Forthcoming Egypt Centre Courses

Over the past year, the Egypt Centre has organised eight successful short courses via Zoom. This new platform allowed us to attract a larger and more international audience. These courses have been attended by over 1000 participants, which is much more than what would have been possible had they taken place at Swansea. Sessions take place on Sunday evenings and are repeated live on Wednesday mornings. Additionally, recordings of the sessions are made available to students via our online catalogue. Thus, the courses are accessible to participants wherever they are in the world, regardless of time differences or other commitments! In the coming weeks, two ten-week courses will commence, which this blog post outlining the details.

A History of Egypt through the Egypt Centre Collection

With spectacular monuments such as the pyramids and sphinx, and a view of the afterlife that produced thousands of mummies, myths, and artefacts, ancient Egypt has fascinated everyone from Napoleon Bonaparte to school children around the world. Pharaonic history spanned more than 3,000 years and included famous figures such as Tutankhamun, Ramesses the Great, and Cleopatra. This course presents a brief history of ancient Egypt through the artefacts housed in the Egypt Centre collection. Each session will include a one hour overview of the period followed by a one hour presentation of the objects from that era in the museum’s collection, many of which are not on public display. This is taught by Dr Ken Griffin and moderated by Sam Powell.

Fig. 1: Soldier stela dating to the First Intermediate Period (W1366)

When

In order to be as accessible as possible, this course will be run twice, with sessions taking place via Zoom:

- Sunday evenings 6–8pm (UK time) - Starting Sunday 26th September

- Wednesday mornings 10am–noon (UK time) - Starting Wednesday 29th September

By purchasing a ticket for this event, you can attend either the Sunday or Wednesday session, or both, depending on your schedule. A week before the course starts, you will be emailed the Zoom link, which can be used for both sessions. Therefore, participants will have the option of attending either day, or both!

 

Schedule

Week 1: The Predynastic & Early Dynastic Periods

Week 2: The Old Kingdom

Week 3: The First Intermediate Period

Week 4: The Middle Kingdom

Week 5: The Second Intermediate Period

Week 6: The New Kingdom

Week 7: The Amarna Period

Week 8: The Third Intermediate Period

Week 9: The Late Period

Week 10: The Graeco-Roman Period

 

Cost

This course costs £70, with fees going directly to supporting the Egypt Centre. In particular, the funds will be used to purchase a new writing case for the House of Life gallery. Additionally, participants have the option of adding an extra donation if they wish. Donations, of course, are greatly appreciated! Once you have booked, you will automatically receive a confirmation email from Eventbrite. If you haven’t received anything within 24 hours, please contact Ken at k.griffin@swansea.ac.uk

To book on this course, please use the following link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/a-history-of-egypt-through-the-egypt-centre-collection-tickets-167757008729?aff=ebdsoporgprofile

 

Explore with Me: Textiles and Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egyptian textiles appear in museums all across the world, from mummy wrappings to diaphanous flowing white robes and even colourful early medieval garments, but how much do we really know about them? This 10-week Zoom course will allow us to look closer at the methods and practices used to create pieces like those we can see in the Egypt Centre and other museum collections. We will experiment with the possibility of dyeing linen and explore the effectiveness of plant dyes, learn how flax was harvested, how ancient looms were set up, and even make thread without spinning. You are welcome to take part in the experiments with me as we investigate together each week, or watch and discover what we learn as the results come in. I don’t promise to give you all the answers, but rather this is an invitation for you to explore with me. These sessions will be designed to be suitable for everyone no matter your level of experience with textiles or knowledge of ancient Egypt. Although I will be aiming these sessions at adults, children are welcome to attend if supervised. This course is taught by Dr Carolyn Graves Brown (Egypt Centre Curator).

Fig. 2: Weavers in the tomb of Khnumhotep II at Beni Hasan (https://www.metmuseum.org/art/collection/search/548575)

Basic course details:

- Free 10-week interactive zoom course

- 3–5pm every Thursday for 10 weeks, starting Thursday 23rd September 

Upon booking, you will receive an automated email from Eventbrite with further details, including the Zoom link. If you haven’t received confirmation within 24-hours please contact Carolyn Graves-Brown at c.a.graves-brown@swansea.ac.uk

To book on this course, please use the following link: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/explore-with-me-textiles-and-ancient-egypt-tickets-167713891765?aff=ebdsoporgprofile 

Of course, don't forget that our fiftieth anniversay conference starts in less than two weeks, with free tickets availavle here: https://www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/fifty-years-of-the-wellcome-collection-at-swansea-and-beyond-tickets-163698104437?aff=ebdsoporgprofile