Darlene L . Brooks Hedstrom | Brandeis University (original) (raw)

Books by Darlene L . Brooks Hedstrom

Research paper thumbnail of The Monastic Landscape of Late Antique Egypt: An Archaeological Reconstruction. Published: Cambridge University Press, 2017.

The Monastic Landscape of Late Antique Egypt: An Archaeological Reconstruction., 2017

The study of monastic archaeology is entering an exciting phase in its history. More archaeologis... more The study of monastic archaeology is entering an exciting phase in its history. More archaeologists and historians are studying the material remains of monastic communities to write a richer and more complex history of the past. The study of landscapes, monastic communities, and the value of excavations places monasteries in a wider context that is only enriching the connectivity of monastic and nonmonastic worlds. Darlene L. Brooks Hedstrom offers a new history of the field of Egyptian monastic archaeology. She traces how scholars identified a space or site as monastic within the Egyptian landscape and how such identifications impacted perceptions of monasticism. Brooks Hedstrom then provides an ecohistory of Egypt's tripartite landscape to offer a reorientation of the perception of the physical landscape. She analyzes late-antique documentary evidence, early monastic literature, and ecclesiastical history before turning to the extensive archaeological evidence of Christian monastic settlements. In doing so, she illustrates the stark differences between idealized monastic landscape and the actual monastic landscape that was urbanized through monastic constructions. Drawing upon critical theories in landscape studies, materiality and phenomenology, Brooks Hedstrom looks at domestic settlements of non-monastic and monastic settlements to posit what features makes monastic settlements unique, thus offering a new history of monasticism in Egypt.

Articles by Darlene L . Brooks Hedstrom

Research paper thumbnail of Archaeology of the Earliest Monasteries, co-author H. Dey, in The Cambridge History of Medieval Monasticism in the Latin West, ed. A. Beach and I. Cochelin (Cambridge, 2020), 73–96.

Cambridge History of Medieval Western Monasticism, 2020

Comparative view of early monasticism in the East and West

Research paper thumbnail of "Archaeology of Early Christianity in Egypt"

in The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Archaeology, eds. David K. Pettegrew; William R. Caraher, and Thomas W. Davis, 2019

An overview of the archaeological remains for Christian communities in Egypt in the late Roman an... more An overview of the archaeological remains for Christian communities in Egypt in the late Roman and late antique periods. Chapter discusses the early scholarship on Christian Egypt (or lack thereof) and the excavation of churches, pilgrimage centers, and monasteries. The chapter concludes with a broad overview of remains of daily life that could be ascribed to Christian households.

Research paper thumbnail of The Archaeology of Early Monastic Communities

in The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Archaeology, eds. David K. Pettegrew; William R. Caraher, and Thomas W. Davis, 2019

Research paper thumbnail of "Monks Baking Bread and Salting Fish: An Archaeology of Early Monastic Ascetic Taste," in Knowing Bodies, Passionate Souls: Sense Perceptions in Byzantium, ed. Susan Ashbook Harvey and Margaret Mullett (Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks, 2017), 183-206.

Research paper thumbnail of "Reconsidering the Emerging Monastic Desertscape," in Copts in Context: Negotiating Identity, Tradition, and Modernity, ed. Nelly van Doorn-Harder (South Carolina Press, 2017).

Reconsidering the Emerging Monastic Desertscape, 2017

Research paper thumbnail of "Treading on Antiquity: Anglo-American Missionaries and the Religious Landscape of Nineteenth-Century Coptic Egypt"

Material Religion

Anglo-American missionaries traveled to Egypt in the nineteenth century in the hopes of revitaliz... more Anglo-American missionaries traveled to Egypt in the nineteenth century in the hopes of revitalizing the Christian minority living under the Ottomans. They quickly realized that the Coptic Church, whose antiquity carried back to the first century, did not welcome or desire assistance from the Protestants. The missionaries were part of a larger colonial movement in the Middle East that drew them into direct contact with a material culture different from their own. The materiality of the Coptic Church, with its icons, Coptic manuscripts, monuments, and valued monastic hierarchy of saints, provided the rhetorical base for missionaries to articulate the deficiencies of the Copts in favor of the enlightened teachings of the Protestants. A complex layer of iconic images of the desolate desert, the lifeless tomb, and fanatics in the monasteries helped substantiate the colonial claim that Coptic Christianity was a ruined monument, akin to the ruined temples of antiquity. Travelogs and narratives of Anglo-American missionaries in Egypt provide a rich selection of evidence to examine the rhetorical strategies employed to legitimize why the Copts should abandon their traditional religion and adopt a new Christian heritage. The most effective image used was the desert as the uninhabited land of the uneducated and illiterate. The desert became an iconographic description to communicate the dire state of the Coptic Church.

