Ethiopian Studies
Encyclopedia
Ethiopian Studies refers to a multi-disciplinary academic cluster dedicated to research on Ethiopia
within the cultural and historical context of the Horn of Africa
. The classical concept of Ethiopian Studies, developed by European scholars, is based on disciplines like philology
and linguistics
, history
and ethnography
. It includes the study of Ethiopian arts
and the history and theology
of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church
. The classical core of Ethiopian Studies is the philology of the written sources of Christian
Ethiopia and Ethio-semitic linguistics
. While this approach is still alive and has its role, Ethiopian Studies has opened to a wider concept that tries to avoid a bias in favour of the Christian Abyssinian culture (Amhara
, Tigrinya
; cf. Habesha people
) and includes the study of the southern Ethiopian
cultures, Islam in Ethiopia
, social and political sciences, as well as contemporary issues like environment and development studies.
Ethiopia
Ethiopia , officially known as the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia, is a country located in the Horn of Africa. It is the second-most populous nation in Africa, with over 82 million inhabitants, and the tenth-largest by area, occupying 1,100,000 km2...
within the cultural and historical context of the Horn of Africa
Horn of Africa
The Horn of Africa is a peninsula in East Africa that juts hundreds of kilometers into the Arabian Sea and lies along the southern side of the Gulf of Aden. It is the easternmost projection of the African continent...
. The classical concept of Ethiopian Studies, developed by European scholars, is based on disciplines like philology
Philology
Philology is the study of language in written historical sources; it is a combination of literary studies, history and linguistics.Classical philology is the philology of Greek and Classical Latin...
and linguistics
Linguistics
Linguistics is the scientific study of human language. Linguistics can be broadly broken into three categories or subfields of study: language form, language meaning, and language in context....
, history
History
History is the discovery, collection, organization, and presentation of information about past events. History can also mean the period of time after writing was invented. Scholars who write about history are called historians...
and ethnography
Ethnography
Ethnography is a qualitative method aimed to learn and understand cultural phenomena which reflect the knowledge and system of meanings guiding the life of a cultural group...
. It includes the study of Ethiopian arts
ARts
aRts, which stands for analog Real time synthesizer, is an audio framework that is no longer under development. It is best known for previously being used in KDE to simulate an analog synthesizer....
and the history and theology
Theology
Theology is the systematic and rational study of religion and its influences and of the nature of religious truths, or the learned profession acquired by completing specialized training in religious studies, usually at a university or school of divinity or seminary.-Definition:Augustine of Hippo...
of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church
Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church
The Ethiopian Orthodox Tewahedo Church is the predominant Oriental Orthodox Christian church in Ethiopia. The Ethiopian Church was administratively part of the Coptic Orthodox Church until 1959, when it was granted its own Patriarch by Coptic Orthodox Pope of Alexandria and Patriarch of All...
. The classical core of Ethiopian Studies is the philology of the written sources of Christian
Christian
A Christian is a person who adheres to Christianity, an Abrahamic, monotheistic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus of Nazareth as recorded in the Canonical gospels and the letters of the New Testament...
Ethiopia and Ethio-semitic linguistics
Ethiopian Semitic languages
Ethiopian Semitic is a language group, which together with Old South Arabian forms the Western branch of the South Semitic languages. The languages are spoken in both Ethiopia and Eritrea...
. While this approach is still alive and has its role, Ethiopian Studies has opened to a wider concept that tries to avoid a bias in favour of the Christian Abyssinian culture (Amhara
Amhara people
Amhara are a highland people inhabiting the Northwestern highlands of Ethiopia. Numbering about 19.8 million people, they comprise 26% of the country's population, according to the 2007 national census...
, Tigrinya
Tigray-Tigrinya people
Tigray-Tigrinya are an ethnic group who live in the southern, central and northern parts of Eritrea and the northern highlands of Ethiopia's Tigray province. They also live in Ethiopia's former provinces of Begemder and Wollo, which are today mostly part of Amhara Region, though a few regions...
; cf. Habesha people
Habesha people
The term Habesha ābešā, Ḥābešā; al-Ḥabašah) refers to the South Semitic-speaking group of people whose cultural, linguistic, and in certain cases, ancestral origins trace back to those people who ruled the Axumite Empire and the kingdom known as DʿMT .Peoples referred to as "Habesha" today...
) and includes the study of the southern Ethiopian
Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region
Southern Nations, Nationalities, and People's Region is one of the nine ethnic divisions of Ethiopia. It was formed from the merger of the former Regions 7-11 following the 1994 elections...
cultures, Islam in Ethiopia
Islam in Ethiopia
According to the latest 2007 national census, Islam is the second most widely practised religion in Ethiopia after Christianity, with over 25 million of Ethiopians adhering to Islam according to the 2007 national census, having arrived in Ethiopia in 615...
, social and political sciences, as well as contemporary issues like environment and development studies.
Notable Ethiopianists
- Hiob LudolfHiob LudolfHiob Ludolf was a German orientalist, and born at Erfurt. Edward Ullendorff rates Ludolf as having "the most illustrious name in Ethiopic scholarship".-Life:...
- Edward UllendorffEdward UllendorffEdward Ullendorff FBA was a British scholar and historian, especially in Semitic languages and Ethiopia.-Biography:...
- Enrico CerulliEnrico CerulliEnrico Cerulli was an Italian scholar of Somali and Ethiopian studies, a governor and a diplomat.-Biography:...
- Richard PankhurstRichard Pankhurst (academic)Richard Keir Pethick Pankhurst OBE is a British academic with expertise in the study of Ethiopia.-Early life and education:...
- Harold C. FlemingHarold C. FlemingHarold Crane Fleming is an American anthropologist and historical linguist, specializing in the cultures and languages of the Horn of Africa. As an adherent of the Four Field School of American anthropology, he stresses the integration of physical anthropology, linguistics, archaeology, and...
External links
- http://www.ies-ethiopia.org/indexf.htm
- http://www.tsehaipublishers.com/ijes/
- http://oromostudies.org/JOS.htm
- http://www.ifeas.uni-mainz.de/index.html
- http://www1.uni-hamburg.de/ethiostudies/