The grant from the Shelby White and Leon Levy Program for Archaeological Publications will support the completion and publication of the “Survey of Wadi el-Hudi, Volume 1,” the first comprehensive modern study of an important but long-overlooked region of Egypt’s Eastern Desert.
The program, “Preparing for Eternity: Funerary Models and Wall Scenes from the Egyptian Old and Middle Kingdoms,” will be presented by Georgia Barker, this year’s W. Benson Harer Egyptology Scholar in Residence. The talk, in person and on Zoom, is open to the public.
While at CSUSB, Barker will teach a course, “Journey to the Beyond: Funerary Art in Egypt from the Predynastic Period to the Late Period,” a unique class that mixes the study of ancient Egyptian funerary art with modern museum collecting practices and ethics.
Tony Coulson (cybersecurity) discussed the dangers of using public cell phone chargers, Kate Liszka (history) was featured in an article about the Wadi el-Hudi Expedition, Mike Kohout (geography) and Jeremy Murray (history) are coordinating a forum on the region’s warehouse industry, and Jason P. Jung (biology) was part of a team that recently published a study on the knuckle-walking Sahelanthropus tchadensis.
Dozens of CSUSB students have worked with the Wadi el-Hudi Expedition both in Egypt and at CSUSB getting firsthand experience with primary faculty-led research. The expedition recently excavated two ancient houses and an ancient Egyptian mining settlement, and discovered six new archaeological sites.
Kelly Campbell (psychology) was interviewed for an article about dealing with stress related to personal finances, Kate Liszka and Kasia Szpakowska (history) are featured in a new mini-series on ancient Egypt, Yunfei Hou (computer science and engineering) is helping to organize a data science summer fellowship, and Leslie R. Amodeo and Dionisio A. Amodeo (psychology) led a team of researchers that published a study on selective serotonin reuptake inhibitors (SSRIs), medications that are commonly used by pregnant women.
Kate Liszka, associate professor of history and the Benson and Pamela Harer Fellow in Egyptology, and Kasia Szpakowska, W. Benson Harer Egyptology Scholar in Residence in spring 2021, play major roles in the nine-episode series.
Meredith Conroy (political science), José Muñoz (sociology), Enrique Murillo Jr. (education) and Aleksandra Ksiezak (2022-23 W. Benson Harer Egyptology Scholar in Residence) were mentioned in recent news articles.
Ksiezak is teaching an upper-division history course, “In the Land of Stone and Copper: An Introduction to Ancient Egyptian Technology,” and will give a keynote lecture, “A gateway into the desert: History, exploration, and cyclical rediscovery of Wadi Tumilat,” at the Robert and Frances Fullerton Museum of Art on Oct. 27.