Research paper thumbnail of "Models of Seeing and Reading Monastic Archaeology" Cistercian Studies Quarterly 48.3 (2013)

Research paper thumbnail of The Afterlife of Sherds: Architectural Reuse Strategies at the Monastery of John the Little, Wadi Natrun

Functional Aspects of Egyptian Ceramics within their Archaeological Context, eds. Bettina Bader and Mary Ownby, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Divine Architects: Designing the Monastic Dwelling Place

Egypt in the Byzantine World, 450-700, ed. by R. Bagnall, 2007

Several passages from the literary sources of early monasticism illustrate that monastics recogni... more Several passages from the literary sources of early monasticism illustrate that monastics recognized that not all spaces could foster spiritual encounters and that the true test of spiritual progress was found when one relocated to a space dedicated to ascetic living. Besa, a fifth-century abbot (466-74) of the famous White Monastery in Middle Egypt, wrote of the need for harmony in the community of the desert:

Research paper thumbnail of The Geography of the Monastic Cell in Early Egyptian Monastic Literature

Church History, Jan 1, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of "Redrawing a Portrait of Egyptian Monasticism," in MEDIEVAL MONKS AND THEIR WORLD, ed. Blanks, Frasetto and Livingstone, 2006.

Medieval Monks and Their World: Ideas and Realities; Studies in Honor of Richard E. Sullivan. Edited by David Blanks, Michael Frassetto, and Amy Livingstone. Brill's …, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of "The Archaeology of Monastic Households," in The Oxford Handbook of Christian Monasticism, ed. by Bernice M. Kaczynski (Oxford, 2020), 185–203.

Oxford Handbook of Christian Monasticism, 2020

This chapter explores the buildings and artefacts of late antique monastic sites in Egypt and Pal... more This chapter explores the buildings and artefacts of late antique monastic sites in Egypt and Palestine. It uses household archaeology to examine the daily behaviours of those who lived in monastic settlements. Household archaeology combines methodologies from archaeology, anthropology, geography, and history. Its application enables us to read the archaeology of monasticism with greater sophistication, so that the artefacts and the places of ordinary life can be interpreted alongside other sources, such as liturgy, images, and texts. Archaeological remains o er an additional lens for reading monastic settlements as complex households or homesteads, and they permit us to write a more nuanced history of monastic life.

Research paper thumbnail of "The Clever and the Cunning: Finding Eurasian Nomads in Premodern History"

The Light of Discovery: Studies in Honor of Edwin M. Yamauchi, ed. John Wineland, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of “A Geophysical Survey of Ancient Pherme: Magnetic Prospection at an Early Christian Monastic Site in the Egyptian Delta” (co-authored with D. Brooks Hedstrom and T. Herbich). In Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 44 (2007), 129–37

These surveys utilized the method of magnetic prospection, which enabled the YMAP team to map arc... more These surveys utilized the method of magnetic prospection, which enabled the YMAP team to map architectural remains beneath the surface with greater precision and detail than previously possible. This article reports on the results of their work.

Research paper thumbnail of "Archaeology at the White Monastery, 2005–2010" (co-authored with L. Blanke, E. Bolman, et al.). In Coptica 9 (2010), 25–58.

A synopsis of the archaeological surveys and excavations, architectural documentation, and art co... more A synopsis of the archaeological surveys and excavations, architectural documentation, and art conservation conducted at the White Monastery in Sohag, Egypt, from 2005 to 2010.

Research paper thumbnail of “New Archaeology at Ancient Scetis: Surveys and Initial Excavations at the Monastery of St. John the Little in Wādī al-Naṭrūn (Yale Monastic Archaeology Project)” (co-authored with D. Brooks Hedstrom, et al.). In Dumbarton Oaks Papers 64 (2011), 217–27.

