Cultural Exchanges in Ancient Egypt conference marks launch of new research cluster

Historical artifacts

Egypt played a central part in the ancient world, yet research and university courses have traditionally focused on Greece and Rome. This first-ever international meeting on ancient Egypt at Kent marked the launch of a new interdisciplinary research cluster on Egyptian civilisation.

The Department of Classical and Archaeological Studies hosted an online conference entitled ‘Cultural Exchanges in Ancient Egypt’ on 10 – 11 June 2020.

Ancient Egyptian culture was constantly being influenced and shaped by complex cultural exchanges with Near Eastern, African and Mediterranean civilisations. Such influences transformed Egypt but also allowed Egyptian culture to spread well beyond its geographical boundaries. This conference discussed both the causes and the effects of cultural exchanges in Egypt from the Dynastic Period to Late Antiquity.

Over 400 guests registered for the event, from a wide range of countries including Australia, Japan, Russia, Egypt, Israel, South Africa, continental Europe, Canada and the US.

Speakers:

  • Dr Jennifer Cromwell, Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Dr Mohamed Kenawi, School of Archaeology, University of Oxford
  • Dr Katalin Kóthay, Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest
  • Dr Csaba La’da, University of Kent
  • Dr Ada Nifosi, University of Kent
  • Professor Bernard Palme, University of Vienna
  • Dr April Pudsey, Manchester Metropolitan University
  • Professor Joachim Quack, University of Heidelberg
  • Professor Stephen Quirke, UCL
  • Dr Jo Stoner, University of Kent
  • Professor Ellen Swift (University of Kent
  • Professor John Tait, UCL
  • Dr Stéphanie Wackenier, Paris 1 Panthéon-Sorbonne
  • Dr Matthijs Wibier, University of Kent

Dr Csaba La’da, Reader in Ancient History, Papyrology and Egyptology and one of the conference organising committee, said: “we are delighted to report that our Cultural Exchanges in Ancient Egypt conference, which was also the launch event of our new research cluster on ancient Egypt, was a great success. We have received some very positive feedback from numerous participants, and look forward to building on this success by organising further events to support research, teaching and outreach.”

The full conference programme is available online For further information, please contact Dr Ada Nifosi at A.Nifosi@kent.ac.uk.

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