25 April 2023: The 74th Annual ARCE Annual Meeting is a Wrap!
ARCE-MO was well represented at ARCE’s 74th Annual Meeting held in Minneapolis, MN, this past weekend. It was lovely to connect with old friends, “Zoom friends,” and to make new connections.
ARCE-MO Board and Member highlights=
- Dr. Kathleen (Kate) Sheppard was elected VP of the Chapters Council.
- Leah Packard-Grams won Best Student Poster (https://escholarship.org/uc/item/25n2k5bn).
- Six ARCE-MO members presented their research: Dr. Nicola Aravecchia, Prof. Stacy Davidson, Dr. Lisa Saladino Haney, Dr. Sarah Schellinger, Dr. Kathleen Sheppard, and Dr. Julia Troche. Several also served as session/panel chairs.
- Volume 36 of the “Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections” titled “Beyond Egypt: Relations and Imaginations of the Ancient Past” was seen “in the wild” at the ISD booth (https://egyptianexpedition.org/volumes/vol-36-beyond-egypt-relations-and-imaginations-of-the-ancient-past/); it contains articles developed from the proceedings of the Second Missouri Egyptological Symposium which was held at Missouri State University in Oct 2019.
Hope to see you next year in Pittsburgh!
10 April 2023: ARCE-MO VP Dr. Julia Troche on Egyptomania (STL in-person event)
STL folks: ARCE-MO Vice President Dr. Julia Troche will be giving a talk on “Egyptomania” on Saturday 15 April 2023 at 1:30pm at the Newman Auditorium on the campus of John Burroughs School (755 South Price Road, STL, 63124).
22 Mar 2023: ARCE-MO Members Present at ARCE’s 74th Annual Meeting
Friday, 21 April 2023
10am
Dr. Nicola Aravecchia
Washington University in St. Louis
Results from the 2023 Excavation Season at Trimithis/Amheida (Dakhla Oasis)
Saturday, 22 April 2023
3pm
Dr. Kathleen Sheppard
Missouri S&T
The United States Encounters Antiquity: The 1890-91 Lecture Tour of Amelia Edwards and Kate Bradbury
3pm
Dr. Lisa Saladino Haney
Carnegie Museum of Natural History
How can co-creation change traditional narratives about ancient Egypt in museums?
3:30pm
Dr. Sarah M. Schellinger (presenter)
The Ohio State University
The King’s Brother Kariben: Continued Examination of Stela AMUM 1981.1.42
4pm
Dr. Julia Troche (co-presenter)
Missouri State University
Remembering Imhotep: Contemporary Egyptian Egyptomania
4:20pm
Prof. Stacy Davidson
Johnson County Community College
Redefining and Recentering the Egyptian Identity of Southern Illinois
10 Mar 2023: Dr. Anne Austin presents “Tattooed Women, Bes, and the Marsh: Connecting Tattooed Bodies and Figurines at Deir el-Medina, Egypt” for the Badè Museum, Pacific School of Religion and the Archaeological Research Facility
15 Feb 2023: Dr. Mariam Ayad & contributing scholars discuss ‘Women in Ancient Egypt’
Wednesday 15 March 2023, at 7:00pm Cairo time, Virtual Event
You won’t want to miss this panel discussion featuring ARCE-MO Board Member Dr. Anne Austin about the contributions to AUC Press’s Women in Ancient Egypt: Revisiting Power, Agency, And Autonomy.
Register here: https://aucegypt.zoom.us/webinar/register/1016758642036/WN_CesFarh2T0enq_KXoUs5Lg
9 Feb 2023: ‘A Floating Headquarters and a Working Laboratory’: Nile Travel and Professional Egyptology in America by Dr. Kathleen Sheppard
Hosted by: ISSE
When: Thursday 9th March 2023: 18.30 GMT
Cost: £5 or free for ISSE members
Registration link: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/isse-virtual-lecture-a-floating-headquarters-and-a-working-laboratory-tickets-528787927927
Online via Zoom
Dahabeahs and steamers are well known as useful in the history of leisured travel on the Nile in Egypt in the nineteenth and early twentieth century. They are also associated with the travel of Egyptologists when they were in country. This presentation will discuss the work of two main American Egyptologists, Charles Wilbour (1833-1896) and James Breasted 1865-1935), their travel on the Nile, and their subsequent impact on the discipline in the US.
