Journal Articles by Jess Johnson
Interdisciplinary Egyptology, 2024
The field of Egyptology in the United States lacks the demographic, educational, and occupational... more The field of Egyptology in the United States lacks the demographic, educational, and occupational data necessary to improve educational environments, identify new career opportunities, and diversify the field. The Egyptology State of the Field (ESotF) is an independent, collaborative, volunteer project developed to address this data gap with two components: an online survey of Egyptologists trained or working in the United States and a supplementary, optional semi-structured interview on career trajectories. The ESotF team adopted an inductive approach in our survey design, which allows ques- tions to be formed as data are acquired, rather than collecting data with a specific set of research questions determined at the outset. This report presents the results of the demographic ESotF data collected through the online survey, which is compared with relevant external data sets in Egyptology, academic contexts, and the United States as a whole. These data demonstrate the degree to which American Egyptology lacks diversity in comparison to the United States population. It is our intention that educators and students, as well as academic and curatorial departments, use ESotF data to understand the makeup of Egyptology in the United States, improve educational and occupational environments, develop initiatives and programs aimed at diversifying and strengthening the field, and generate new studies to track changes to the composition of our field over time.
StepSister Press, 2022
In Spring 2020, a public university in California and all surrounding-area museums shut down half... more In Spring 2020, a public university in California and all surrounding-area museums shut down halfway through the semester. As graduate students and emerging museum scholars, the authors of this essay narrate the impact of the closures on our professional and academic development
and consider the broader implications of COVID-19 on the museum field. With over 20 years of combined experience in curatorial, education, and digital engagement roles, we are deeply invested in museums as sites of research, public humanities, and community well-being. We reflect
on how this moment has clarified the value of museums, how the standard of communication within and outside of museums has altered, and how the Coronavirus has accelerated the paradigm shift in museums from being about objects to being for and about people.
Master's Thesis by Jess Johnson
Thesis:
This thesis examines the synecdochical relationship between the group of Gate Guardians ... more Thesis:
This thesis examines the synecdochical relationship between the group of Gate Guardians demons from Book of the Dead Spells 144-147, and the demon Ammit, from Spell 125. The epithets of the Gate Guardians describe specific capabilities, while the personification of Ammit as the “second death” explicates hers. Supporting text explains the demons’ mythological functions of protecting liminal spaces, thus preventing chaos from progressing through the underworld. Animal iconography is discussed also because characteristics of the animals employed in the depictions of the Gate Guardians mimic those of Ammit. Lastly, the overall concept of a tumultuous journey that the deceased must make through the underworld, likened to that of the nocturnal solar journey, enforces the function of either (group of) demons. The mentioned characteristics are examined in the tomb of Sennedjem and the Papyrus of Ani to provide evidence for a plausible relationship of synecdoche between Ammit and the Gate Guardians.
Conference Presentations by Jess Johnson
This poster analyzes the historical context and symbolism of a unique ancient Egyptian artifact, ... more This poster analyzes the historical context and symbolism of a unique ancient Egyptian artifact, an ancestor bust amulet, in the Institute of Egyptian Art and Archaeology from the University of Memphis (1994.4.268). This amulet is one of only four known in the world. We suggest that the living wore it as a representation of deceased relatives who achieved eternal life after successfully journeying through the Realm of the Dead, gaining the title of “effective spirit.” The deceased then become intermediaries and affected the living. Because of this, the amulet offered protection by symbolizing the solar cycle of renewed existence.
This poster examines the synecdochical relationship between the group of Gate Guardians demons fr... more This poster examines the synecdochical relationship between the group of Gate Guardians demons from Book of the Dead Spells 144-147, and the demon Ammit, from Spell 125. The epithets of the Gate Guardians describe specific capabilities, while the personification of Ammit as the “second death” explicates hers. Supporting text explains the demons’ mythological functions of protecting liminal spaces, thus preventing chaos from progressing through the underworld. Animal iconography is discussed also because characteristics of the animals employed in the depictions of the Gate Guardians mimic those of Ammit. Lastly, the overall concept of a tumultuous journey that the deceased must make through the underworld, likened to that of the nocturnal solar journey, enforces the function of either (group of) demons. The mentioned characteristics are examined in the tomb of Sennedjem and the Papyrus of Ani to provide evidence for a plausible relationship of synecdoche between Ammit and the Gate Guardians. This poster won the 2016 Best Graduate Student Poster at the annual American Research Center in Egypt conference.
Popular Writing by Jess Johnson
the Thinking Republic, 2021
Disclaimer: The views presented in the following text are independent and not reflective of views... more Disclaimer: The views presented in the following text are independent and not reflective of views presented by the University of California, Berkeley, or the Badé Museum of Biblical Archaeology.
