teaching and researching issues related to Ancient Egypt. Lecturers are specialists – in most cases the only ones in Poland – in issues related to this geographical and cultural area, and they carry out advanced scientific research supported by numerous publications in Polish and foreign languages. The language courses are taught by experienced lecturers and researchers of ancient Egyptian culture. Through various cooperation and scholarship programmes, students have the opportunity to apply for research trips to selected research centres in Europe in order to improve their qualifications and language skills, and to participate in research conducted in Egypt.

The expected learning outcomes are twofold: they guarantee the acquisition of a broad knowledge of various aspects of ancient Egyptian culture, as well as knowledge of the Egyptian language at all stages of its development and the writing systems used to record it (hieroglyphic, hieratic, demotic and Coptic). The course provides a broad knowledge of the literature, epigraphy, history, philosophy, religion and archaeology of ancient Egypt and ensures the acquisition of advanced skills and linguistic competence through intensive study of the Egyptian language.

The comprehensive education provided by the Oriental Studies – Egyptology programme, which is also concerned with the humanities in the broadest sense, enables students to go on to do interdisciplinary research, to understand the roots of contemporary world problems and to attempt to find solutions to them. It provides students with the broad horizon necessary to understand today’s problems and conflicts arising from civilisational differences.The programme also enables the training of new personnel in the field of cultural and religious studies and other academic disciplines.The completion of the degree course in Oriental Studies – Egyptology will enable students to achieve a cognitive synergy and to form a new trend of thought and social awareness, consisting of understanding, openness and tolerance towards others, which is so necessary today, as well as the recognition of the value of one’s own culture and the ethical attitudes that derive from the European circle and the culture of ancient Egypt.

The acquired knowledge will enable the graduate of Oriental Studies – Egyptology to navigate correctly in the sphere of general issues concerning the theory and practice of ancient Egyptian culture.The graduate will understand the diversity of cultures and civilisations, which will enable him/her to participate in the process of intercultural understanding and cooperation.He/she will acquire a basis for theoretical reflection on ancient Egyptian culture.

He/she will be able to analyse the basic phenomena of ancient Egyptian culture, and the tools for analysing these phenomena will be a good linguistic preparation and a methodological background in cultural and religious studies, linguistics, philosophy, history, literary studies and archaeology.

The graduate will be prepared to work in cultural dissemination institutions, the media, editorial offices and public administration. In addition, graduates will be prepared to undertake second level studies.

The history of Egyptology at the University of Warsaw starts in 1934, when the chair of the Egyptological Seminar was assigned to Antoni Smieszek, the head of the Oriental Institute in 1937-1939. After World War II, numerous scholars lectured at the Department, among them Tadeusz Andrzejewski, Albertyna Szczudtowska-Dembs ka, Elzbieta Dqbrows ka­ Smektata, Irena Himner (Pomorska), and Jan Krzysztof Winnicki. Apart from teaching, they conducted scholarly research, which included numerous translations of ancient Egyptian literary works.

From its inception, the studies and the research of the Department staff have focused on the language of Ancient Egypt in all its various stages, with a particular emphasis on Egyptian texts: literary, administrative, and religious.

The Department offers studies at two levels: first and second cycle. The programme of the three-year first-cycle studies includes intensive courses in all successive stages of the ancient Egyptian language: Old, Middle, and Late Egyptian, Demotic and Coptic, and its writing systems, including the hieroglyphic and the hieratic. The programme covers also subjects related to the history, literature, religion, and material culture of Ancient Egypt. The aim of the two-year second-cycle studies is to broaden the knowledge of the Egyptian language and culture acquired at the first cycle and to train the students to conduct their own research in a selected area of interest. The staff of the Department is qualified to supervise doctoral theses, and graduates can continue by enrolling in a PhD course in one of doctoral schools of the University of Warsaw. The steadily expanding Department library is available to the students.

Participation in various field projects in Egypt has always been an important aspect of the Department’s research activity. Currently, we are involved in archaeological projects at Saqqara, Deir ei-Bahari, Elephantine, and Gebelein.

All students are encouraged to participate in the Department’s projects. There are also opportunities for them to pursue their own research, one of them being a short-term study visit in Egypt (in co-operation with the Polish Centre of Mediterranean Archaeology of the University of Warsaw).
The Department of Egyptology carries out research projects (including fieldwork in Egypt) encompassing a broad spectrum of topics, such as:

• Culture of Ancient Egypt from the Old
  Kingdom until the Graeco-Roman Period
• Literary and historical-biographical texts
• Temple inscriptions and architecture
• Funerary beliefs, tomb architecture, and decoration
• Administration and bureaucracy in Ancient
  Egypt

More detailed information about the programme and the course can be found on the website: www.egiptologia.orient.uw.edu.pl