Interview with Kara Cooney, Part 3.
Kathlyn (Kara) Cooney is professor of Egyptian Art and Architecture at the University of California Los Angeles (UCLA). In this interview, we discuss her work for TV documentaries and popular publishing. We also dive into the science of Egyptology, how it gets reported in media, and recent developments. Finally, we discuss Kara’s current and future projects, and what we can look forward to on the horizon…
Kara Cooney’s website http://karacooney.squarespace.com/ and Facebook https://www.facebook.com/karacooneyegyptologist/
Intro music and interludes by Keith Zizza www.keithzizza.com
Outro music by Ancient Lyric www.bettinajoydeguzman.com.
I am sorry to say that I was somewhat disappointed in Kara Cooney. It was the first time on the History of Egypt Podcast that secular politics was including — very deftly and lightly, I grant you, but it was still there. Also, she seems to be “reading back” her own modern views of non-Egyptian history into her presentation. This bias was noticeable, and led me to question her conclusions. Apparently, she has had similar criticisms within the Egyptological community, as she mentioned such ciriticism in her discussion. Yet she claimed to pay no attention to them. She should.
In the last ten minutes of the interview, when she discussed the hard facts that she had learned from a scholarly study of mummies in the Cairo Museum, she at last began to sound like a true scholar. Had the rest of the interview been as fact based, it would have been fascinating.
I would contrast Kooney’s presentation with that of Christopher Naunton, which was released at the same time. The interviewer drew Naunton out about the details of his work as director of the Egypt Exploration Society. This is the kind of thing that no book is likely to tell you. Naunton presented a wealth of staightforward, unbiased fact and fascinating detail, with a sense of admiration for what Egyptologists had accomplished over the last two centuries. Apparently, this is to be the subject of his forthcoming book, “Egyptologists’ Notebooks.”
Hello M.E… thank you for your comment. Your assessment is valid, and it will reflect your personal tastes in how scholars express themselves. I would add a note, though, that “History” (as a field of study) is inherently political in the sense that it shapes our relationship to the past, which in turn shapes our views of the present and ideas for the future. In that sense, Prof. Cooney’s conversation was absolutely scholarly, for it prompts reflection on our perspectives and thinking about ancient societies, rulers, and their environments. This kind of reflection is fundamental to historical research, for it contextualizes our thinking and helps us understand the ways *we* might interpret data or “hard facts” in different ways.
Regarding coffins etc… I am hoping Prof. Cooney will revisit the podcast in future to discuss her research in greater detail. With the podcast’s current narrative thrust (reign of Akhenaten), I intentionally focussed on Prof. Cooney’s “popular” works regarding the 18th Dynasty and royal authority. This was my choice; and I recognise it may not be too everyone’s liking. Hopefully, a future conversation regarding the coffins will be more to your liking.
Thank you for listening to the podcast.
Dominic
I have enjoyed all the interviews and have wanted to comment but couldn’t find the energy to do so. M.E. Morrison’s disappointment gave me the energy to say something. It was very satisfying to hear some honest discussion versus a lecture.(I truly love lectures.) Scholars are humans and it is through discussion that we discover our biases. Also, thank you for your comment on the inherent political nature of “History”. That is true of all human endeavors and our representations of our reality. I was a student back when “The personal is political” was a popular phrase. It took me years of living to really appreciate it and all the subtle ways biases and power influence the individual. What excavations get funded, sites protected, papers published (even in astronomy), who keeps their job are all highly influenced by politics. Politics is more than party affiliation.
Thank you for your comment 🙂 I agree. The boundaries between what is “political” versus what is “personal” or “historical” are blurred indeed. No matter the era, the ideas and actions of individuals and communities have a profound influence on how they view their past, and how they shape their future. It is essential, and I greatly appreciate Prof. Cooney’s work in that sphere of the scholarship.
So glad you share a wide variety of current scholarly views and understandings on this podcast. Opposite to the earlier comment, I loved Kara Cooney’s interview. If I had had a professor like her, I would still be in archaeology.
In contrast, Christopher Naunton’s interview reminded me of many an old professor of mine and was not to my interests at all. The more ways and points of view you present a topic from, the more diverse your audience and by extension, the field, will become.