Bodies of power, bodies of chaos: Occupational stereotyping of disability in Middle Kingdom Egypt

Abstract

• This conference brings together an international team of scholars in a collaborative effort to investigate historical bodies in relations of comparisons and negotiations, to engage in dialogue beyond disciplinary boundaries. Participants were asked to explore how four specific concepts – historical bodies, relations, comparisons and negotiations – can be useful tools (if at all) for thinking through patterns (similarity), change and variation (difference) in the ancient Egyptian cultural output. Instead of being concerned with ready-made models, with social constructions (culture) as opposed to a biological baseline (nature), the concern of this conference is to question and unsettle what we think we know and seek to create ‘the conditions under which one can “see” things … that one would not otherwise have been able to see’. This includes both critique and positive formulations of alternatives, that hopefully will further our knowledge about ancient Egypt, by forcing us to reflect critically on current assumptions and categorizations.