Vast scholarly knowledge of Egyptians was compiled without native input to serve French domination

Evidence

This work resulted in the publication of Description of Egypt, a compendium in twenty-three volumes published between 1809 and 1828. Its detailed information on every aspect of Egyptian society, from monuments to facial structures, was created for use not by Egyptians but by the French. While there is much accurate and valuable information in the Description, the important point that Said makes is that such vast knowledge was amassed without the input of the native people. This account of Egypt, Said argues, served to displace Egypt’s own sense of itself and its place in the world in favor of a French colonial vision of the same. It was ultimately created to help the French dominate the Egyptians. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 114 (#expands, via linked claim)

In 1795, the School of Living Oriental Languages was established in Paris. When Napoleon invaded Egypt a few years later, he was able to take with him Orientalists whose knowledge could be put to use for colonial purposes. Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798 stands out as the first instance when knowledge about the native people became central to a colonizing mission. — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 105 (#expands, via linked claim)

Categorization

• XREF: connects to: Colonial scholarship amassed vast knowledge about Egypt without any native input.; French colonial scholarship displaced Egyptians’ own self-understanding — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 114; The Description de l’Egypte founded Egyptology but not Arabic studies — Robert Irwin, For Lust of Knowing: The Orientalists…, 251 (+3 more)

Broader Connections

• Colonial scholarship amassed vast knowledge about Egypt without any native input. #corroborates (1.00)
• French colonial scholarship displaced Egyptians’ own self-understanding #expands (0.85) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 114
• Napoleon’s failed Egyptian invasion modeled scholarly exploitation for later empires #expands (0.80)
• Napoleon’s 1798 Egypt invasion made scholarly knowledge central to colonization #expands (0.80) — Deepa Kumar, Islamophobia and the Politics of Empire, 105
• The Description de l’Egypte founded Egyptology but not Arabic studies #qualifies (0.75) — Robert Irwin, For Lust of Knowing, 251
• The French invasion of Egypt impoverished Cairene families and disrupted al-Azhar educations #exemplifies (0.70) — Eve M. Troutt Powell, A Different Shade of Colonialism_…, 151