Dissertations / Theses on the topic 'Egyptian in literature'

This study investigates a special sub-section of the corpus of Greek magical papyri (PGM): the so-called Greek magical hymns, the metrical sections of PGM. In a corpus that is usually seen as a significant expression of religious syncretism and that shows strong Egyptian influence, these hymns were for long considered to be the ‘most authentically Greek’ contribution. My research focuses not so much on philology as on history of religions and aims at defining the nature of divinity displayed by these hymns according to its Greek or Egyptian origin. The most representative hymns are given a line-by-line commentary following an approach that takes into consideration language, style, religious concepts, and ritual practice. The methodology employed is to examine earlier Greek and Egyptian sources and religious-magical traditions with a view to finding textual or conceptual parallels, in order to determine which divine aspects can be ascribed either to a Greek or an Egyptian background. The collected data helps to answer questions such as: were the magical hymns composed in a Greek or Egyptian environment? Why were some Greek or Egyptian divine features preserved and others not? Can these reasons tell us anything about the mutual reception of the two cultures? The analysis, though expected to open a debate on the mechanics of assimilation, shows that at a conceptual level the nature of divinity described does not display any unambiguous trace of mutual religious influence. Contrary to the global religious trend, these hymns did not feel any urgency to escape the indigenousness of their deities, and were the expression of a world in which the theological incompatibilities between the Greek and Egyptian religions were far from being overcome. In spite of the apparent syncretism, Greek metre was used to convey two traditional and distinct religious imageries.

This thesis explores Hellenistic and imperial Greek texts that represent or discuss the river Nile. The thesis makes an original contribution to scholarship by examining such texts in he light of the history of Greek discourse about the Nile and in the context of social, political and cultural changes, and takes account of relevant ancient Egyptian texts. I begin with an introduction that provides a survey of earlier scholarship about the Nile in Greek literature, before identifying three themes central to the thesis: the relationship between Greek and Egyptian texts, the tension between rationalism and divinity, and the interplay between power and literature. I then highlight both the cultural significance of rivers in classical Greek culture, and the polyvalence of the river Nile and its inundation in ancient Egyptian religion and literature. Chapter 1 examines the significance of Diodorus Siculus' representation of the Nile at the beginning of his universal history; it argues that the river's prominence constructs Egypt as a primeval landscape that allows the historian access to the distant past. The Nile is also seen to be useful to the historian as a conceptual parallel for his historiographical project. Whereas Diodorus begins his universal history with the Nile, Strabo closes his universal geography with Egypt; the second chapter demonstrates how Strabo incorporates the Nile into his vision of the new Roman world. Chapter 3 presents a diachronic study of Greek discourse concerning the two major Nilotic problems, the cause of the annual inundation and the location of the sources. It examines first the construction of the debates, and second the transformation of that tradition in Aelius Aristides' Egyptian Oration. The functions of the Nile in Greek praise-poetry are the subject of chapter 4; it is shown that the Nile and its benefactions are used by poets to lay claim to political, religious or cultural authority, and to situate Egypt within an expanding oikoumene. The fifth and final chapter turns to Greek narrative fictions from the imperial period. The chapter demonstrates that the Nile is more familiar than exotic in these texts. It is shown that Xenophon of Ephesus and Achilles Tatius play with the trope of 'novelty' in this very familiar literary landscape, while Heliodorus articulates a more profound disruption of the expected Egyptian tropes, and ultimately replaces Egypt with Ethiopia as a new Nilotic environment.

Thesis (Ph.D.)--Universität Göttingen, 2003.
Title translated: The heart in Egyptian literature from the IIth century B.C. : A research into the idiomatic and metaphoric of the expressions with jb and h3tj. Description based on web page; title from title screen (viewed 23 January 2005). Includes bibliographical references.

This study included a content analysis and audience study. It was carried out to investigate the question about the role of the mass media in the formation of Young Egyptians' images of foreign people and foreign countries. The content analysis was performed on a sample of foreign news in the daily newspaper al-Akhbar, radio and television news bulletins and current affairs programmes. From the content-analysis it was found that four main factors were influencing the coverage and selection of foreign news across the Egyptian mass media. Those are: the sources of foreign news, Egypt's relationships with other countries, cultural proximity and geographical proximity. In this concern, the findings support those from the interviews conducted with a sample of Egyptian journalists and broadcasters. It was also found that the images of foreign people and foreign countries portrayed in the mass media differed and that the above factors play a major role in these images. The audience study was carried out on a sample of young people (men and women), from the middle and working classes and two geographical areas (Cairo and Upper Egypt). Results of the survey showed that images of the respondents about foreign people and foreign countries differed across the above three variables. Generally speaking, it was found that these images, which change over time, were influenced to a great extent, by politics. They may also depend on the available sources of information and the sort of information received from these sources. The formation of these images is a complicated process which may be influenced by mass media as well as external non-media influences. Whatever the other influences, those of the mass media always remain strong as they were found to be the most important sources of information on foreign people and foreign countries.

Islam has, throughout its history, played a pivotal role in the lives of its adherents. Islam’s significance for its adherents stems from and is informed by it as a doctrine, a system of discipline and ritual, and a system of social ethics and practices. Throughout Islamic history, Islam has undergone significant reformation efforts as was socially and culturally perceived to be necessary from within its community. However, with the advent of colonialism, the introduction of the concept of the nation-state, and the ushering of the age of modernity, the form and structure of such reformation was much informed by the relationship of Islam and its adherents to the ‘other’ (the West) and its knowledge systems. Islam has since been confronted with the question of its own validity, from inside and outside the community of adherents. The struggle with the place of religion, the place of the sacred, has played out throughout the history of Islam within Egypt, at times expanding, at others withdrawing, as it dealt with political, social and cultural forces. This presented and presents its adherents with a dilemma of identity: a constant shifting, manipulating, rejecting, and reforming of religious symbols and meaning and further knowledge systems within Islam – an attempt to deal with the state of (post)coloniality, and the project of modernity. It is my contention that one can map the sacred within Egyptian writing: one that is associated with locations, with time, with human interactions, with social, cultural, historical and religious significance. Mapping such sacred spaces within (post)modern Egyptian writing presents deep insights into the struggle for individualism and representation. Egyptian writing is an expression of cultural contestation, and the struggle for self-definition, mirroring one that is pre-existing in Egyptian society. This is evidence of: a) social and cultural self-awareness; b) an engagement with and a response to ‘other’ narratives; c) an attempt to search for an ‘authentic’ self-sufficient discourse; and, d) an attempt to conjure up viable options for sustainability. This has not always led to self-certainty. In fact, it has led to epistemological uncertainty, ontological anxiety, and a threatened self-identity, to which Egyptian Muslims respond in a myriad of voices through these texts/narratives – tackling existential issues.

