Napoleon’s invasion of Egypt in 1798 sparked what has come to be known as ‘Egyptomania’, an intense fascination for ancient Egypt that permeated the cultural imagination in the nascent nineteenth century and beyond. Since this moment, across the nineteenth and twentieth centuries, subsequent ‘waves’ of Egyptomania have seen the history and iconography of this ancient civilisation drawn upon for all varieties of purposes. ‘Tea with the Sphinx: Ancient Egypt in the Modern Imagination’ is a two-day conference hosted by Eleanor Dobson and Nichola Tonks at the University of Birmingham. The conference will open with a keynote lecture by Dr Chris Naunton, Director of Egypt Exploration Society and President of the International Association of Egyptologists.
'Tea with the Sphinx' encourages discussions of ancient Egypt as imagined by ‘Western civilisation’ from Napoleon’s invasion until the millennium. From the Parisian graveyards decorated with winged solar discs to tales of mummies’ curses appearing in periodicals and newspapers, pioneering female travellers of the Victorian erato the glitzy Hollywood blockbusters of the twentieth century, the conference will showcase papers on a variety of aspects of ancient Egypt in the modern cultural imagination, presented by scholars from diverse backgrounds: literature, history, art history, media studies, archaeology and Egyptology. The full programme is available on the conference website: www.teawiththesphinx.wordpress.com; developments can be followed on twitter @teawithsphinx or using the hashtag #sphinx16.
A ticket for the two days which includes lunch and refreshments costs £28, and when purchasing there is the opportunity to reserve a place at the conference dinner (the cost of which is not included in the ticket price).
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