A Journey Up the Nile: A Study of Ancient Egypt

Selwyn Community Education is based at Selwyn College, Kohimarama, Auckland.

This course runs on Monday evenings 6:30 - 8:30 PM over four weeks starting 1 August 2022. A special offer is running on this course: Register two students on one order and you'll be charged only one course fee.

Take a virtual tour up the Nile from Cairo to Aswan and learn about the history of Ancient Egypt. Step back in time with Dr Lawrence Xu-Nan of the University of Auckland and discover the many ancient sites of Egypt while gaining an understanding of Egyptian art, religion and society.

Session 1: An overview of the geographical locations and periods of ancient Egypt, and some of the major sites around Cairo.

Some of the sites covered are: the pyramids at Giza, the Step Pyramid of Djoser, Saqqara cemeteries, and the Bent and Red Pyramid at Dashur. A brief overview will be given for the Egyptian Museum in Cairo.

Session 2: The sites in Middle Egypt, particularly Beni Hassan, Abydos, Dendara. A focus will be placed on art of different periods of Egyptian history (Middle Kingdom, New Kingdom, and Ptolemaic Period).

Session 3: The sites around Luxor, both East and West Bank: Luxor and Karnak on the East Bank; the Valley of the Kings, Medinet Habu, Deir el-Bahari, tombs of the nobles (particularly Kourna and Dra Abu el-Naga) on the West Bank. The discovery of the Tutankhamun’s tomb will be briefly mentioned.

Session 4: The sites in Upper Egypt and Aswan, particularly Edfu, Esna, Gebelein, Elephantine, and the unfinished obelisk. Some focus will be placed on Egyptian religion and society.

Expected learning outcomes:
- An understanding of ancient Egyptian chronology and the variation between the different periods
- An understanding of ancient Egyptian geography and topography
- A broad knowledge of a number of ancient sites throughout Egypt, as well as any associated architectural elements and artefacts
- Some basic understanding of Egyptian art, religion and society
- Some perspectives on modern Egypt.

Who should attend this course: Those interested in ancient Egyptian culture and artefacts or history generally. The course may be particularly interesting for those who would like to visit Egypt at some stage.

Our mission is to provide quality affordable and accessible lifelong learning opportunities for our community.