Research paper thumbnail of The Excavation in the Monastery of Apa Shenute (Dayr Anba Shinuda) at Suhag, with an Appendix on Documentary Photography at the Monasteries of Anba Shinuda …

Dumbarton Oaks …, Jan 1, 2004

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Research paper thumbnail of The White Monastery Federation Project: Survey and Mapping at the Monastery of Apa Shenoute (Dayr al-Anba Shinuda), Sohag, 2005-2007

Dumbarton Oaks Papers 65-66 (2011-12): 333-364, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Life and Death in Lower and Upper Egypt: A Brief Survey of Recent Monastic Archaeology at Yale

Journal of the Canadian Society for Coptic Studies 3-4 (2012): 9-26

The Yale Monastic Archaeology Project (YMAP) sponsors surveys and excavations at two Coptic monas... more The Yale Monastic Archaeology Project (YMAP) sponsors surveys and excavations at two Coptic monastic sites in Egypt: the Monastery of St. John the Little in Wādī al-Nātrūn and the White Monastery at Sohag. Excavation work at the Monastery of St. John the Little has yielded evidence related to everyday life in a monastic dwelling, including wall paintings, dipinti (painted inscriptions), and the remains of foodstuffs from several kitchens. Archaeological analysis at the White Monastery has focused on a recently discovered tomb and funerary chapel associated with the early monastic leader Shenoute of Atripe. This article introduces readers to these recent findings and discusses their implications for our understanding of life and death in late ancient and early medieval Egyptian monasteries.

Research paper thumbnail of The Monastic Landscape of Late Antique Egypt: An Archaeological Reconstruction. Published: Cambridge University Press, 2017.

The Monastic Landscape of Late Antique Egypt: An Archaeological Reconstruction., 2017

The study of monastic archaeology is entering an exciting phase in its history. More archaeologis... more The study of monastic archaeology is entering an exciting phase in its history. More archaeologists and historians are studying the material remains of monastic communities to write a richer and more complex history of the past. The study of landscapes, monastic communities, and the value of excavations places monasteries in a wider context that is only enriching the connectivity of monastic and nonmonastic worlds. Darlene L. Brooks Hedstrom offers a new history of the field of Egyptian monastic archaeology. She traces how scholars identified a space or site as monastic within the Egyptian landscape and how such identifications impacted perceptions of monasticism. Brooks Hedstrom then provides an ecohistory of Egypt's tripartite landscape to offer a reorientation of the perception of the physical landscape. She analyzes late-antique documentary evidence, early monastic literature, and ecclesiastical history before turning to the extensive archaeological evidence of Christian monastic settlements. In doing so, she illustrates the stark differences between idealized monastic landscape and the actual monastic landscape that was urbanized through monastic constructions. Drawing upon critical theories in landscape studies, materiality and phenomenology, Brooks Hedstrom looks at domestic settlements of non-monastic and monastic settlements to posit what features makes monastic settlements unique, thus offering a new history of monasticism in Egypt.

Research paper thumbnail of Archaeology of the Earliest Monasteries, co-author H. Dey, in The Cambridge History of Medieval Monasticism in the Latin West, ed. A. Beach and I. Cochelin (Cambridge, 2020), 73–96.

Cambridge History of Medieval Western Monasticism, 2020

Comparative view of early monasticism in the East and West

Research paper thumbnail of "Archaeology of Early Christianity in Egypt"

in The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Archaeology, eds. David K. Pettegrew; William R. Caraher, and Thomas W. Davis, 2019

An overview of the archaeological remains for Christian communities in Egypt in the late Roman an... more An overview of the archaeological remains for Christian communities in Egypt in the late Roman and late antique periods. Chapter discusses the early scholarship on Christian Egypt (or lack thereof) and the excavation of churches, pilgrimage centers, and monasteries. The chapter concludes with a broad overview of remains of daily life that could be ascribed to Christian households.

Research paper thumbnail of The Archaeology of Early Monastic Communities

in The Oxford Handbook of Early Christian Archaeology, eds. David K. Pettegrew; William R. Caraher, and Thomas W. Davis, 2019

Research paper thumbnail of "Monks Baking Bread and Salting Fish: An Archaeology of Early Monastic Ascetic Taste," in Knowing Bodies, Passionate Souls: Sense Perceptions in Byzantium, ed. Susan Ashbook Harvey and Margaret Mullett (Washington, DC: Dumbarton Oaks, 2017), 183-206.

Research paper thumbnail of "Reconsidering the Emerging Monastic Desertscape," in Copts in Context: Negotiating Identity, Tradition, and Modernity, ed. Nelly van Doorn-Harder (South Carolina Press, 2017).