This thesis is concerned with the way multi-national issues are dealt with by media. I illustrate this by the example of the media treatment of Mideast relations, concentrating on three newspapers: The Washington Post and The New York Times from the US, and Al Ahram from Egypt. The events central to the study lay within the Camp David Period of September 1977 to March 1979, with the signing of the Camp David Accords in September, 1978, and the Treaty in March, 1979 ("Camp David"). Because of the media coverage this is an ideal series of events to study methods of filtering information within newspapers. Since Camp David created as much interest in the Mideast as in the West, a comparison of different reports is fruitful. Within Chapter 5I utilise a content analytical method to discover what biases may have been present in the reporting of Camp David, widening this to deal with issues of journalism and the North/ South divide, and show that media is less an investigative tool and more an anchor for established views. A tentative conclusion is an identification of the lack of what are considered journalists' most valued qualities: objectivity and professionalism. I identify a misunderstanding in the lay-person's view of the media profession: as The Washington Post and The New York Times show, although articles may have attempted a balanced format, these media may not have been investigative internationally (though they were domestically). We have to be wary when extrapolating from only three newspapers to the wider world (though I studied other newspapers and media) but since these titles were chosen for their standing and influence, some wider conclusions may be drawn. The thesis indicates no single viewpoint of developed media; no "conspiracy" somehow politically to defraud or act directly for domestic interests. I seek a perspective on developed media in a simultaneous analysis of the Egyptian media and its milieu. What I contend is of interest is that forces acted on Al Ahram, The Washington Post and The New York Times which, though different in kind, were more similar in effect than heretofore argued. Western journalism I assess as operating within a narrower set of models than is frequently believed.

This study examines the influences the Brechtian theatre had on the Egyptian theatre during the 1960s. Two factors determined the choice of this specific period. First, the fact that Brecht was introduced for the first time on the Egyptian stage in the early sixties, with the result that a growing interest in his works was generated among Egyptian dramatists, directors and intellectuals. Secondly, the Egyptian theatre was going through an unprecedented era of revival in the sixties, reflecting a nation-wide upsurge of cultural interest in general. The latter was initiated, promoted and generously subsidized by the state. The revival of the Egyptian theatre and the introduction of Brecht were both products of new political and social realities emerging in Egypt at this particular moment of history. The main argument of the thesis rests on examining how these factors contributed to establishing Brecht as the most influential figure on the Egyptian theatre in the period. These factors are given full consideration in Part One. The introduction seeks to put the Egyptian theatre into its historical Arabic perspective. It gives a critical account of the indigenous forms of theatre and the common ground they had throughout the Arab world, long before the arrival of the western form in the nineteenth century. The account ~s also meant to underline some corresponding elements between these indigenous forms and the Brechtian concept, which were brought into focus as a resul t of the call for a genulne Egyptian theatre of identi ty that emerged at the time. Chapter I examlnes the sociopolitical background against which the Egyptian reception of Brecht took place, followed by a cri tical account of the Brechtian theatre in Chapter II. Chapter III deals wi th the introduction of Brecht to Egypt, giving critical accounts of productions of four of his plays on the Egyptian stage in the sixties. Part Two deals wi th Brechtian influences on Egyptian plays written in the sixties. It is divided into four chapters, each of the first three examines the works of a leading dramatist, with critical accounts focusing on their dramaturgy and subjectmatter. The last chapter tackles the Brechtian influence through a different perspective, by examining Egyptian adaptations of three plays by Brecht. The conclusion summarizes the argument of the thesis as a whole.

The Old Greek version of the Book of Isaiah (hereafter LXX-Is) should be studied not only as a translation but also as an interpretation reflecting the theology of the translator or translator’s community in Egypt. ‘Free’ translation in LXX-Is usually appears not to originate from any misunderstanding of the probable Hebrew Vorlage or from a different Vorlage, but deliberately and consciously. Also it is important that these Greek renderings should be dealt with in a broader context, not merely verse by verse; because the Septuagint seems to have been regarded as a religious text in itself, circulating among Jews in Egypt. The most conspicuous theme in Septuagint Isaiah is a bold declaration concerning their identity. According to this, the Jewish diaspora in Egypt is the true remnant, and their residence in Egypt should be regarded as due to God’s initiative, thus “Eisodos” instead of “Exodus” is emphasized. Such ideas may be understood as displaying an apologetic concern of the Jewish diaspora to defend their continued residence in Egypt, whereas the Bible states firmly that Jews are not to go down there. Judgments against Egypt appear more strongly than MT, and this is another expression of their identity. LXX-Is supplies a bold translation in 19:18: a temple in Egypt, called the ‘city of righteousness’. The writings of Josephus testify to the existence of the Temple of Onias in Heliopolis under the reign of Ptolemy Philometor who apparently showed great favour towards the Jews. The temple’s significance should be considered as more than a temporary shrine for local Jewish mercenaries. Rather, it aimed to be a new Jerusalem under a lawful Zadokite priest. In addition to this, LXX-Is shares some interesting and distinctive ideas with Hellenistic Jewish literature, including views on priests and sacrifice, and an attitude towards foreign kings shared by Hellenistic Jewish literature of the period. To conclude, through comparing with MT and investigating LXX-Is as it stands, this work shows that LXX-Is is not just a translation but a Hellenistic Jewish document reflecting a particular theology of at least some Jews in Egypt. LXX-Is is shown to have its place within Jewish Hellenistic literature.