One might argue that Charles Wilbour was not an Egyptologist, and you might be right. I will talk about his boat, the Seven Hathors, and the ways in which he built a circle of influential Egyptology friends on and around the boat. James Breasted was America’s first university- trained Egyptologist, and by 1907 he was so convinced of the utility of dahabeahs as places to do the science of Egyptology that he had proposed a grant to the Rockefeller Foundation for a custom-built steamer that he called a “floating headquarters and working laboratory.” While the boat never came to fruition for him, he was still successful in his ultimate mission in Egypt.
Dr. Kathleen Sheppard is associate professor in the History and Political Science department at Missouri S&T in Rolla, Missouri, USA. Her focus of study is the history of Egyptology. Her most recent book, Tea on the Terrace, investigates the role of hotels as nodes in the professional and friendship networks of Egyptologists in the late 19th and early 20th century. She received her MA in Egyptian Archaeology from UCL in 2002 and her PhD in History of Science in 2010.
10 Jan 2023: Greetings from Deir el-Medina!
ARCE-MO Board Members Dr. Julia Troche, Dr. Anne Austin, and Dr. Kate Sheppard met up at Deir el-Medina!
19 Dec 2023: Publication Announcement—”Beyond Egypt: Relations and Imaginations of the Ancient Past,” JAEI 36
The Proceedings from the Second Annual Missouri Egyptological Symposium (2019) have been published in the “Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections.” Edited by ARCE-MO Vice President Dr. Julia Troche and Dr. Bryan Brinkman, ARCE-MO members Prof. Stacy Davidson, Dr. Lisa Saladino Haney, Rozanne Klinzing, Clara McCafferty Wright, and Ella McCafferty Wright contributed.
21 Jan 2023: “Hieroglyphic Stelae: A Study in Image and Text,” a SASA Master Class with ARCE-MO President Stacy Davidson and Mayanist Catherine Nuckols-Wilde
Both the Maya and the ancient Egyptians created and displayed the object type we call a stela (a sizable slab of stone with images and writing) for different purposes, including: to record major events and provide for the dead in the Afterlife. You can see stelae (the plural of stela) in museums around the world today. When they are displayed in museums, particularly in art museums, the focus is on the striking visuals of these objects—less so on the valuable cultural information their inscriptions contain. If you have ever been curious about the pictographic writing of the Egyptians and the Maya, want to understand basic linguistic information about the two hieroglyphic writing systems, and would like to study cultural information that will bring ancient Egyptians and Maya people to life, this Master Class is for you. Both Catherine Nuckols-Wilde (Mayanist) and ARCE-MO President Stacy Davidson (Egyptologist) will give a brief overview of the stela form and how they were used similarly and differently in the two respective cultures they study. They will then provide basic hieroglyphic language instruction that you can apply the next time you see a Maya or Egyptian stela in a museum or look at a museum’s catalog online. The Master Class will end with a practical application of your newly-acquired hieroglyphic and cultural knowledge when you design your own ancient Egyptian stela and choose which information you would include on a Maya stela.
This event is free but space is limited.
“We Are For Egypt” Launch: Digital Exhibit, Album, and Educational Handbook
Congratulations to ARCE-MO’s President Stacy Davidson for the launch of her research project “We Are For Egypt” (supported by a Mellon/ACLS Community College Faculty Fellowship which includes a digital exhibit, musical album, and educational handbook. View the exhibit, listen to the recordings, and learn more about the musicians, artists, and technicians who contributed to the project–including album Producer Jenny Pape of Miss Jenny and The Howdy Boys. The digital exhibit is hosted by the Special Collections Research Center at Southern Illinois University in Carbondale, IL at Morris Library.
