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Jan Assmann

ヤン・アスマン

Jan Assmann

Profile

Gender
Male
Born
1938-07-07 （Langelsheim, Gau Southern Hanover-Brunswick, Germany）
Died
2024-02-19 （Konstanz, Baden-Württemberg, Germany） age 85
Nationality
German
Languages
German, English
Residence History
Cairo, Egypt — 1966–1971 → Heidelberg, Germany — Professor 1976–2003 → Konstanz, Germany — Honorary Professor 2003–

Career

Occupations
Egyptologist, Cultural historian, Religion scholar, Professor
Active Years
1966-2024
Affiliations
University of Heidelberg, University of Konstanz (Honorary Professor), German Archaeological Institute (fellow)
Influenced By
Manetho (ancient Egyptian historian), Maimonides (medieval Jewish philosopher)
Influenced
Aleida Assmann (collaborator, spouse), Scholars of cultural memory studies

Education

University of Munich
Period: 不明
Country: Germany
Studied Egyptology and classical archaeology
University of Heidelberg
Period: 不明
Country: Germany
PhD studies; habilitation completed in 1971
University of Paris
Period: 不明
Country: France
Study/research period
University of Göttingen
Period: 不明
Country: Germany
Study/research period

Awards

Max Planck Award for Research
1996
Organization: German scientific community
Result: 受賞
German Historians' Prize
1998
Organization: German historians' organizations
Result: 受賞
Honorary Doctorate in Theology (Munster)
1998
Organization: Theology Faculty, Munster
Result: 授与（名誉学位）
Soc.Sc.D. (honoris causa), Yale University
2004
Organization: Yale University
Result: 授与（名誉学位）
Ph.D. (honoris causa), Hebrew University of Jerusalem
2005
Organization: Hebrew University of Jerusalem
Result: 授与（名誉学位）
Order of Merit of the Federal Republic of Germany, First Class
2006
Organization: Federal Republic of Germany
Result: 授与
Alfried Krupp Prize for Scholarship
2006
Organization: Alfried Krupp Foundation
Result: 受賞
Großer Literaturpreis der Bayerischen Akademie der Schönen Künste
2011
Organization: Bavarian Academy of Fine Arts
Result: 受賞
Sigmund Freud Prize
2016
Organization: German Academy/prizes committee
Result: 受賞
Balzan Prize (Collective Memory, jointly with Aleida Assmann)
2017
Category: 集合的記憶
Organization: Balzan Foundation
Result: 受賞（共同）
Peace Prize of the German Book Trade (jointly with Aleida Assmann)
2018
Organization: German Book Trade
Result: 受賞（共同）
Pour le Mérite for Sciences and Arts (jointly)
2020
Organization: Pour le Mérite
Result: 授与（共同）

Awards & Nominations

Works

Major Works

Re and Amun: The Crisis of the Polytheistic Worldview in Egypt of the 18th–20th Dynasties

1983 Scholarly monograph (Egyptology)

Analyzes solar cults and the crisis of the polytheistic worldview in the New Kingdom, discussing religious change including Atenism.

Ancient Egyptian religionReligious changeSolar cult
Translations
  • English translation: Egyptian Solar Religion in the New Kingdom

Cultural Memory and Early Civilization: Writing, Remembrance, and Political Imagination

1992 Scholarly monograph (cultural history / memory studies)

Foundational work in cultural memory studies discussing how writing and institutionalized remembrance shape political and religious identities.

Cultural memoryLiteracyPolitical identity
Translations
  • English translation: Cultural Memory and Early Civilization

Moses the Egyptian: The Memory of Egypt in Western Monotheism

1997 Scholarly monograph (religion / comparative religious history)

Explores traces of Egyptian memory in the Moses/Exodus tradition and their relationship to the formation of Judaism and Western monotheism.

ExodusMemory tracesOrigins of monotheism
Translations
  • English translation: Moses the Egyptian

The Invention of Religion: Faith and Covenant in the Book of Exodus

2018 Scholarly monograph (history of religion)

Re-examines the formation of religious concepts starting from the Book of Exodus and discusses aspects of religion as a historical invention.

ExodusFormation of religious conceptsCovenant

Bibliography

  • Re and Amun (1983)
  • The Search for God in Ancient Egypt (1984)
  • Cultural Memory and Early Civilization (1992)
  • Moses the Egyptian (1997)
  • The Invention of Religion (2018)

Translations of Works

  • No verified Japanese translation of 'The Search for God in Ancient Egypt' as of this record

Style & Themes

Literary Style
Academic and conceptual, with emphasis on comparative cultural analysisClear and theoretical exposition
Recurring Motifs
Memory (cultural memory)Origins and transformation of religionRelationship between ancient Egypt and modern identity

Legacy

An internationally influential scholar who bridged Egyptology and cultural memory studies. His work on the origins of monotheism and the concept of 'cultural memory' has shaped debates in the humanities.

Archives

  • Heidelberg University archives (related materials)

Quotes

  • “If there is any 'Mosaic distinction,' it is the distinction between matrimonial faithfulness and adultery, political loyalty and apostasy, filial love and rebellion, and, in this sense, between friend and foe, love and wrath.”
    Source: Jan Assmann, “Exodus and Memory” (2015); also discussed in The Mosaic Distinction or The Price of Monotheism (2015)

Trivia

  • His spouse is Aleida Assmann, with whom he collaborated on cultural memory research.
  • Recipient of major international prizes including the 2017 Balzan Prize and the 2018 Peace Prize of the German Book Trade.
  • Awarded the Pour le Mérite in 2020 jointly with his wife.