This thesis is an investigation into the safe passage of the deceased over water as exemplified in the Lake of Knives and the Lake of Fire. The journey of the deceased from death to resurrection is envisaged as taking place in a boat crossing dangerous places and ordeals. This journey was parallel to the sun god Re's passage over the waters of the sky, and in which he is threatened by the powers of chaos. he rites of passage ocus on the safe pasage of through chaos,and assert resurrection, ebirth and life after death for the deceased the passageis re-enactedin mythical imagesa nd in ritual actions,a nd focuseso n the safej ourney of the deceasedth rought he ordealso f the Netherworld. This thesis is divided into seven chapters. Chapter One deals with the symbolism of water, knives and fire. Water is dealt with as the discharge which comes from the body of Osiris and offered to him in ritual. The second section deals with the symbolism of knives and fire. It is concluded that water mediates the passageo f the deceasedw hen it is offered to him in ritual. Water can also cause vlent death.Fire and knivesa reused as destructive tools in rituals. Chapter Two explores the cartographical descriptions and cosmographical locations of the two lakes, using textual and pictorial evidence. It is concluded that the lake of Knives is envisaged as extending from the east to the west of the sky. The description of the Lake of Fire varies from one context to another. The two lakes have no specific locations, but they wind through the sky. Chapter Three is a discussion on the theme of passage over water in Ancient Egypt. The ferryman spells and the Island of Fire are taken as two examples for the passage of the deceased over water, It is concluded that the ritual aspects of the ferryman spells and the Island of Fire are not very different from the ritual aspects of the Lake of Knives and the Lake of Fire, Chapter Four is an extension of the discussion of the theme of passage over water, and deals with crossing the lake as a ritual enacted for the deceased at the day of funeral. It is tentatively concluded that the aim of the deceased's crossing over the lake is to mediate his passage to become an ?# . The crossing was accompanied by recitation of ritual texts. Crossing over the Lake of Knives and the Lake of Fire was also accompanied by recitations of ritual texts, Chapter Five deals with the Lake of Fire in the Book of the Two Ways. The journey of the deceased constructed until he reaches the Lake of Fire, It is concluded that the Lake of Fire is a place, which the deceased visits to be

In the aftermath the 25th January Revolution of 2011, two Egyptian dystopian novels stand out as particularly relevant: Utopia (2008) by Ahmed Khaled Towfik, and The Queue (2013), by Basma Abdel Aziz. Due to the absence of studies that pay attention to how gender relations are portrayed in Arabic dystopian novels, this study focuses on the literary representation of men and masculinities in Utopia and The Queue. This thesis uses narratology and content analysis in order to show that, although patterns of local masculinities are different in both novels, regional and global models of masculinity clearly point out men as controlling, violent and hypersexual, which is supported by multiple institutions, such as the state, media, and the religious establishment. The inclusion of relevant ethnological studies of masculinities in Egypt confirms that the social criticism of the novels include gender relations, and refers to the time in which the novels were written. This study points out the need for recognizing Arabic dystopian fiction as a valuable instrument that carries meaningful and intricate social criticism, as well as the need for the inclusion of gender as a category of literary analysis.

Questo studio esamina le strategie, i personaggi e i temi dell’umorismo in alcuni romanzi comici egiziani pubblicati a partire dagli anni Ottanta. Proverbiale qualità degli egiziani, la comicità è una valvola di sfogo nella vita quotidiana e una forma espressiva in diverse produzioni culturali. Finora questo fenomeno è stato parzialmente analizzato dalla critica letteraria, che si è concentrata sulla letteratura pre-moderna, aneddoti letterari-folklorici, teatro popolare e stampa satirica. In ambito moderno, la prosa satirica (adab sākhir) è relegata ai margini del canone, mentre la comicità viene riconosciuta, tutt’al più, come tratto stilistico in singoli autori. Alla luce della rivalutazione dei pionieri della prosa satirica moderna e di recenti pubblicazioni dallo stile comico, questa ricerca indaga i rapporti tra comicità, satira e letteratura nel romanzo egiziano contemporaneo. In particolare, individua un sottogenere di romanzi che combinano lo stile comico con qualità estetiche riconducibili alle coeve tendenze letterarie. Gli autori così identificati vanno ad affiancare i maestri della satira e dell’ironia riconosciuti dalla critica: da un lato, i pionieri a cavallo tra Ottocento e Novecento; dall’altro, alcuni scrittori attivi a partire dagli anni Settanta. A questo scopo, vengono esaminate le strategie comiche in quattro romanzi di Muḥammad Mustajāb (1938-2005), Khayrī Shalabī (1938-2011) e Ḥamdī Abū Julayyil (1968). Questi autori, che contribuiscono al rinnovamento delle forme narrative, hanno recentemente incrementato il loro riconoscimento critico, ma sono ancora poco studiati. Le opere selezionate, che sviluppano l’umorismo a livello tematico, stilistico e meta-narrativo, sono accumunate dall’attenzione per personaggi eccentrici in comunità marginali e offrono una rappresentazione critica della società contemporanea. Avvalendosi dell’apporto teorico degli humour studies e della narratologia, l’analisi testuale di questi romanzi indaga le strategie narrative, la costruzione dei personaggi comici, l’intertestualità e il linguaggio. Inoltre, esamina le affinità tematiche e stilistiche, nonché le funzioni della comicità all’interno di questo filone narrativo. L’attenzione è posta sulla rielaborazione di modelli compositivi tradizionali (turāth) e dell’umorismo popolare all’interno dei romanzi. Il primo capitolo passa in rassegna le principali teorie del comico applicate all’analisi letteraria e alcuni recenti studi sull’umorismo nella letteratura araba. Il secondo capitolo motiva la selezione del corpus, nel contesto del romanzo e della satira egiziana, e illustra le modalità di analisi. I capitoli dal terzo al sesto sono dedicati ciascuno allo studio di un romanzo: Min al-tārīkh al-sirrī li-Nuʿmān ʿAbd al-Ḥāfiẓ (1982) di Mustajāb, Riḥlāt al-ṭurshajī al-ḥalwajī (1981/83) e Ṣāliḥ Hēṣa (2000) di Shalabī, e al-Fāʿil (2008) di Abū Julayyil. L’ultimo capitolo confronta le strategie comiche e le peculiarità stilistico-tematiche. Da questa analisi emergono alcune strategie comuni, come la struttura aneddotica, l’attualizzazione di personaggi comici proverbiali e l’accostamento di registri, compreso il dialetto egiziano e il linguaggio gergale. A livello stilistico, ricorrono l’immagine del doppio, ripetizioni e descrizioni fisiche grottesche. A livello tematico, gli autori si concentrano sulla relazione fra città e campagna, l’ingiustizia sociale e la rilettura ironica della storiografia ufficiale. La molteplicità di forme e personaggi in questo filone comico si inserisce nel rinnovamento del romanzo egiziano, rappresentando in modo giocoso o tragicomico il rapporto fra singolo e collettività.
Our study looks at characters, themes, and strategies in some Egyptian humorous novels published since the 1980s. Known for their proverbial sense of humour, Egyptians resort to comedy as a safety valve in everyday life and as a creative tool in many cultural productions. So far, the study of literary humour has focused on pre-modern literature, literary and folkloric anecdotes, popular drama, and satirical press. Modern satirical writing (adab sākhir) is placed at the margins of the canon, whereas humour is analysed as one of the stylistic features of some novelists. Having considered the re-evaluation of the pioneers of early-modern satire and the recent publication of humorous writings, our study examines the interplay of humour, satire, and literature in contemporary Egyptian novels with a comparative approach. In particular, it identifies a sub-genre which combines sense of humour and aesthetic qualities, which are intertwined with the contemporary literary trends. The novelists of our corpus, thus, join other masters of humour and irony already recognized by criticism: the pioneers of the late 1800s-early 1900s on the one hand, and some writers of the Generation of the Sixties on the other. To identify this sub-genre, we illustrate the humour-generating strategies in four novels by Muḥammad Mustajāb (1938-2005), Khayrī Shalabī (1938-2011), and Ḥamdī Abū Julayyil (1968). These writers have recently increased their critical recognition, but are still understudied. The novels of our corpus employ humour on a thematic, stylistic, and meta-narrative level. They depict eccentric characters in marginal communities and portray contemporary society with satirical criticism. Having adopted humour studies and narratology as a theoretical background, our textual analysis looks at the narrative strategies, the construction of characters, intertextuality, and literary language. In addition, it outlines the thematic and stylistic similarities, as well as the functions of humour in this literary trend. Our analysis focuses on the appropriation of the Arab cultural heritage (turāth) and of popular humour in these comic writings. The first chapter overviews the main humour theories applied to literary criticism and recent scholarship on humour in Arabic literature. The second chapter illustrates the selection criteria for our corpus, within the context of modern Egyptian fiction and satire, and our analytical framework. Each of the chapters 3-6 is devoted to a case study: Min al-tārīkh al-sirrī li-Nuʿmān ʿAbd al-Ḥāfiẓ (1982) by Mustajāb, Riḥlāt al-ṭurshajī al-ḥalwajī (1981/83) and Ṣāliḥ Hēṣa (2000) by Shalabī, and al-Fāʿil (2008) by Abū Julayyil. Finally, chapter 7 compares the humour-generating strategies and the thematic and stylistic peculiarities of these novels. We have identified some common strategies, such as the anecdotic structure, the use of stock characters in a contemporary context, and the juxtaposition of different registers, including Egyptian Colloquial Arabic and jargon. Recurrent stylistic features are the image of the double, repetitions, and grotesque physical descriptions. On a thematic level, these novels focus on the rural-urban relation, social injustice, and a re-reading of official historiography. With its variety of forms and characters, this humorous sub-genre fits into the innovation of contemporary Egyptian fiction, by portraying the relation between the self and the community in a playful or tragicomic way.