Reconsidering the Emerging Monastic Desertscape, 2017

Research paper thumbnail of "Treading on Antiquity: Anglo-American Missionaries and the Religious Landscape of Nineteenth-Century Coptic Egypt"

Material Religion

Anglo-American missionaries traveled to Egypt in the nineteenth century in the hopes of revitaliz... more Anglo-American missionaries traveled to Egypt in the nineteenth century in the hopes of revitalizing the Christian minority living under the Ottomans. They quickly realized that the Coptic Church, whose antiquity carried back to the first century, did not welcome or desire assistance from the Protestants. The missionaries were part of a larger colonial movement in the Middle East that drew them into direct contact with a material culture different from their own. The materiality of the Coptic Church, with its icons, Coptic manuscripts, monuments, and valued monastic hierarchy of saints, provided the rhetorical base for missionaries to articulate the deficiencies of the Copts in favor of the enlightened teachings of the Protestants. A complex layer of iconic images of the desolate desert, the lifeless tomb, and fanatics in the monasteries helped substantiate the colonial claim that Coptic Christianity was a ruined monument, akin to the ruined temples of antiquity. Travelogs and narratives of Anglo-American missionaries in Egypt provide a rich selection of evidence to examine the rhetorical strategies employed to legitimize why the Copts should abandon their traditional religion and adopt a new Christian heritage. The most effective image used was the desert as the uninhabited land of the uneducated and illiterate. The desert became an iconographic description to communicate the dire state of the Coptic Church.

Research paper thumbnail of "Models of Seeing and Reading Monastic Archaeology" Cistercian Studies Quarterly 48.3 (2013)

Research paper thumbnail of The Afterlife of Sherds: Architectural Reuse Strategies at the Monastery of John the Little, Wadi Natrun

Functional Aspects of Egyptian Ceramics within their Archaeological Context, eds. Bettina Bader and Mary Ownby, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Divine Architects: Designing the Monastic Dwelling Place

Egypt in the Byzantine World, 450-700, ed. by R. Bagnall, 2007

Several passages from the literary sources of early monasticism illustrate that monastics recogni... more Several passages from the literary sources of early monasticism illustrate that monastics recognized that not all spaces could foster spiritual encounters and that the true test of spiritual progress was found when one relocated to a space dedicated to ascetic living. Besa, a fifth-century abbot (466-74) of the famous White Monastery in Middle Egypt, wrote of the need for harmony in the community of the desert:

Research paper thumbnail of The Geography of the Monastic Cell in Early Egyptian Monastic Literature

Church History, Jan 1, 2009

Research paper thumbnail of "Redrawing a Portrait of Egyptian Monasticism," in MEDIEVAL MONKS AND THEIR WORLD, ed. Blanks, Frasetto and Livingstone, 2006.

Medieval Monks and Their World: Ideas and Realities; Studies in Honor of Richard E. Sullivan. Edited by David Blanks, Michael Frassetto, and Amy Livingstone. Brill's …, 2006

Research paper thumbnail of "The Archaeology of Monastic Households," in The Oxford Handbook of Christian Monasticism, ed. by Bernice M. Kaczynski (Oxford, 2020), 185–203.

Oxford Handbook of Christian Monasticism, 2020

This chapter explores the buildings and artefacts of late antique monastic sites in Egypt and Pal... more This chapter explores the buildings and artefacts of late antique monastic sites in Egypt and Palestine. It uses household archaeology to examine the daily behaviours of those who lived in monastic settlements. Household archaeology combines methodologies from archaeology, anthropology, geography, and history. Its application enables us to read the archaeology of monasticism with greater sophistication, so that the artefacts and the places of ordinary life can be interpreted alongside other sources, such as liturgy, images, and texts. Archaeological remains o er an additional lens for reading monastic settlements as complex households or homesteads, and they permit us to write a more nuanced history of monastic life.

Research paper thumbnail of "The Clever and the Cunning: Finding Eurasian Nomads in Premodern History"

The Light of Discovery: Studies in Honor of Edwin M. Yamauchi, ed. John Wineland, 2007

Research paper thumbnail of “A Geophysical Survey of Ancient Pherme: Magnetic Prospection at an Early Christian Monastic Site in the Egyptian Delta” (co-authored with D. Brooks Hedstrom and T. Herbich). In Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 44 (2007), 129–37

These surveys utilized the method of magnetic prospection, which enabled the YMAP team to map arc... more These surveys utilized the method of magnetic prospection, which enabled the YMAP team to map architectural remains beneath the surface with greater precision and detail than previously possible. This article reports on the results of their work.

