Chapter 7 “Building Bridges to Afrocentrism,” Nearly Thirty Years Later
In: Rethinking Ancient EgyptSearch for other papers by Jennifer Miyuki Babcock in
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Abstract
In an open letter to her Egyptological colleagues, Ann Macy Roth outlined the characteristics of “Afrocentric Egyptology” and its arguments as she had understood them in 1995, when the letter was written. The letter addressed the dismissive attitude that “traditional” Egyptology had toward “Afrocentric,” or African-centered, scholarship. She called for her colleagues, the “traditional Egyptologists,” to build a bridge to “Afrocentrism.” Noting that African-centered perspectives were not going to disappear, Roth argued that openness to them would ultimately benefit Egyptology, a field that needed to correct its inherent European bias. In the process, Roth explained, Egyptologists could temper the political motives behind African-centered scholarship and provide it with a more academic, and therefore, objective framework. Considering current efforts in academia to decolonize fields of study and to promote diversity, inclusion, and equity, this paper returns to the content of Roth’s letter with a critical eye.