Teaching

Egyptian Ab: The Language of the Pharaohs: Introduction to Egyptian hieroglyphs II (Inês Torres)

Semester: 

Spring

Offered: 

2020

Continues Middle Egyptian I from the spring 2013 semester. Students will complete the introductory grammar book lessons, and move on to read a selection of basic stories, historical and biographical inscriptions, in the original hieroglyphs. Visits to the Egyptian galleries of the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in order to read some of the ancient hieroglyphic inscriptions on the original monuments, may also be included.

Gened 1099 “Pyramid Schemes: What can ancient Egyptian civilization teach us?”

Semester: 

Spring

Offered: 

2020

How much of your impression of the ancient world was put there by Hollywood, music videos, or orientalist musings out of the West? How accurate are these depictions? Does it matter? This course examines the quintessential example of the “exotic, mysterious ancient world” – Ancient Egypt – to interrogate these questions. Who has “used” ancient Egypt as a construct, and to what purpose? Did...

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Egyptian 150: Voices from the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Literature in Translation (Julia Puglisi)

Semester: 

Fall

Offered: 

2019

The ancient Egyptians produced a rich assemblage of hieroglyphic texts over 3,000 years of pharaonic civilization. These have become accessible to the modern reader only over the last two hundred years. This course surveys a range of texts from the Pyramid Age through the Ptolemaic Period (ca. 2500 – 30 BCE) to assess definitions of literature, genre, authorship, audience, style,...

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Egyptian Aa: The Language of the Pharaohs: Introduction to Egyptian hieroglyphs I (Inês Torres)

Semester: 

Fall

Offered: 

2019

This language course explores the fundamentals of Middle Egyptian, the classical stage of Egyptian hieroglyphs used throughout much of ancient Egyptian history. Lessons in the Egyptian writing system, grammar, and culture, with weekly vocabulary and exercises, will introduce the language and verbal system in a systematic fashion. By the end of the semester, students may begin to read selections from Egyptian classic stories and historical texts. Visits to the Semitic Museum and the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, in order to read ancient hieroglyphic inscriptions on the original...

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Anthropology 1250: The Pyramids of Giza: Technology, Archaeology, History: Seminar

Semester: 

Fall

Offered: 

2019

The Pyramids, Sphinx, tombs, and temples at Giza (ca. 2500 BC) still pose major questions about ancient Egyptian history, art, architecture, religion, and language. The Harvard University–Boston Museum of Fine Arts Expedition excavated much of the site (1905 to 1942), and Boston is home to the Giza Project at Harvard. Open to undergraduates and graduate students, this class examines Giza in the context of ancient Egyptian...

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Anthropology 2022: Picturing the Past: An Introduction to Digital Epigraphy and Archaeological Illustration

Semester: 

N/A

Explores the history, development, and current methodology behind archaeological illustration based on two sample cultures, ancient Egyptian (Old World) and Mayan (New World). Students will focus on epigraphy -- the creation of facsimile line drawings of relief sculpture, inscriptions, and selected three-dimensional objects (via photography and 3D scanning) for publication. Labs will furnish access to today's computer and tablet devices, and students will gain practical experience working directly from objects in the various archaeological collections of Harvard University and beyond...

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Freshman Seminar 30g: Digging Up the Past: Harvard and Egyptian Archaeology

Semester: 

N/A

Explores the spectacular history and discoveries of the 40-year Harvard-MFA (Museum of Fine Arts, Boston) Expedition to 23 sites in Egypt and Nubia (1905-1947). Topics include the early development of responsible archaeological method, famous finds and explorers, Western colonialism/imperialism in Egypt, early Harvard and MFA history, archival research, and the current debate on repatriation of artifacts. Field trips to museum collections, and exciting new digital technologies (such as 3D Giza Pyramids in Harvard's Visualization Center) applied to early 20th century archaeology....

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