“We Are For Egypt” Album Release Party, 27 November 2022, in Elkville, IL
ARCE-MO President Stacy Davidson has been working on a project supported by a Mellon/ACLS Community College Faculty Fellowship. Part of that work includes executive producing a musical album highlighting the musical heritage of Southern Illinois also known as “Little Egypt” or “Egypt.” The recordings will be available digitally, but there is a limited cd print run as well as a live album release event.
“We Are For Egypt” features new and traditional songs from Southern Illinois and features songwriters and musicians including Rip Lee Pryor, Banjo Joe and Danielle Hartline, Regina Zavala, Beth Davis, Dan Goett, Nathan Graham, Chad Shaffer, Josh Morrison, Tobias Merriman, Lew Hendrix, Mila Maring-Sims, John Reimbold, Kendall Bell, Eva Joy Angeline Fisher, Mark Stoffel, Alexander Pape, Dakota Holden, Kyle Triplett, Stefan Santiago and the Prairie du Rocher Singers aka Gerry Franklin, Camlamity Mo, Marc Morin, and Gabe Doiron, Jenny Pape, and Miss Jenny and The Howdy Boys. Southern Illinois record label River to River Community Records will manage the digital distribution.
The album release will take place on Sunday, 27 Nov 2022, at Route 51 Brewery in Elkville, IL. Doors open at 5pm. The show begins at 6pm. Tickets are available here. All proceeds go to the musicians/technicians.
13 Sept 2022: Scholarship Opportunity!
ARCE-Missouri is excited to announce a scholarship opportunity. Any member of ARCE-MO (U.S. citizen or permanent resident) may apply, as long as you have not received a scholarship within the last two calendar years. If you are not a member of ARCE, you may still apply, but the cost for a 1 year ARCE-MO membership ($45 for students and $75 regular) must be included in your total request. If you are a member of ARCE and are selected then we will expect you to affiliate with the Missouri chapter in order to receive the award.
This scholarship can support a wide range of Egyptology related needs, such as (but by no means an exhaustive list):
- Books or other materials for personal research or for a class
- Travel support to attend an Egyptology conference (e.g. the Missouri Egyptological Symposium or ARCE Annual Meeting)
- Educational materials for a K-12 classroom, museum educational event, or other educational opportunity.
You may apply for a scholarship up to $150 (this is inclusive of membership if you are asking for this in your application), though most awards will be in the range of $100. ARCE-MO will evaluate applications and may offer a scholarship in whole or in part of the requested amount. Priority will be given to current ARCE-MO members and first-time applicants. To apply, please fill out this google form. First round of consideration will be given to applications submitted by 5pm CST on Tuesday September 20, 2022. If not all scholarships are awarded at this time, a second round of consideration will be held for applications submitted by October 4, 2022.
The next scholarship cycle will be held in Spring 2023. If you would like to support this scholarship effort, please reach out to ARCEMissouri@gmail.com with the subject heading “scholarship contribution” for more information.
Application Format and Questions
The application will be a Google Form. You will be asked to input answers to these prompts online. We recommend, though, that you type out your answers in a word document first and then copy/paste your replies into the form only after you are done. This will ensure your work is saved if something goes wrong with the form and will help you identify any typos.
- Name
- If a minor, your legal guardian’s authorization is expected to be emailed to ARCEMissouri@gmail.com prior to your application, with the subject heading “scholarship authorization YOUR LAST NAME”.
- If a student, upload a picture of your student ID.
- Email (professional or educational email preferred; if at all possible avoid Gmail and similar accounts)
- One paragraph description (approx. 250-500 words) of what you would like to use the AMS award for and how this would help you in achieving your educational, scholarly, or professional goals.