Elite self-presentation through the biographical genre is a defining element of ancient Egyptian high culture from the Old Kingdom until the Roman period. My thesis centres on the biographical texts produced during the Ramessid period (c. 1280-1070 BCE), a time of significant change in elite domains of representation. Since biography has not been seen as a significant genre of this period, these texts, which are inscribed on statues, stelae, temple walls, and in tombs, have not been gathered together or studied as a corpus. Yet they are a key to exploring the diverse and highly individual ways in which a self could be fashioned and presented. I take a holistic approach to the interpretation of these texts, in order to examine the ways in which they were incorporated into their spatial and visual settings and could extend beyond them. My introduction sets out my aims and the broader anthropological framework which I apply to the Egyptian sources. The following four chapters are case-studies. Chapters two to four are organised according to site (Thebes and el-Mashayikh, Karnak, and Abydos), comparing strategies of self-presentation in tomb and temple contexts. The fourth is thematically oriented, and looks at the image and role of the king in non-royal biographies. In the final chapter, I draw together the results of my individual case-studies, discussing their common textual themes, the interplays of traditional and innovative motifs within them, as well as the implications of their diverse monumental contexts. I hope to demonstrate that the holistic approach I apply is relevant for the study of monumental discourse in other periods in Egyptian history and has the potential to locate the Egyptian material within broader frameworks for the study of premodern societies.

O presente trabalho propõe uma estratégia de tradução para Táxi baseada principalmente na abordagem cultural da tradução em busca de reproduzir o contraste entre árabe padrão e dialeto presente no original. Táxi, do egípcio Khalid al-Khamissi, traz pequenas histórias (addtas) que retratam conversas do autor/personagem com taxistas das ruas do Cairo, nas quais os mais diversos aspectos socioculturais são abordados. Para tratar desse tópico o autor escolheu um recurso linguístico que ainda gera polêmica na prosa árabe: todos os diálogos, que compõem a maior parte da obra, estão em dialeto árabe enquanto as partes narrativas estão em árabe padrão. Esse contraste, que deriva naturalmente da situação de diglossia presente nas comunidades falantes de árabe, cria um efeito de oralidade, bem como é relevante para a lógica interna da narrativa. Assim, a proposta de tradução apresentada considerou a natureza da composição da obra, o momento histórico e o funcionamento da diglossia no Egito para buscar no português recursos para reproduzir os efeitos relevantes dessa alternância sem comprometer a representação da cultura egípcia. Para estabelecer os possíveis recursos no português foram utilizadas principalmente pesquisas do NURC/SP.
This masters dissertation proposes a strategy to translate the book Taxi to Portuguese based specially on the cultural approach to translation. The strategy aims at the reproduction of the contrast of standard Arabic and Egyptian dialect verified in the original. The book Taxi by the Egyptian author Khalid al-Khamissi, is composed by short stories (addtas) that depict conversations between the author (as a character) and taxi drivers working on the streets of Cairo. Considering that different social and cultural aspects are explored in these dialogues, the author chose a linguistic procedure that is still source of polemic in the Arabic prose studies: all the dialogues, which constitute the most part of the work, were written in Egyptian dialect, while the typical standard Arabic was used for the narrative. This contrast, which is a reflex of the presence of diglossia in the Arabic speaking communities, creates an effect of oral text, as well as is relevant for the internal logic of the narrative. Thus, the translation proposed has considered the nature of the composition, the historical moment and the way diglossia works in Egypt with the aim of reproducing the relevant effects created by the linguistic alternation of the original without compromising the depiction of the Egyptian culture. In order to stablish the possible resources present in the Portuguese language, the linguistic works from NURC/SP (studies on Educated Urban Norm of São Paulo) were specially consulted.

