Egyptology students enroll in 15 credits and choose three Egyptology specific courses, one course from a discipline of his/her choice from the Area & Arabic Language Studies Program, and one Egyptian Arabic course. The purpose is to provide students specializing in Egyptology with some study of the current economic, political, social and cultural reality of contemporary Egypt.  Egyptology courses are taught by some of Egypt's leading faculty.

Students choose 3 of the following course options:

Egyptian Archeology (Archeology 301; 3 credits) 
This course is intended for students with some previous study of ancient Egypt and/or archeology. The focus of the course is on the methods and practice of archeology in Egypt today. While it does not involve extensive active work on digs, students will visit several active projects and learn from practicing archeologists in the field as well as in the classroom.

Ancient Egyptian Art and Hieroglyphs (Art 305; 3 credits)
This course weaves together lectures, discussions and museum and site visits to give students a stylistic as well as an organizational understanding of ancient Egyptian art from the prehistoric through Roman periods and its influence on modern art and issues surrounding its protection today. This will be done while learning the basics of the Egyptian hieroglyphic script and simple grammar.

Pharaonic, Coptic, & Modern Egypt: Culture and Religion from Ancient to Modern Times (Anthropology 350; 3 credits)
What makes contemporary Egyptian culture and religious practice distinct from that of other Middle Eastern countries? This course will explore the role that Pharaonic Egypt played in shaping Egyptian folklore and social customs until today and the way in which Muslim and Christian traditions have been interwoven with the ancient culture and changed or reinforced it. The topics explored in this course include popular religion, traditional medicine and magic, material culture, language and oral traditions, cuisine, agriculture, vernacular architecture and the performing arts. Frequent field trips during class time will allow students to explore the topics they are studying firsthand.

Introduction to Ancient Egypt (History 351; 3 credits)
This course introduces students to the culture of ancient Egypt from the 5th Millennium BC to mid 3rd Millennium BC. A cradle of civilization, Egypt played a crucial role in world history, profoundly contributing to the rise of the state, monumental constructions, monotheism, technologies, and sciences. The course focuses on the development of the social and political organizations of ancient Egyptian culture. Religious, artistic, linguistic and archaeological aspects will also be introduced all within the theoretical and conceptual frameworks of cultural evolution. The course begins with an introduction to ancient Egyptian culture in space and time, through an overview of its physical and historical settings. It then delves into the emergence of urbanism and reaching the stage of a “state-level society,” including the crucial concept of the divine kingship and the administration system. In addition, it highlights the relationship between the invention of writing, its monopoly by the intellectual bureaucratic elite, and the rise of complex administration system. In studying the architecture of ancient Egypt, it traces the development of sacred and profane structures as well as the utilization of their walls as surfaces on which the interaction between art and aspects of Egyptian religion are portrayed.

Egyptology in Practice (History 390; 3 credits)
This course offers students first-hand, experiential learning in the field of Egyptology. It enables students to work alongside practicing Egyptologists in museums and other public institutions active in the field of Egyptology. Placements in the past have been with the Supreme Council on Antiquities and the Egyptian Museum. Guided and facilitated by a practicing Egyptologist, students are expected to spend six to ten hours at their placement work-site each week and submit weekly journal entries reflecting on their experiences. They also are expected to design and deliver a final project to be shared with a larger audience. This course is intended to deepen and broaden the students’ experience with the field of Egyptology as well as provide a solid analytical framework to enhance their study abroad program in Egypt.

Students may choose 1 of the Area Studies course options found here.