- Detailed estimated budget (up to $150)
2 Sept 2022: Register for “Nubia and its Neighbors: Non-Kushite Elements on Napatan and Meroitic Architecture”
ARCE-MO Member Dr. Sarah Schellinger (who also serves on ARCE-MO’s Symposium and Fundraising Committee) is giving a free Zoom lecture for ARCE-NE on Thursday, 29 Sept 2022, at 5pm Central/6pm Eastern. “Nubia and its Neighbors: Non-Kushite Elements on Napatan and Meroitic Architecture” will illustrate how the Napatan (ca. 800 – 300 BCE) and Meroitic (ca. 300 BCE – 350 CE) kingdoms incorporated foreign decorative elements into their architecture while also expressing their culture in its own right.
Registration is free and open to the public. Register here.
Dr. Schellinger’s book “Nubia: Lost Civilizations” will be out soon with Reaktion Books.
30 Aug 2022: Register for “From Egypt to Pittsburgh” with Dr. Lisa Saladino Haney (online via Zoom)
Dr. Lisa Saladino Haney is presenting “From Egypt To Pittsburgh” for the Carnegie Museum of Natural History on Thursday, 8 Sept 2022, at 7-8pm Eastern.
Did you know 2022 marks the 100th anniversary of the excavation of Tutankhamun’s tomb? What better way to celebrate than with an in-depth dive into Carnegie Museum of Natural History’s upcoming exhibition, From Egypt to Pittsburgh? Join Assistant Curator, Dr. Lisa Saladino Haney, as she explores a group of objects from the site of Amarna—the ancient Egyptian capital city founded by Tutankhamun‘s father—and traces their journey into the museum‘s care.
Dr. Lisa Saladino Haney is an Assistant Curator at Carnegie Museum of Natural History. She received her PhD in Egyptology from the University of Pennsylvania; she also holds an MA in Ancient Near Eastern and Egyptian Studies and a concentration in Museum Studies from New York University; and received a BA in Antiquities from Missouri State University. Dr. Haney has excavated in Egypt and Oman and her research has focused largely on the archaeology and material culture of Egypt‘s Middle Kingdom (ca. 2030–1650 BCE), particularly the reign of Senwosret III. Her research utilizes archaeology, textual sources, and material culture to examine how the kings of Egypt‘s 12th Dynasty chose to have themselves represented and why. She is also interested in Egyptian trade and interconnections with Near East and how various modes of visual representation were transmitted throughout the ancient world.
15 August 2022: Davidson SCS Interview
ARCE-MO President Stacy Davidson has been featured in an interview titled “Innovation, Inspiration, and Initiative: Community College Adjuncts in Ancient Studies” on the Society for Classical Studies‘ blog. In this article, Prof. Davidson and a colleague in Maryland, Prof. Erika Bucciantini, describe the challenges and opportunities adjunct faculty experience in teaching ancient studies at community colleges.
28 July 2022: Call for Committee Participation!
Committee Participation Interest Form: https://forms.gle/LvG4pfjFRXt4hBD7A
Join one of ARCE-MO’s Committees! We have two new committees for our members to join that will have a real impact on ARCE-MO. Both committees have 2 open spots! All committee meetings will take place virtually over zoom (or similar program), so residence in Missouri is not a requirement.
1. The Education and Outreach Committee (EOC)
2. The Symposium and Fundraising Committee (SFC).
Representatives of the ARCE-MO Board will be on both committees, but the only requirement for participation is to be an ARCE-MO member. The primary ongoing responsibilities of the committees are included below, but our focus for this first term will be (1) developing and writing the electronic Newsletter (EOC) and (2) developing and assessing our first round of scholarships (SFC).
Become a part of an active and enthusiastic network and contribute your skills to make our organization even more effective.
- The EOC is ideal for anyone interested in education or pedagogy and for anyone interested in writing fun and engaging newsletters and/or social media posts.