Cette étude montre comment Albert Camus et Tawfik Al-Hakim, deux dramaturges appartenant à deux cultures différentes, se sont servi, chacun à sa manière, de la parole, pour défendre la liberté dans leurs théâtres. La thèse comprend quatre parties. Partant d'un panorama biographique qui permettra de situer les deux dramaturges dans le contexte social et littéraire de leur temps, nous passerons, dans la deuxième partie, à une analyse du thème de la liberté dans le corpus. A travers une analyse textuelle des pièces traitées, nous découvrirons, dans la troisième partie, comment la parole a été instituée en système de tyrannie. En dénonçant une telle stratégie des régimes totalitaires, les deux dramaturges ont défendu la liberté de parole délibérément écrasée par les tyrans de tous les temps. Nous réfléchirons enfin sur le double jeu de la parole dans les deux théâtres. En y examinant le cas des personnages-prisonniers, nous mettrons en évidence comment la parole peut être aussi bien un moyen de liberté qu'un moyen d'enfermement. Se servir des ressources du théâtre pour être la voix des sans-voix ; plaider en faveur de tous les opprimés sur la terre pour leur rendre la justice et la liberté qu'ils ont perdues, c'est le souci commun de Camus et d'Al-Hakim
This study shows how Albert Camus and Tawfik Al-Hakim, two playwrights belonging to two different cultures, used speech, each to his manner, to defend freedom in their theatres. The thesis includes four parties. Starting with a biographical panorama that will allow situating the two playwrights in their social and literary time, we shall pass, in the second party, to an analysis of the theme of the freedom in the corpus. Through a textual analysis of studied plays, we shall discover, in the third party, how speech was instituted in totalitarian systems. By a denouncing such strategy of totalitarian regimes, the two playwrights defended the freedom of speech crushed by the tyrants of all the times. We shall reflect finally on the double set of speech in the two theatres. By examining the case of the figures-prisoners, we shall show how speech can be both a means of freedom that one way of confinement. Use the resources of the theater to be the voice of the voiceless, to plead in favor of all the oppressed on the earth to do them justice and freedom that they have lost, is the common concern of Camus and Al-Hakim

Cette recherche porte sur l’analyse des problématiques narratologiques et stylistiques dans les écrits parus à la fin du soulèvement populaire survenu en Égypte en 2011. Elle entrecroise deux axes, l’un notionnel et l’autre analytique. D’une part, elle aborde la question du genre littéraire, de l’espace, de la temporalité et de la langue d’écriture. D’autre part, on se propose de comparer cinq textes, qu’on envisagera dans leur double appartenance littéraire et thématique : Ayyām al-Taḥrīr (2011), Cairo : my city, our revolution (2012), al-Ṯawra 2.0 (2012), Aǧniḥat al-farāša (2011) et Sabʿat ayyām fī al-Taḥrīr (2011). Nous examinerons ces œuvres dans le cadre de ce que les critiques ont désigné sous le nom d’adab al-ṯawra ou d’adabiyyāt al-ṯawra – « littérature(s) de la révolution » – et tenterons d’identifier les caractéristiques et les particularités de cette très jeune production. L’enjeu est d’étudier comment les écrivains égyptiens contemporains produisent des narrations à travers lesquelles se déploie un processus d’émerveillement, de reconfiguration et de modification de la représentation du citoyen, notamment celle des jeunes
This research focuses on narratological and stylistic issues in the writings that appeared at the end of the popular uprising in Egypt in 2011. It combines two axes, one notional and the other analytical. On the one hand, it deals with questions of literary genre, space, temporality and language of writing. On the other hand, it offers to compare five texts which will be examined at the literary as well as at the thematic level : Ayyām al-Taḥrīr (2011), Cairo: my city, our revolution (2012), al-Ṯawra 2.0 (2012), Aǧniḥat al-farāša and Sabʿat ayyām fī al-Taḥrīr (2011). These works are considered within the framework of what critics have called adab al-ṯawra or adabiyyāt al-ṯawra--"literature(s) of the revolution". I try to highlight the characteristics and peculiarities of this very young production. The challenge here is to study how contemporary Egyptian writers have produced narratives which reveal a process of wonderment, reconfiguration and transformation of the representation of the citizen, especially that of young people

Si on contemple l’abondante production du dramaturge, on réalise à quel point l’Égypte est omniprésente dans ses écrits et dans sa vie. Elle couronne l’ensemble de son oeuvre littéraire qui met en lumière chacun des différents aspects de ce pays : social, historique, culturel et politique. Cependant, dans cette étude, nous allons essayer de limiter notre sujet de l’Image de l’Égypte dans l’oeuvre de T. al-Ḥakīm à deux époques celle de la révolution de 1919, et celle de 1952. Ses écrits retracent clairement ces deux évènements importants. Sa façon de penser, d’écrire, de critiquer et d’analyser avant et après la révolution de 1919 n’est plus la même après la révolution de 1952. D’un écrivain rêveur, idéaliste, il en devient un autre plus réaliste et engagé littérairement. Notre problématique globale s’articulera autour des questions suivantes : quelle représentation l’oeuvre de Tawfīq al-Ḥakīm donne-t-elle de l’Égypte ? Peut-on considérer son retour aux mythes anciens comme une continuité entre l’Égypte moderne etl’Égypte ancienne ? Dans une première partie nous traitons les deux révolutions qui ont eu des répercussions sur ses écrits et sa vision politique. La deuxième partie, abordera la société de son roman ‛Awdat al-rūḥ, (l’Âme retrouvée), 1933, dans lequel il décrit une Égypte vue par un égyptien de souche et les liens forts qui unissent ce peuple à sa nation. La troisième partie sera réservée à la femme et au fallāḥ qui ont énormément inspiré l’écrivain. La quatrième partie sera consacrée à l’Égypte pharaonique. On va voir comment il a pu être influencé par l’Égypte ancienne pour décrire l’Égypte moderne. Nous nous appuyons aussi sur plusieurs lectures de différents auteurs afin de trouver une authenticité entre ce qu’il écrit et ce qu’il pense, entre la réalité et l’imagination dans ces oeuvres. Nous analyserons comment il voit, observe et critique son pays natal
If we contemplate the playwright's rich production, we realise to what extent Egypt plays a prominent part in his work and life. It is the crowning achievement of his literary work which highlights all the aspects of this country, social, historical, cultural and political However, in this study, we will try to limit our subject of The image of Egypt in T.al-Hakim's work to two particular eras, the revolutions of 1919 and 1952. His writings clearly relate those major events. The way he thinks, writes, criticizes and analyses before and after the 1919 revolution is no longer the same after the 1952 revolution. He started being a dreamy idealistic writer, and turned into another one, more realistic and committed in his literary work. Our global problematics will hinge on the following issues: what representation of Egypt does Tawfiq al-Hakim's work give? Can we regard his return to ancient myths as a continuity between modern Egypt and ancient Egypt? In a first part, we deal with the two revolutions which have had repercussions on his writings and political vision. The second part will tackle the society of his novel, in which he describes a country seen through a native Egyptian, and the strong ties which link the Egyptian people to their nation. The third part will focus on women and on the fallah, which greatly inspired the writer. The fourth part will be dedicated to the Pharaonic Egypt. We will see how far he has been influenced by ancient Egypt to descibe the modern one. We have relied on a few works of different writers so as to find an authentic link between what he writes and thinks reality and imagination in his works. We will analyse the way he sees, observes and criticizes his own country

