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I will then compare the interpretations of the three temples with each other in order to see if
interpretations made using the globalisation perspective differ significantly from those made
without it. The reason I am using three temples is to make this part of my study more reliable, if all
three new interpretations significantly differ from those made before it this would show that using
the globalisation perspective as a theoretical framework can give us valuable new insights.
As an extra goal for this study I would like to clearly separate the description of the temples and
my own interpretation, to make it clear to the reader which parts are descriptions of architectural
or decorational elements and which are interpretations of these elements.
Introduction globalisation debate
The globalisation debate is a debate about the definition of globalisation and since when
globalisation has existed. The problem with globalisation is that there are many different opinions
about what it is exactly. Some people believe globalisation is a continuous process that started in
antiquity and is still going on today, such as Neverveen Pieterse , some believe there are different
periods of globalisation with their own characteristics, but do share some general characteristics,
such as Tamar Hodos and Justin Jennings. There are also people who believe globalisation is a
process unique to the present and did not take place at all before the modern period, such as John
Tomlinson (Hodos 2017, 4; Jennings 2010, 2-3; 7; 17).
This makes using globalisation as a theoretical framework somewhat complicated. What I will
therefore do in my research is chose one definition and viewpoint on globalisation for the purpose
of this thesis and do assume globalisation was taking place in the Roman period in Egypt. This does
not cover all different opinions on the matter and therefore the opinion of someone with a
different definition of and viewpoint on globalisation may differ significantly from mine.
The definition of the word that I will be using is a definition by Tamar Hodos: “the process by which
the world increasingly becomes seen as one place and the ways in which we are made conscious of
that process” (Hodos 2017, 4).