The Description of Egypt from Napoleon to Champollion

This book is the first study in English of the multi-volume set of texts and engravings of the Description of Egypt, a work produced following Napoleon Bonaparte's 1798 Egyptian campaign. It challenges the conventional interpretation of the Description as a summation of an orientalist colonial project and re-centers it in the complex and dynamic political and intellectual world of France of the late eighteenth and early nineteenth century. It demonstrates the contribution of antiquarian methods of research to the emerging disciplines of the social sciences.

Format: Hardback
Length: 296 pages
Publication date: 02 December 2022
Publisher: Springer International Publishing AG

This comprehensive work is the first study in English to explore the extensive collection of texts and engravings known as the Description of Egypt, which was created as a result of Napoleon Bonaparte's three-year-long Egyptian campaign in 1798. It challenges the conventional and narrow interpretation of the Description that followed Edward Said's Orientalism, viewing it as merely a summary of an orientalist colonial project. Instead, the book re-centers the Description within the complex and dynamic political and intellectual world of late eighteenth- and early nineteenth-century France and its colonial aspirations. It closely follows the notes, texts, and illustrations of the contributors, most of whom were graduates of the first years of the Polytechnic School in Paris, as well as the well-documented editing process that lasted nearly thirty years. During this period, France transitioned from the Revolution to the Empire and Restoration, and the Description of Egypt reflects these changes. The book showcases how scholarly traditions and newly acquired research skills interact with Enlightenment texts, contemporary politics, and received ideas about antiquity. It demonstrates how these concepts were reinterpreted and modified through the encounter with the physical and social worlds of Ottoman Egypt, both in terms of the texts and illustrations. By utilizing the rich repository of the Description of Egypt, the book showcases the significant contribution of antiquarian methods of research to the emerging disciplines of the social sciences.

Weight: 534g
Dimension: 210 x 148 (mm)
ISBN-13: 9783031156052
Edition number: 1st ed. 2022