Peter Dorman
Encyclopedia
Peter Fitzgerald Dorman (born 1948) is an epigraphist, philologist, and cultural anthropologist. He currently serves as the 15th President of the American University of Beirut
(AUB). He spent most of his career as a professor and chair in the department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC) of the University of Chicago
, and was director of Chicago House
and the Epigraphic Survey project of the Oriental Institute
.
Dorman is an international leader in the study of the ancient Near East, excelling as a historiographer, epigrapher and philologist. He is the author and editor of several major books and many articles on the study of ancient Egypt and is probably best known for his historical work on the reign of Hatshepsut
and the Amarna period
. He occasionally spars with Zahi Hawass
over the interpretation and appropriation of artifacts and texts associated with this period and their relevance to modern Egyptian identity and pride. His most recent monograph, Faces in Clay: Technique, Imagery, and Allusion in a Corpus of Ceramic Sculpture from Ancient Egypt (2002), examines artisanal craftsmanship in light of material culture, iconography, and religious texts. In 2007, he and Betsy M. Bryan
of The Johns Hopkins University
came out with an edited volume titled Sacred Space and Sacred Function in Ancient Thebes.
An accomplished academic leader and administrator, since 2002 he has chaired with great success the distinguished Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at one of the world's top research universities, the University of Chicago. Prior to that, he spent nine years (1988–1997) heading the epigraphic efforts at Chicago House in Luxor, Egypt. From 1977 to 1988, he worked in curatorial positions in the Department of Egyptian Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
in New York.
Peter Dorman was also an amateur lyric tenor in Chicago, performing with Golosa (The University of Chicago Russian Choir), the Gilbert and Sullivan
Society of The University of Chicago, and Vestostertones Barbershop Quartet.
On March 21, 2008, the Board of Trustees selected Peter F. Dorman to be the 15th president of the American University of Beirut
(effective July 1, 2008). He succeeded John Waterbury
who was president from 1998 to 2008. He is also the grandson of Alice Bliss, which makes the founder Reverend Daniel Bliss his great-great grandfather.
American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
(AUB). He spent most of his career as a professor and chair in the department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC) of the University of Chicago
University of Chicago
The University of Chicago is a private research university in Chicago, Illinois, USA. It was founded by the American Baptist Education Society with a donation from oil magnate and philanthropist John D. Rockefeller and incorporated in 1890...
, and was director of Chicago House
Chicago house
Chicago house is a style of house music, a genre of electronic dance music which emerged in Chicago in the mid-1980s. Stylistically, Chicago house has no widely accepted definition, but generally includes the first house music productions by Chicago-based artists throughout the 1980s, and any later...
and the Epigraphic Survey project of the Oriental Institute
Oriental Institute
Oriental Institute may refer to a number of institutes of Oriental studies:United States* Oriental Institute, Chicago, part of the University of ChicagoEngland* Oriental Institute, Oxford, part of the University of Oxford...
.
Dorman is an international leader in the study of the ancient Near East, excelling as a historiographer, epigrapher and philologist. He is the author and editor of several major books and many articles on the study of ancient Egypt and is probably best known for his historical work on the reign of Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut
Hatshepsut also Hatchepsut; meaning Foremost of Noble Ladies;1508–1458 BC) was the fifth pharaoh of the eighteenth dynasty of Ancient Egypt...
and the Amarna period
Amarna Period
The Amarna Period was an era of Egyptian history during the latter half of the Eighteenth Dynasty when the royal residence of the pharaoh and his queen was shifted to Akhetaten in what is now modern-day Amarna...
. He occasionally spars with Zahi Hawass
Zahi Hawass
Zahi Hawass is an Egyptian archaeologist, an Egyptologist, and former Minister of State for Antiquities Affairs. He has also worked at archaeological sites in the Nile Delta, the Western Desert, and the Upper Nile Valley....
over the interpretation and appropriation of artifacts and texts associated with this period and their relevance to modern Egyptian identity and pride. His most recent monograph, Faces in Clay: Technique, Imagery, and Allusion in a Corpus of Ceramic Sculpture from Ancient Egypt (2002), examines artisanal craftsmanship in light of material culture, iconography, and religious texts. In 2007, he and Betsy M. Bryan
Betsy Bryan
Betsy Morrell Bryan is an American Egyptologist who is leading a team that is excavating the Precinct of Mut complex in Karnak, at Luxor in Upper Egypt....
of The Johns Hopkins University
Johns Hopkins University
The Johns Hopkins University, commonly referred to as Johns Hopkins, JHU, or simply Hopkins, is a private research university based in Baltimore, Maryland, United States...
came out with an edited volume titled Sacred Space and Sacred Function in Ancient Thebes.
An accomplished academic leader and administrator, since 2002 he has chaired with great success the distinguished Department of Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations at one of the world's top research universities, the University of Chicago. Prior to that, he spent nine years (1988–1997) heading the epigraphic efforts at Chicago House in Luxor, Egypt. From 1977 to 1988, he worked in curatorial positions in the Department of Egyptian Art at the Metropolitan Museum of Art
Metropolitan Museum of Art
The Metropolitan Museum of Art is a renowned art museum in New York City. Its permanent collection contains more than two million works, divided into nineteen curatorial departments. The main building, located on the eastern edge of Central Park along Manhattan's Museum Mile, is one of the...
in New York.
Peter Dorman was also an amateur lyric tenor in Chicago, performing with Golosa (The University of Chicago Russian Choir), the Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan
Gilbert and Sullivan refers to the Victorian-era theatrical partnership of the librettist W. S. Gilbert and the composer Arthur Sullivan . The two men collaborated on fourteen comic operas between 1871 and 1896, of which H.M.S...
Society of The University of Chicago, and Vestostertones Barbershop Quartet.
On March 21, 2008, the Board of Trustees selected Peter F. Dorman to be the 15th president of the American University of Beirut
American University of Beirut
The American University of Beirut is a private, independent university in Beirut, Lebanon. It was founded as the Syrian Protestant College by American missionaries in 1866...
(effective July 1, 2008). He succeeded John Waterbury
John Waterbury
John Waterbury is an American academic that served as the 14th president of the American University of Beirut between 1998 and 2008. He was the first president to reside in Beirut since 1984...
who was president from 1998 to 2008. He is also the grandson of Alice Bliss, which makes the founder Reverend Daniel Bliss his great-great grandfather.