The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, with catalysts often traumatic, unconscionable, and profound, has pushed our country to climb towards a peak of tension which will (hopefully) be surmounted to create lasting, positive change regarding race relations, systematic racism, and police brutality. Fighting the good fight, as they say, requires a deeper level of engagement, not just combatting present-day thinking but also the entrenched and dismal traditions of our country’s history. The longitudinal and latitudinal fight against the many dubious facets of U.S. history creates countless corners around which issues such as racism may hide. Similarly, many academic disciplines are rooted in their founders’ societal enculturation. Operating within such disciplines, or absorbing knowledge disseminated from such fields, means that we must grapple with the racist, power-struggling, and intellectually-deceiving pillars upon which this country’s academia is grounded
Curriculum Vitae by Jess Johnson
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Journal Articles by Jess Johnson
and consider the broader implications of COVID-19 on the museum field. With over 20 years of combined experience in curatorial, education, and digital engagement roles, we are deeply invested in museums as sites of research, public humanities, and community well-being. We reflect
on how this moment has clarified the value of museums, how the standard of communication within and outside of museums has altered, and how the Coronavirus has accelerated the paradigm shift in museums from being about objects to being for and about people.
Master's Thesis by Jess Johnson
This thesis examines the synecdochical relationship between the group of Gate Guardians demons from Book of the Dead Spells 144-147, and the demon Ammit, from Spell 125. The epithets of the Gate Guardians describe specific capabilities, while the personification of Ammit as the “second death” explicates hers. Supporting text explains the demons’ mythological functions of protecting liminal spaces, thus preventing chaos from progressing through the underworld. Animal iconography is discussed also because characteristics of the animals employed in the depictions of the Gate Guardians mimic those of Ammit. Lastly, the overall concept of a tumultuous journey that the deceased must make through the underworld, likened to that of the nocturnal solar journey, enforces the function of either (group of) demons. The mentioned characteristics are examined in the tomb of Sennedjem and the Papyrus of Ani to provide evidence for a plausible relationship of synecdoche between Ammit and the Gate Guardians.
Conference Presentations by Jess Johnson
Popular Writing by Jess Johnson
The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, with catalysts often traumatic, unconscionable, and profound, has pushed our country to climb towards a peak of tension which will (hopefully) be surmounted to create lasting, positive change regarding race relations, systematic racism, and police brutality. Fighting the good fight, as they say, requires a deeper level of engagement, not just combatting present-day thinking but also the entrenched and dismal traditions of our country’s history. The longitudinal and latitudinal fight against the many dubious facets of U.S. history creates countless corners around which issues such as racism may hide. Similarly, many academic disciplines are rooted in their founders’ societal enculturation. Operating within such disciplines, or absorbing knowledge disseminated from such fields, means that we must grapple with the racist, power-struggling, and intellectually-deceiving pillars upon which this country’s academia is grounded
Curriculum Vitae by Jess Johnson
and consider the broader implications of COVID-19 on the museum field. With over 20 years of combined experience in curatorial, education, and digital engagement roles, we are deeply invested in museums as sites of research, public humanities, and community well-being. We reflect
on how this moment has clarified the value of museums, how the standard of communication within and outside of museums has altered, and how the Coronavirus has accelerated the paradigm shift in museums from being about objects to being for and about people.
This thesis examines the synecdochical relationship between the group of Gate Guardians demons from Book of the Dead Spells 144-147, and the demon Ammit, from Spell 125. The epithets of the Gate Guardians describe specific capabilities, while the personification of Ammit as the “second death” explicates hers. Supporting text explains the demons’ mythological functions of protecting liminal spaces, thus preventing chaos from progressing through the underworld. Animal iconography is discussed also because characteristics of the animals employed in the depictions of the Gate Guardians mimic those of Ammit. Lastly, the overall concept of a tumultuous journey that the deceased must make through the underworld, likened to that of the nocturnal solar journey, enforces the function of either (group of) demons. The mentioned characteristics are examined in the tomb of Sennedjem and the Papyrus of Ani to provide evidence for a plausible relationship of synecdoche between Ammit and the Gate Guardians.
The Black Lives Matter (BLM) movement, with catalysts often traumatic, unconscionable, and profound, has pushed our country to climb towards a peak of tension which will (hopefully) be surmounted to create lasting, positive change regarding race relations, systematic racism, and police brutality. Fighting the good fight, as they say, requires a deeper level of engagement, not just combatting present-day thinking but also the entrenched and dismal traditions of our country’s history. The longitudinal and latitudinal fight against the many dubious facets of U.S. history creates countless corners around which issues such as racism may hide. Similarly, many academic disciplines are rooted in their founders’ societal enculturation. Operating within such disciplines, or absorbing knowledge disseminated from such fields, means that we must grapple with the racist, power-struggling, and intellectually-deceiving pillars upon which this country’s academia is grounded