- The SFC is ideal for anyone who wants to gain experience in or already enjoys event-planning and anyone who wants to be part of the very important group that will decide how scholarships are assigned. Note members of this committee are not eligible for scholarships while serving on the committee.
To participate in either or both of these committees please fill out this interest form by August 10, 2022 and we will let you know by August 15, 2022.
The Fine Print
The committees and Board positions are open to any member of ARCE-MO, including students, academics, and anyone interested in our work. Board members must be 18 years or older. Committee members must be 16 years or older. An up-to-date ARCE-MO membership is required while serving. If you are not a current ARCE-MO member, you must be willing to become one within 1 week of joining a committee.
We ask that committee members commit to serving a 2 year term (with the possibility of renewal). Committee members could be expected to attend one 1.5 hour meeting each month. We expect an additional 4-5 hours of work outside of these meetings, for a total time commitment of around 6 hours/month on average. Some months may ask more of committee members (e.g. when the symposium planning is happening) and other months may have no meetings or additional work. We are looking for dedicated, responsible, and reliable partners who will take their committee service seriously.
Full Committee Charges
The Education and Outreach Committee
- There are four main charges for the Education and Outreach Committee:
- Develop and disseminate accurate and usable educational materials (K-12, college, or museum settings) in a consistent format.
- Engage in community and membership outreach through social media, the ARCE-MO website, and an ARCE-MO electronic Newsletter
- Develop and Publish an ARCE-MO Newsletter that is mailed out (electronically) at least every three months in February, May, August, and November
- Develop new content for ARCE-MO website and social media for the purposes of education, growing membership, and/or broad community engagement
- Symposium and Fundraising Committee also has four main charges:
- Develop a fundraising campaign goal, and strategy for reaching this goal, for the fiscal year
- Organize and advertise the Missouri Egyptological Symposium each year in October
- Develop a list of current and possible donors with contact information. Work with the Board to maintain good relationships and contact with these members
- Write calls for and oversee the evaluation of ARCE-MO chapter grants/fellowships/scholarships
We look forward to working with you!
14 July 2022:
ARCE-MO Director Dr. Kathleen Sheppard’s book, Tea on the Terrace: Hotels and Egyptologists’ social networks, 1885-1925, is available for pre-order and will be out on 2 Aug 2022. She just received her author’s copy!
4 May 2022: Dr. Kathleen Sheppard Speaks at ARCE-Chicago
Dr. Kathleen Sheppard’s gave an ARCE-Chicago talk at 5pm Central on 4 June 2022 titled ‘The work I have so often dreamed of’: The Career of Caroline Ransom Williams, 1898-1952.
Caroline Ransom, in her time, was an influential figure in the history of Egyptian art and archaeology, but today she is not well-known. Some have argued that her work was not as important as many other of her colleagues, and so she is not as worthy of study. However, in her time at institutions like the University of Chicago, Bryn Mawr College, and the Metropolitan Museum of Art from 1898-1952, she established herself as a cornerstone of the discipline. I will discuss the life and career of Caroline Ransom in detail in order to demonstrate that her foundational work—the work she so often dreamed of—built the discipline of Egyptology in the United States in its earliest days.
Dr. Kathleen Sheppard is Associate Professor at Missouri S&T in the history and political science department. She is the author of two monographs: The Life of Margaret Alice Murray: A Woman’s Work in Egyptology (Lexington, 2013), and Tea on the Terrace: Hotels and Egyptologists’ Social Networks, 1885-1925 (Manchester UP, 2022) which is an analysis of the role of hotels in the development of the Western discipline of Egyptology. She also edited the collection of letters between Caroline Ransom Williams and James Henry Breasted in the archives of the Oriental Institute (Archaeopress, 2018). Sheppard earned her PhD in history of science from the University of Oklahoma in 2010.
