Life and Works
Assmann studied Egyptology and classical archaelogy in Munich, Heidelberg, Paris und Göttingen. In 1966-67 he was a fellow of the German Archaeological Insitute in Cairo, where he continued as an independent scholar from 1967 to 1971. After completing his habilitation in 1971, he was named a professor of Egyptology at the University of Heidelberg in 1976, where he taught until his retirement in 2003. He was then named an honorary professor of Cultural Studies at the University of Constance, where he is today.
In the 1990s Assmann and his wife Aleida Assmann developed a theory of cultural and communicative memory that has received much international attention. He is also known beyond egyptological circles for his interpretation of the origins of monotheism, which he dates to the Exodus from Egypt of the Israelites.
Read more about this topic: Jan Assmann
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