Ibero-American Egyptology: Balance and Prospects

Abstract

What are we talking about when we speak of an Ibero-American Egyptology? Such a question is composed of two cores: one refers to Egyptology as an academic discipline; the other to Ibero-America as a specific context. On one hand, the last quarter of a century has witnessed a firm and sustained trend towards the consolidation of Egyptology in Spanish and Portuguese-speaking countries. This consolidation implies that Egyptological questions in these countries are approaching those that can be posed in countries with a stronger Egyptological tradition. In this context, two lines for a possible discussion are those that focus on the academic dimension (the capacity of Egyptology to interact with other disciplines) and the social dimension (its relevance beyond the academic field). On the other hand, however, there is an aspect that points directly to Ibero-America: is there anything that distinguishes an Ibero-American Egyptology from the ones practiced in other regions? Once again, two possible lines open up to think about the issue: one refers to the double-sidedness of the task of Spanish- and Portuguese-speaking Egyptologists with respect to their audiences; the other points to a question of identity, which is based on a certain awareness of belonging that may encourage perspectives different to those of academies in the central countries.