Name: Fatma Keshk - About People and Places: Oral Histories in Egyptology
Start: 2026-01-22T18:00:00+02:00
End: 2026-01-22T19:00:00+02:00
Location: NVIC - Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo

Fatma Keshk - About People and Places: Oral Histories in Egyptology

Ancient Egyptian heritage is an extensive corpus that permits the study of language, art, and religion, but it does not sufficiently allow for the full understanding of the human experiences of the ancient Egyptians.
Thanks to the recent integration of oral history research into the study of some areas in Egyptology and Egyptian archaeology, a new layer of information could be added that has previously been missed. This lecture presents a general overview from the speaker’s experience in integrating oral histories in several research projects from 2013 until today.
On the one hand, oral history offers opportunities to gather data from descendants, disciples and colleagues of pioneering Egyptologists in Egypt, supplementing the scarce archival resources documenting their lives and careers. On the other hand, oral history has presented a major tool of research while studying the functions of open spaces in ancient Egyptian houses through ethno-archaeological approaches.
Fatma Keshk is an Egyptologist and a heritage outreach expert. She worked with several local and international institutions and was the director of the archaeology and architecture section at the Center of Documentation of Cultural and Natural Heritage at the Library of Alexandria. Her recent research concentrates on reconstructing the unknown history of Egyptian Egyptology and on exploring the perceptions of history by contemporary Egyptians. Fatma is an associate researcher at IFAO and corresponding member of the DAI. Since September 2024, Fatma is the Senior Acquisitions Editor for Archaeology and Ancient Egypt at the American University in Cairo Press.
This lecture is also available on Zoom
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/82150599366
Meeting ID: 821 5059 9366
Passcode: 202596
! attention !
The lecture starts at 6 pm. We work on a first-come, first-served basis as the number of seats is limited. We open our doors at 5:30 and close them at 6:15 or earlier when the lecture room reaches its full capacity.