Afterword: Egyptological anthropology

Abstract

Building on the articles in this special issue, this afterword examines the place of comparison and defamiliarisation in the distinctive approach to Egyptology which is outlined in these pages. Noting that the articles make creative use of a number of theoretical devices from other disciplines, including social anthropology, the piece asks what social anthropology in turn might borrow back from this Egyptological conceptual moment. Rather than follow a traditional import-export model, trading ready-made theories between disciplines, this afterword argues for a different vision of interdisciplinarity, in which the disruptive potential of ancient Egyptian epistemologies plays a leading role.