Nile Valley Collective

We are a group of scholars who work on the ancient cultures of the Nile River Valley. We work in the areas of art history, ancient history, historical linguistics, philology, archaeology, biological anthropology, cultural anthropology, and museum studies.

We are happy to talk with you if you would like advice on how…

…your work reads in the context of social justice and race relations.

….to construct a museum exhibition that will speak to the experiences of groups traditionally overlooked in museum contexts, such as communities affected by colonialism.

…to diversify your syllabus.

…to open up your work to include all people of African descent and people who have traditionally not been served by your work.

This statement by Professor Fekri Hassan gives an example of the principles that ground us:

Egypt is situated where African cultural developments conjoin, mingle, and blend with those of neighboring cultures of southwest Asia and the Mediterranean. Yet, Egyptology, through its Eurocentered perspectives, has generally been lax in exploring and valorizing Egypt’s African origins.

This not only leads to theoretical shortcomings but also to serious ethical ramifications undermining efforts for a new world of justice, equity, and fraternity. Keeping with the way our world is changing and given our role as socially responsible scholars, Egyptologists need to engage in emphasizing the grounding of Egypt in African cultures and its interaction throughout its history with African cultures. This would be a first step in reconsidering the sociopolitical biases that not only isolate modern Egypt from its ancient past, but also reorient Egyptology to deal with intercultural dynamics and to become actively engaged in the current struggle to combat racism and inequities, a key component of the Sustainable Development Goals.

Professor Fekri Hassan taught in the Department of Anthropology at Washington State University. He was an advisor to the Ministry of Culture of the Arab Republic of Egypt from 1988 to 1990. Beginning in 1994, Dr. Hassan held the chair of Petrie Professor of Archaeology at the Institute of Archaeology, University College London. He served as editor of the African Archaeological Review, contributory editor of The Review of Archaeology, and honorary president of the Egyptian Cultural Heritage Organisation. He is currently the Director of an innovative cultural heritage management program in l’Université Française d’Égypte.

Dr. Hassan received his B.S. and M.S. degrees from Ain Shams University and his M.A. and Ph.D. from Southern Methodist University.

Send us a note, let us know how we can assist you, and one of our experts will be in touch with you very soon.