0.4 Analyzing symbols in artifacts: the souvenir of egypt  (Page 2/8)

We want to determine what faculty members in different departments might be able to help us with our project. From the Rice homepage , select the undergraduates option under the Gateways for... heading, then select the "Academics" pulldownmenu and click on departments . You will find a list of all the departments at the university. Each department typicallyincludes a list of all of its faculty members and their areas of expertise. For instance, under "Faculty" on the English department home page we find faculty divided by specialty, such as Nineteenth Century Literature:

The protocol of contacting experts

First, professors are busy people. It would be inconsiderate to simply drop in on them unannounced. Make sure you contact them bytelephone or email to request a few minutes of assistance.

Second, give some thought to what it is you want to know. Then put some time into trying to figure it out for yourself. If it is obvious to the personyou are requesting assistance from that you have made no attempt to solve the riddle yourself, he or she may not be as enthusiastic to help you as they might if you seemed tohave given the issue some serious thought.

Third, you will probably be guided in a direction, rather than handed an answer. This is the nature of the teacher-student relationship. Even ifthe person you ask for help is not your teacher, the fact that you are asking them to advise you on a research issue places them in the position of instructor.Remember, you are learning how to do research, not how to panhandle for information.

Fourth, by seeking the assistance of a professional you are also entering into a professional relationship with them, so all of the protocols ofthe professional relationship apply here. We would suggest sticking as close to a formal address as you can without going overboard. Beginning one's professionalrelationships on the highest level of mutual respect is the best way to insure the success of your projects.

Our exchange with the experts

“I believe that printed fabric souvenirs, especially silk, became popular near the end of c 19, in part because they were easy to carry.”

“The lower part seems quite interesting, all the orientalist visual tropes for Egypt: the 3 pyramids of Giza, the Nile, the “fellah” (peasants), thepalm trees, the camel – it’s all there. Compositionally, this reminds me of the old Ottoman “genealogical” portrait trees. You might want to look at The Sultan’sPortrait or Portraits of the Sultans, key in the two words, we should have it at Brown (library at Rice). Look up also Ottoman photography and try to find thephotography album of Abdulhamid.”