Ethiopian Studies

Ethiopian Studies refers to a multi-disciplinary academic cluster dedicated to research on Ethiopia within the cultural and historical context of the Horn of Africa.

The classical concept of Ethiopian Studies, developed by European scholars, is based on disciplines like philology and linguistics, history and ethnography. It includes the study of Ethiopian arts and the history and theology of the Ethiopian Orthodox Church. The classical core of Ethiopian Studies is the philology of the written sources of Christian Ethiopia and Ethio-semitic linguistics. While this approach is still alive and has its role, Ethiopian Studies has opened to a wider concept that tries to avoid a bias in favour of the Christian Abyssinian culture (Amhara, Tigrinya; cf. Habesha people). It includes the study of the other Afro-Asiatic languages and cultures of Ethiopia besides those of Ethio-semitic derivation; the nation's non-Afro-Asiatic languages and cultures, including the southern Ethiopian cultures; non-Christian faiths, comprising Islam and traditional religions; social and political sciences; as well as contemporary issues like environment and development studies.

The study of Ethiopian topics had been long been concentrated in European academic institutions. This is seen in such examples as Enno Littmann directing the German Aksum-Expedition in Ethiopia in 1905. When Italy invaded Ethiopia, some Italian scholars such as Enrico Cerulli were active in Ethiopia. As a result, many Ethiopian manuscript collections and other materials from Ethiopia are found in European museums and libraries.

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