This dissertation examines the representations of late Egyptian President Gamal `Abdel Nasser (1918-1970) in Egyptian literature and film. It focuses on how the historical character of Nasser has emerged in the Egyptian imaginary--novel, short stories, autobiographies, and films. Rather than engaging in historical arguments about the deeds and legacy of Nasser, my dissertation makes a case for literature and art as alternative archive that questions, erases, distorts, and adds to the official history of Nasser. Employing the famous Aristotelian differentiation between the historian and the poet, and building on Hayden White's argument about the relationship between history and fiction, I argue that the meaning(s) of Nasser for Egyptians must be sought less in recorded history than in fictional narratives. Unlike history, literature and film give voice to marginalized, voiceless witnesses of society. By creating fictional characters that interact with Nasser, these works constitute a space of knowledge, an invaluable window onto the ways people see, personalize, and negotiate their relationships with the President. As this dissertation shows, Nasser constitutes a perfect site for literary and cinematic approaches. Largely seen as the Arab world's most influential political figure of the past century, Nasser was a larger-than-life character, a legend whose image, voice, ideals, accomplishments, deeds and misdeeds, and defeats have been shaping Egyptian and Arabic life to date. Historians, however, often recognize the complexity of Nasser's character, his contradictory traits, and his sometime inexplicable decisions. Particularly ambiguous is how the relationship between Nasser and Egyptians was personalized and often romanticized, transforming a political leader into an attentive audience, a heartthrob lover, and an enigmatic father. Herein lies a major contribution of this dissertation. I argue that history falls short on capturing the centrality of Nasser in Egyptian life. As will be demonstrated, Nasser emerges as a site for plural interpretations, an instance where narratives compete over the meaning of the past. In other words, there is no monolithic discourse on Nasser, but rather various, at times contradictory views that fragment the man into multiple "Nassers." The historical paths and developments which the literary and cinematic Nasser has traversed bespeaks to the shifts in ideals, hopes, and realities that swept the Egyptian society over the past fifty years.

Foucault described translation as an instance of two languages colliding; Spivak calls translation “the most intimate act of reading.” Considering the two Egyptian novels ‘Uṣfūr min al-sharq by Tawfīq al-Ḥakīm (1938) and Qindīl umm hāshim by Yaḥyā Ḥaqqī (1944), this paper argues that the particularly subtle type of translation that they employ from French and English into Arabic can be best analyzed with a theoretical model of translation that, following Foucault and Spivak, emphasizes the material properties of languages, and specifically, their capacity to engage each other physically through acts of colliding, coupling, and reproducing. Such a method of analysis suggests fruitful new implications for looking at how language and literature traveled between Egypt and Europe during the so-called Arab Renaissance (the nahḍa) of the nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, including what possibilities for the Arabic language might have emerged in its intimate engagement with the languages of the European other. Moreover, this model of translation allows us to move beyond the politicized paradigms that dominate the field of contemporary translation studies and embrace the contradictions and paradoxes inherent in any encounter between cultures, societies, and languages, and in any act of translation.
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This research report is concerned with translation in which culture plays a major role, and examines the issues involved in translating for a specific audience – in this case Arabic-speaking Moslem children in Egypt. Translation is firstly discussed in a broader context, demonstrating that translation needs to be understood either as “rewriting” or “cultural textualisation” (Snell-Hornby, 1997:123). Secondly, the translation of children’s literature is discussed as a type of translation operating through an encounter with both culture and linguistics. Overlaps between language and culture are located and the importance of contextual adaptation is emphasised in relation to solutions proposed for addressing the cultural problems raised in the translation of Peter Slingsby’s The Joining for Egyptian children. In conclusion, suggestions are made concerning translation as adaptation in the form of possible guidelines for future translators of children’s literature into Arabic.

Whether as a distinct cultural form, or as a problem exaggerated and imagined by a paranoid interpretive bent, “rumor” (al-ishāʿa) claims a place in the writings of many Egyptian intellectuals, littérateurs, journalists, and politicians in the twentieth century that has yet to be adequately addressed and theorized. At the intersection of cultural studies and Arabic literature, this dissertation investigates rumor as a fiercely contested mode of reading and writing public culture in Egypt since 1952. Eschewing the legislative trend in the modern social and clinical sciences that has positioned rumor as an object to be combatted, or reduced it to the mechanisms and motives of mass psychology, I examine some of the many ways in which it generates, animates, or interferes with scenes in the lives of social actors as they move between the centers and peripheries of power. Rumor possesses both affirmative and destructive powers, often inseparably, and in order to theorize its complex imbrications with character, community, and culture beyond the urge to evaluative critique, I develop a host of concepts – such as noise, play, paranoia, and parody – capable of bringing this oft-neglected ambivalence into view. Notoriously resistant to analysis, whether due to is conceptual vagueness or ephemeral phenomenological status, rumor and the scenes it makes require a rethinking of the modes of scholarly writing that dominate the humanities and social sciences. A degree of mobility and eclecticism, drawn from the object itself in its flight across history and culture, imbues the organization and style of this dissertation: rumor is the object, and inspires the mode, of my investigation. Each of the three Parts of the dissertation investigates a different field of public culture in post-1952 Egypt. Part 1 analyzes the rhetoric and interpretive practices deployed by state actors in their confrontation with what they call “rumors.” Three historical events are taken as significant: the rhetorical and dramatic performances of the Free Officers in the early revolutionary period (1952-1954), the social scientific celebration of “planning” (takhṭīṭ) in 1964, and the Mubarak death rumors of 2007. While here rumor comes into view as the object of state discipline and paranoid interpretation, the remaining two Parts investigate its role in the performances of artists, littérateurs, and bloggers. Part 2 analyzes the literary texts of Gamal al-Ghitani, which are unique in their simultaneous recording and performing of rumors in Egyptian cultural politics at the turn of the millennium. Finally, Part 3 examines intersections between play, parody, and the paranoid style of interpretation in cyberspace, including an investigation into the blogging campaign “Mubarak Mat” (“Mubarak has Died,” 2008) and Ashraf Hamdi’s response to rumors spun by the counterrevolution (2011-2012). While rumor, across these many contexts, is deplored as a destructive force, it also, I contend, salvages possibility from necessity, explores alternatives to the status quo, and serves as an unexpected catalyst for innovative cultural and political forms. As noise, it creates disorder and generates a new order. It is at once in public culture, and making public culture.
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This thesis describes the phenomenon of female genital mutilation (FGM) in Northeastern Africa, focusing on Egypt, Somalia and the Sudan. The core of the thesis lies in literary reflections of this practice and analysis of literary works tackling this subject. Presenting a wide range of literary works on the subject, this thesis aims at classifying and comparing them, with a special emphasis on the works of Nawal el Saadawi and Nuruddin Farah. The thesis also presents a summary of current local and international laws on FGM as well as a list of organisations dealing with FGM. It also briefly describes the religious background of FGM and current situation in Egypt and the Sudan.