Research paper thumbnail of "Archaeology at the White Monastery, 2005–2010" (co-authored with L. Blanke, E. Bolman, et al.). In Coptica 9 (2010), 25–58.

A synopsis of the archaeological surveys and excavations, architectural documentation, and art co... more A synopsis of the archaeological surveys and excavations, architectural documentation, and art conservation conducted at the White Monastery in Sohag, Egypt, from 2005 to 2010.

Research paper thumbnail of “New Archaeology at Ancient Scetis: Surveys and Initial Excavations at the Monastery of St. John the Little in Wādī al-Naṭrūn (Yale Monastic Archaeology Project)” (co-authored with D. Brooks Hedstrom, et al.). In Dumbarton Oaks Papers 64 (2011), 217–27.

Research paper thumbnail of The Excavation in the Monastery of Apa Shenute (Dayr Anba Shinuda) at Suhag, with an Appendix on Documentary Photography at the Monasteries of Anba Shinuda …

Dumbarton Oaks …, Jan 1, 2004

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Research paper thumbnail of The White Monastery Federation Project: Survey and Mapping at the Monastery of Apa Shenoute (Dayr al-Anba Shinuda), Sohag, 2005-2007

Dumbarton Oaks Papers 65-66 (2011-12): 333-364, 2011

Research paper thumbnail of Life and Death in Lower and Upper Egypt: A Brief Survey of Recent Monastic Archaeology at Yale

Journal of the Canadian Society for Coptic Studies 3-4 (2012): 9-26

The Yale Monastic Archaeology Project (YMAP) sponsors surveys and excavations at two Coptic monas... more The Yale Monastic Archaeology Project (YMAP) sponsors surveys and excavations at two Coptic monastic sites in Egypt: the Monastery of St. John the Little in Wādī al-Nātrūn and the White Monastery at Sohag. Excavation work at the Monastery of St. John the Little has yielded evidence related to everyday life in a monastic dwelling, including wall paintings, dipinti (painted inscriptions), and the remains of foodstuffs from several kitchens. Archaeological analysis at the White Monastery has focused on a recently discovered tomb and funerary chapel associated with the early monastic leader Shenoute of Atripe. This article introduces readers to these recent findings and discusses their implications for our understanding of life and death in late ancient and early medieval Egyptian monasteries.

Research paper thumbnail of Second Report on the Excavation in the Monastery of Apa Shenute (Dayr Anba Shinuda) at Suhag

Dumbarton Oaks …, Jan 1, 2009

JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, a... more JSTOR is a not-for-profit service that helps scholars, researchers, and students discover, use, and build upon a wide range of content in a trusted digital archive. We use information technology and tools to increase productivity and facilitate new forms of scholarship. For more information about JSTOR, please contact support@jstor.org.

Research paper thumbnail of The Archaeology of Late Antique Egypt

Encyclopedia of Global Archaeology, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Treading on Antiquity: Anglo-American Missionaries and the Religious Landscape of Nineteenth-Century Coptic Egypt

Material Religion: The Journal of Objects, Art and Belief, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Abu Mina

The Encyclopedia of Ancient History, 2012

Research paper thumbnail of Shenoute and a Recently Discovered Tomb Chapel at the White Monastery

Research paper thumbnail of Second report on the excavation in the Monastery of Apa Shenute (Dayr Anba Shinuda) at Suhag

Dumbarton Oaks Papers, 2009

SAAD MOHAMAD MOHAMAD OSMAN with a contribution by H ANS-CHRISTOPH NOESKE in collaboration with MO... more SAAD MOHAMAD MOHAMAD OSMAN with a contribution by H ANS-CHRISTOPH NOESKE in collaboration with MOHAMAD AHMAD ABD AL-RAHIM TARIK SAID ABD AL-FATAH| MAHMUD ABD AL-MUGDI following report on the archeological activities in the monastic ...

Research paper thumbnail of The Excavation in the Monastery of Apa Shenute (Dayr Anba Shinuda) at Suhag, with an Appendix on Documentary Photography at the Monasteries of Anba Shinuda …

Dumbarton Oaks …, Jan 1, 2004

... Peter Grossmann and Elizabeth S. Bolman are grateful to Dumbarton Oaks for funding their part... more ... Peter Grossmann and Elizabeth S. Bolman are grateful to Dumbarton Oaks for funding their part of the work de-scribed and documented in this report. ... 43, reprinted with some recent excavation results in The Coptic Encyclopedia, ed. AS Atiya 3 (New York, 1991): 766-69. ...