27 April 2022: Dr. Anne Austin Presents for YELS
Dr. Anne Austin presented her research, “Revealing the Practice of Tattooing in Ancient Egypt,” for the Yale Egyptological Lecture Series. You can read an open-access publication on this topic here.
23 April 2022: Congratulations to Dr. Julia Troche
Congratulations to ARCE-MO VP Dr. Julia Troche on her election to the American Research Center in Egypt’s Board of Directors! We are proud of her accomplishment and excited for the perspective she will bring to the Board.
20 April 2022: ARCE-MO at ARCE
Several ARCE-MO Members are presenting at the ARCE Annual Meeting in Irvine, CA, from 22-24 April 2022. Mark your conference schedules for these presentations. A full schedule can be found here.
19 April 2022:
Read a Mind’s Eye profile about ARCE-MO VP Dr. Julia Troche here. The article covers her teaching philosophy, latest book release, archaeological work, Egypt in sci fi and more!
22 March 2022:
Listen to a KSMU interview with ARCE-MO VP Dr. Julia Troche about her book, “Death, Power, and Apotheosis in Ancient Egypt: The Old and Middle Kingdoms,” published by Cornell University Press.
21 March 2022:
ARCE-MO Director Dr. Kathleen Sheppard presents on Monday, 21 March 2022 at 8pm Central/ 7pm Mountain for the Egypt Study Society. Her talk is titled “Women’s Work: Maggie Benson, Janet Gourlay, and the Temple of Mut at Karnak.” Description: “In 1896, Margaret Benson, known to her friends as Maggie, began excavating at the Temple of Mut, in Karnak, near the village of Luxor, Egypt. She was the first woman to be granted official permission to excavate in Egypt, making this a groundbreaking season. She also centered the work of the excavation at the Luxor Hotel, about 2 miles away from the site. The Luxor Hotel was comfortable, well-appointed and heavily British. Benson therefore made it a center of knowledge creation and dissemination for the excavation. Benson was not the first archaeologist to do this, but she was the first woman to do so, and the hotel setting would have a major impact on the excavation and her life going forward. This talk will detail Benson’s three years of excavation and staying at the Luxor Hotel, culminating in the first major publication of the site, The Temple of Mut in Asher (1899) with her partner Janet Gourlay.” Visit the ESS’s Event Page for viewing instructions.
11 March 2022:
ARCE-MO is thrilled to announce Vice President Dr. Julia Troche’s nomination to the ARCE Board of Governors! Congratulations! We know that she will be an invaluable addition to the Board.
The election will take place at the Annual Meeting in Irvine next month. If you are an ARCE member, you will receive instructions from ARCE National about the election process.
Her bio:
“Dr. Julia Troche (nominated Elected Governor) is currently the director of undergraduate studies and teaches in the Department of History at Missouri State University. She specializes in courses on ancient Egypt, the ancient Near East, archaeology and ancient history, world history, and sometimes Middle Egyptian hieroglyphs. She co-founded both the American Research Center in Egypt, Missouri Chapter (where she serves as vice president) and the annual Missouri Egyptological Symposium. Her first book, published with Cornell University Press in 2021, is titled “Death, Power and Apotheosis in Ancient Egypt: The Old and Middle Kingdoms” and explores the social, religious and political ramifications of the deification of certain special dead. Her research also explores material culture (e.g. funerary cones and epigraphic graffiti studies), education in ancient Egypt, contemporary pedagogies of teaching ancient history and Egyptomania—the obsession and appropriation of ancient Egypt throughout history. She is committed to advocating for students, early career scholars, and contingent faculty, and fostering inclusive spaces for learning about the ancient world. Dr. Troche received her PhD in Egyptology & Assyriology from Brown University in 2015, and her BA in History from UCLA in 2008.”
8 March 2022:
ARCE-MO Director Dr. Anne Austin was featured in ARCE’s International Women’s Day video, #BreakTheBias.
The American Research Center in Egypt Missouri Chapter 