The present dissertation is a diachronic study of cultural identity and self-presentation in ancient Egyptian fictional narratives. Cultural identity implies notions such as customs, practices, values and world-views that are implicitly or explicitly expressed in fictional narrative. The texts that are included in the study span from the Middle and New Kingdoms (c. 2055-1650 BC and 1550-1069 BC), and Ptolemaic and Roman periods (332-30 BC and 30 BC- 395 AD) and the material is analyzed within a framework that addresses "narrative traditions," which is the transmission of cultural identity in the narratives through time. In light of the diachronic perspective of the study, I focus on four principle motifs of Egyptian narratives: priests, kings,warriors, and women, and explore the literary presentations of these within an historical and intertextual context. The project relates to the literate class of ancient Egyptian society and through exploring the motifs above-mentioned motifs within a diachronic historical and intertextual context, the aim of the thesis is to gain an understanding of forming and preserving cultural identity of that specific sphere of Egyptian society through time. The archeological contexts of the material will, where itis possible, be included. This will contribute to identifying, for example, established traditions, as opposed to local traditions.

Martina Buchlová Summary This thesis looks into the methods of imagination in Egyptian cinema through in-depth analysis of the film adaptation of the Nobel Prize Winner Nagīb Maḥfūẓ's novel Bajna 'l-Qaṣrajn. For the analysis, combined approaches of narratology, film theory and neo- formalism have been used. All the observations and conclusions are supported by evidence in form of extracts from the novel and/or stills from the film. The initial chapter gives a brief account of the history and tendencies of Egyptian cinema from its beginnings to the 1960's, when the analysed film was shot. It also summs up the carrier of the film's director, Ḥasan al-Imām, and puts the film into the appropriate context. Furthermore, this chapter lists the storyline of the novel and mentions a few basic facts about its inception. In the next chapter, the transfer of narrative features of the text into film is being discussed, using the model of cardinal functions by Roland Barthes. A table gives precise account of the narrative elements which were transfered to the film and those which were not or were subject to considerable changes. The following chapter deals with the transfer of the novel's non-narrative elements (whose adaptation to the new medium requires a more inventional approach), such as description of the time and...

This thesis discusses the interaction between the concepts of ”justice” (ma‛at) and ”law” (hpw) in ancient Egypt. Ma‛at, one of the earliest abstract terms in human speech, was a central principle and, although no codex of Egyptian law has been found, there is abundant evidence of written law, designed to realise ma‛at on earth. The king, as the highest legal authority, was the nexus between ma‛at and the law. Egyptologists have few sources of knowledge about law and justice in ancient Egypt because the ancient Egyptians used commonplace language in legal documents and they only had a few imprecise technical terms relating to law. For Egyptology to advance, therefore, we need to reappraise its sources. The Tale of the Eloquent Peasant has a strong legal background and should be treated as an additional source of information about how law and justice were perceived and carried out in ancient Egypt.
Classics and Modern European Languages
M.A. (Ancient Languages and Cultures)

The exodus tradition was passed on for posterity among the Jewish descendants about God who delivered their ancestors from bondage in Egypt, who divided the Red Sea waters and provided them with manna in the desert. The exodus tradition motivated them in many problematic situations about "God of their fathers" who delivered them. The modern post-biblical world has drawn some motivation from the exodus liberation motif, namely: Latin America, USA, South Africa, Rhodesia and Zimbabwe, amongst others. The topic: Reading the Exodus Tradition from a Zimbabwean Perspective is necessitated by the Zimbabwean experience of oppression. The function of the exodus tradition during colonialism in Rhodesia is discussed because it forms the nucleus from which Zimbabwe was born. Recently, the Zimbabwean people have been subjected to unjust treatments by the Zimbabwean regime. The function of the exodus tradition in the Zimbabwean situation is explored in chapters five and six, respectively.
Biblical and Ancient studies
M.A. (Biblical Studies)

