Course overview

Archives & Heritage in the Arab World explores the collecting, archiving, preservation, and exhibition of cultural heritage today. We will delve into the roles of non-governmental organizations, governments, and the UN and diplomatic missions in developing, protecting, and making public our heritage and archives. Our focus will be on the Arab world, specifically Southwest Asia and North Africa (SWANA, often referred to as the Middle East and North Africa).

As part of the Centennial Lab component of this class, we will travel to Egypt to explore its extensive cultural heritage, the role of institutions in developing it, alongside the role of tourism, funding organizations, economic development, and state projects. We will partner with various organizations to create digital exhibitions or other projects, depending on students’ skills and knowledge.

Being aware of issues around race, class, colorism, and other hierarchies, along with settler colonialism, authoritarianism, and economic development guide how we understand the many forces that impact cultural heritage. These issues are critical to the shaping and preservation (or destruction) of cultural heritage, archives, and contemporary iterations of histories.

Course readings and the assignments are designed to enhance both your theoretical and practical knowledge, preparing you for careers in realms such as development, tourism, community-based organizations, government foreign service, military, teaching, international organizations, museums, funding agencies, and more.

Learning outcomes

Upon completing the course, you will have acquired the following skills and knowledge:

• A solid understanding of
  • the major themes and issues related to heritage, archives, and digital humanities;
  • the major issues around cultural heritage and archives in the Arab world and the factors affecting them.
• In-depth knowledge of
  • archiving and the politics of knowledge production;
  • Egyptian history, economics, culture, & politics;
  • the cultural heritage field.
• Technical proficiency to work with various source materials (primary, secondary, written, visual, auditory, video).
• Practical experience in digital humanities, culminating in production of semester-long projects that exhibit relevant material chosen with our partner organizations.

Itinerary highlights

You will have the chance to visit significant sites that may include the Pyramids and Sphinx, the Grand Egyptian Museum, Wissa Wassif Weaving Center, Adam Henein Museum, Dar al-Kutub Archive, Islamic Art Museum, Ben Ezra Synagogue, the Hanging Church, and Ibn Tulun mosque. Our partner organizations that we will visit will include the American University in Cairo, the Women and Memory Forum, and Megawra-Built Environment Collective. Explore travel funding details.

Professor information

Professor Adely and Davis have previously co-taught CLabs, starting with their first course titled Development and Displacement in the Arab World, which took place in Jordan. Both professors are fluent in Arabic and have collaborated in teaching together at least seven times.

Professor Rochelle Davis

Dr. Davis’ teaching interests span Arab society and culture, cultural heritage and conflict, and the experiences of refugees within and beyond the Arab world. She is fluent in written and spoken Arabic. She utilizes a variety of texts and media in her classroom, exposing you to a diverse array of materials—both primary and secondary—related to the Arab world. Her published research focuses on Palestine, Syria, and Iraq, although she lived in Egypt for three years and loves it.

Professor Ryan Zohar

Ryan is the Middle East Studies Liaison & Reference Librarian for Georgetown. His work spans Middle East Studies, Jewish Studies, and French & Francophone Studies, and has been published in The American Archivist, MELA Notes, and various edited volumes. His research focuses on knowledge production and publishing history as well as the histories of Jewish communities in the Middle East. He has been part of this course from the beginning and knows many unique elements of Egypt’s long history.