Class Description
From ancient tombs to films, the image of the Pharaohs has long captured the world’s imagination. But how did the study of ancient Egypt take shape, and who gets to tell its story? This course explores the entangled histories of Egyptology, colonialism, nationalism, and popular culture, tracing how pharaonic imagery has been mobilized in museums, tourism, cinema, and politics.
Through film clips, archival materials, and critical readings of primary sources, participants will uncover how antiquities were collected, displayed, and mythologized—sometimes as symbols of imperial power, other times as markers of Egyptian national pride. We will also examine contemporary debates on decolonizing Egyptology and reclaiming pharaonic heritage in postcolonial Egypt.
This class asks: How did nineteenth-century Egyptomania and Egyptology shape ideas of ancient as well as modern Egypt? How did museums function as colonial showrooms, and in what ways was archaeology an extractive enterprise? How has the postcolonial Egyptian state engaged with this legacy? What does the ongoing global fascination with ancient Egypt reveal about power, heritage, and cultural identity today?
All virtual classes are recorded and made available to participants registered in the class. These recordings are password-protected and available for up to two weeks after the class ends.
Karim Elhaies is a PhD candidate in Cinema Studies at New York University and co-founder of IDCtheory and Algarabia Language Coop. He holds an MA in Middle Eastern Studies from Columbia University. His dissertation studies the history, politics, and aesthetics of Egyptian Cinema with a special focus on the relationship between old and new genres and waves of filmmaking.
What to Expect
Format: Virtual
Class Capacity: 18
Class Style: Mix of lecture and discussion; participation encouraged
Materials List
Required
- Instructor-Distributed Materials
Recommended
The instructor will distribute PDFs of the 4 chapters we will read.
- Donald Malcolm Reid, Whose Pharaohs?: Archaeology, Museums, and Egyptian National Identity from Napoleon to World War I. University of California Press, 2003. ISBN: 978-0520240698
First Reading
- Read the Introduction and Chapter 1 of Donald Malcolm Reid's Whose Pharaohs?
- Watch Youssef Chahine's 1994 film The Emigrant (Instructor will provide the link one week before class)
Outline of Topics
- The Pharaohs Between Biblical and Colonial Egyptomania
- New Ways of Seeing the Pharaohs
- Museums and World Fairs
- Pharaonic Art and Culture
- Moving Mummies
- Postcolonial Pharaohs
Cost and Registration
5 Sessions, $255 ($229.50 for Newberry members, seniors, and students). Learn about becoming a member.
We offer our classes at three different price options: Regular ($255), Community Supported ($235), and Sponsor ($275). Following the models of other institutions, we want to ensure that our classes are accessible to a wider audience while continuing to support our instructors. You may choose the price that best fits your situation when registering through Learning Stream.
To register multiple people for this class, please go through the course calendar in Learning Stream, our registration platform. When you select the course and register, you’ll be prompted to add another registrant.
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