As instruções sapienciais do Egito antigo muitas vezes apresentam-se como textos didáticos redigidos por um pai para o seu filho de modo a ensinar-lhe a conduta e o comportamento éticos adequados na sua vida profissional e noutras situações sociais, tais como interações com amigos ou pessoas menos favorecidas. Assim, estes textos são obras pragmáticas preocupadas com a ação individual na sociedade. Embora não sejam tratados de especulação teológica, deus (nTr) é uma figura central neles. O objetivo deste estudo é explorar os dois principais papéis de deus nestes textos: o de agente com a função de retribuir as transgressões, e com a função de protetor. Este trabalho centra-se na mobilização de deus (nTr) nas instrucções sapienciais dos Impérios Médio e Novo. Através de uma análise discursiva baseada na metodologia de Michel Foucault, explorou-se alguns dos papéis desempenhados por deus nestes textos. Antes, porém, e porque este estudo se enquadra na história das religiões, foi feita uma introdução ao estudo histórico e sociológico da religião, abordando a história da disciplina, e algumas das polémicas que a têm acompanhado. Foi decidido não definir religião, considerando-se esta como mais um aspeto de uma cultura. De seguida explorou-se o contexto social das instruções. Ao contrário do que se poderia pensar, sobretudo porque as instruções se apresentam como textos didáticos e aptas para a formação de novas gerações, não é de todo claro que tenham sido usadas num contexto de ensino, formal ou informal. Também não é garantido que tenham sido escritas com o objetivo de servirem de manuais de aprendizagem de boas maneiras, uma vez que, à semelhança de outros textos literários, podem ter sido usadas num contexto essencialmente de entretenimento. No caso das instruções do Império Novo há mais indícios de que tenham sido compostas para um propósito didático. Ainda assim, as instruções são textos pragmáticos centrados neste mundo e que estão construídos como textos que pretendem moldar a conduta ensinando ao pupilo o que precisa de saber para ser bem-sucedido socialmente e evitar a retribuição divina. Por conseguinte, é lícito que o discurso das instruções se preste a um estudo histórico e sociológico no sentido de se conhecer melhor a sociedade do tempo em que foram redigidos. No capítulo terceiro abordou-se um dos principais papéis de deus: o papel de agente que castiga e retribui certas transgressões. É relevante salientar que nem todas as transgressões estão representadas em todas as instruções, nem todas têm o mesmo castigo. Algumas são específicos a um período temporal, e outras são específicas a certas instruções. Identificaram-se as seguintes transgressões: contra indivíduos e contra o estado: maus-tratos a outros, fraudulência e aquisição ilícita de bens, discurso falso e/ou inflamatório, profanação de túmulos, execução de cortesãos; contra deus: detestação (bw.t) de deus, e transgressões e falhas rituais. Os maus-tratos estão atestados nas instruções do Império Novo. Embora conte com duas atestações em instruções do Império Médio, a fraudulência e a aquisição ilícita de bens está sobretudo atestada na Instrução de Amenemope. É possível que o volume de atestações neste texto seja um reflexo dos tempos conturbados do final do Período Raméssida. Amenemope expressa preocupação com o roubo do estado, mas também com a exploração dos mais vulneráveis da sociedade. Na categoria de discurso falso e inflamado, também é em Amenemope que se concentram as atestações. Antes de estas serem discutidas foi feita uma discussão acerca do homem de temperamento quente (Smm), personagem importante não só em Amenemope como noutros textos do Período Raméssida. Interessantemente, ao contrário desses textos, Amenemope parece ser leniente com o homem de temperamento quente, chegando a sugerir que se lhe deve prestar auxílio se ele se encontrar numa situação difícil. De contrário, raramente é leniente com o pupilo a quem a instrução é endereçada, como se a sua preocupação fosse o comportamento do seu aluno e não propriamente a conduta daqueles com quem ele se cruza. O tópico da profanação de sepulturas apenas é abordado na Instrução para o Rei Merikaré, uma das duas instruções reais que chegaram até nós. Enquanto instrução endereçada ao rei, mesmo que na prática também estivesse acessível aos funcionários, trata de tópicos que lhe são únicos. Em particular a guerra civil do Primeiro Período Intermediário, da qual o(s) autor(es) parece(m) conhecer bem. O rei a quem a autoria do texto é atribuída admite que, sem o seu conhecimento e a sua autorização, os seus soldados dessacralizaram uma necrópole. Cabendo-lhe a responsabilidade por ser o chefe do exército é a ele que deus castiga, seguindo o princípio taliónico de responder com o mesmo. Este passo esboça uma verdadeira teoria do nexo de causa-consequência (Tun-Ergehen-Zusammenhang). É também apenas na mesma instrução que está atestada a proibição de executar alguém próximo na corte. Curiosamente, a interdição contra o homicídio, prática que é negada no famoso capítulo 125 do Livro dos Mortos, não está atestada nas instruções que chegaram até nós. As atestações da detestação (bw.t) de deus são de um grande interesse, porquanto a associação da detestação com um deus limita a subjetividade do analista ao selecionar este ou aquele passo como pertencendo a uma dada transgressão. Interessantemente, a detestação de deus só está atestada numa instrução do Império Médio, e numa cópia do Império Novo. De resto, está apenas presente em instruções do Império Novo. Enquanto na Instrução de Ani está sobretudo ligada a transgressões rituais, na Instrução de Amenemope e na Instrução do Papiro Chester Beatty IV está sobretudo associada à fraudulência e ao roubo de material do templo. Surge na Instrução de Amenemope um passo interessante em que, numa situação de emergência, o escriba que tem o dever de inspecionar um barco de transporte não deve recusar a ajudar que lhe for pedida por medo de o ato de executar trabalhos que não sejam condignos à posição social que se ocupa poder ser considerado uma detestação de deus. À semelhança de outras culturas onde os interditos religiosos são levantados em situações de emergência, Amenemope assegura o escriba de que pode ajudar sem se preocupar. Podemos perguntar, no entanto, se havia opiniões divergentes na sociedade egípcia. O tema das transgressões e falhas rituais, que tem vindo recentemente a ser cada vez mais trabalho no âmbito do estudo histórico e sociológico das religiões, está também presente nas instruções, quer do Império Médio quer do Novo. Nas instruções do Império Novo, as transgressões prendem-se, sobretudo com o comportamento a adotar nas consultas oraculares dispensadas pela estátua do deus durante as procissões. Na Instrução de Hordjedef é possível que uma falhar ritual seja aproveitada por um rival, algo que está atestado noutras sociedades. O outro grande papel de deus é o de protetor. Três categorias de proteção foram identificadas: proteção de conflitos com outros que possam prejudicar seriamente o pupilo,proteção em relação à incerteza quando ao futuro, e proteção da necessidade, sobretudo através da providência divina. Tanto a proteção dos conflitos como a proteção em relação ao futuro estão atestadas apenas em instruções do Império Novo, algo que se pode dever ao contributo da piedade pessoal que está manifesta em todas as instruções daquele período. É muito no âmbito da proteção dos conflitos que surge a recomendação para uma atitude quietista, em que o pupilo se desliga da situação conflituosa para deixar que seja o deus a tratar do assunto. Na proteção em relação ao futuro, salienta-se a vulnerabilidade humana e a segurança que dá a imputação do desconhecido a deus, que é discursivamente construído como uma entidade capaz de procurar garantir o melhor para o pupilo. A providência divina está amplamente atestada na Instrução de Ptahhotep, onde parece ser mais ou menos automática, ao passo que na Instrução de Amenemope e na Instrução do Papiro Chester Beatty IV parece estar dependente do cultivo da relação com o deus pessoal. No âmbito da piedade pessoal, Amenemope tem ainda a particularidade de mostrar o outro lado: se nos textos relativos à piedade pessoal o suplicante é perdoado, em Amenemope sucede o contrário.
The ancient Egyptian wisdom instructions often present themselves as didactic texts composed by a father to his son in order to teach him the adequate conduct and ethics to adopt in his professional life and in other social situations, such as interactions with friends or less favoured people. These texts are thus pragmatic works concerned with individual action within society. Although they are not speculative theological treatises either, god (nTr) is nonetheless an important figure in them. The aim of this study is to explore the two main roles of god in these texts: as an agent in charge of retributions for transgressions, and as protector.