Art History
Associate Professor
OFFICE: Art & Communication 203B
PH: 901/678-3895
FAX: 901/678-2735
EMAIL: mayad@memphis.edu
WWW: http://www.memphis.edu/egypt

EDUCATION

1996–2002
Brown University, Providence, RI
PhD Egyptology, May 2003
Dissertation: “The Funerary Texts of Amenirdis I: Analysis of their Layout and Purpose”, UMI Publication number: 3087233.

1995–1996
University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
MA: Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations, November 1996
Major: Egyptian Language and Literature
Minor: Egyptian Archaeology

1990–1994
The American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
BA Egyptology (Cum Laude), June 1994
Major: Egyptology
Minor: Archaeological Chemistry

RESEARCH INTERESTS

Epigraphy

Women in Ancient Egypt: status and iconography; role of Women in temple ritual; the significance of the titles: God’s wife of Amun, God’s hand and Divine Adorer; women as power brokers .

Third Intermediate and Late Period Social History and Religion; with particular attention given to power dynamics and gender relations in Egyptian administration and society, especially in the Theban region.

Transmission of Egyptian funerary texts during Third Intermediate and Late Periods, especially: Opening of the Mouth Ritual, Pyramid Texts, Coffin Texts, Solar Hymns, Texts of the Hours of Night and Day.

Egyptian Grammar and language; Old, Middle, and Late Egyptian; Hieratic documents; Coptic; survivals of ancient Egyptian idioms into the modern colloquial Arabic of Egypt.

FELLOWSHIPS/ACADEMIC AWARDS

2004–2005 The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN
Department of Art Summer Travel Grant (2005)
New Faculty Summer Research Grant (2004)

2002–2003 The National Endowment for the Humanities
American Research Center in Egypt, post-doctoral fellowship

1996–2002 Brown University, Providence, RI
Graduate Council Dissertation Research Award (2001–2002)
Department of Egyptology Teaching Assistantship (1997–2000)
Graduate School Fellowship (1996–1997)
Graduate School Summer Research Grant (1999, 2000)
The Joukowsky Family Travel Grant (Fall 2000)
Graduate School Travel Grant (Summer 1997, Winter 1999)

1995–1996 The University of Toronto, Toronto, Canada
International Student Tuition Waiver Scholarship

1993–1994 The American University in Cairo, Cairo, Egypt
Undergraduate Seminar Award, best paper presented

TEACHING EXPERIENCE

2003–Present Department of Art, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN. Assistant Professor.
Middle Egyptian I
Middle Egyptian II
Middle Egyptian Literature
Egyptian Historical Texts (read in Hieratic)
Late Egyptian

2003–2009 The Graduate Faculty, The University of Memphis, Memphis, TN. Associate Member

1997–2000 Department of Egyptology, Brown University, Providence, RI
History of Egypt III: Libyans, Nubians, and Persians in Egypt (Fall 1999)
Introduction to Middle Egyptian I (Fall 1997, Summer 1998, Fall 1998)
Introduction to Middle Egyptian II (Spring 1998, Spring 1999, Spring 2000)
Selected Readings in Egyptian Hieroglyphic Texts (Fall 1997)

1998–2002 Brown Learning Community, Brown University, Providence, RI
Arabic for Beginners (Fall 2001)
Fun with Hieroglyphs (Fall 2001)
Pharaohs and Mummies (Fall 1998)

FIELD EXPERIENCE

2000–2004 The Archaeological Mission of the Milano Museum in Egypt, Asasif, Egypt. Epigrapher/ Research Assistant, Under the direction of Dr. Francesco Tiradritti

2000–2002 Brown University’s Epigraphic Survey of the Giza Plateau, Giza, Egypt. Deputy Director/ Epigrapher, Under the direction of Dr. Edward Brovarski

1997–1999 Saite Chapels Project, Medinet Habu, Egypt. Director/Epigrapher

Summer 1996 Mendes Expedition, Tell Rub’a, Egypt. Assistant Ceramicist, Under the direction of Dr. Donald Redford

Winter 1995 Wadi el-Natrun Excavations, Wadi Natrun, Egypt. Archaeologist/ Administrative liaison, Under the direction of Dr. Bastiaan Van Eldern

PUBLICATIONS

"The Pyramid Texts of Amenirdis I: Selection and Layout" in: Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 44 (2007) (In Press)

“Some Remarks on the Pyramid Texts Inscribed in the Chapel of Amenirdis I at Medinet Habu” in: Essays Presented to Leonard H. Lesko upon his Retirement from the Wilbour Chair of Egyptology at Brown University, June 2005. Eds. Stephen E. Thompson and Peter Der Manuelian. Providence: Brown University, Department of Egyptology and Ancient Western Asian Studies, 2008, 1–13.

"On the Identity and Role of the God’s Wife of Amun in Rites of Royal and Divine Dominion" in: Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities 34 (2007): 1–13.

“The Selection and Layout of the Opening of the Mouth Scenes in the Chapel of Amenirdis I at Medinet Habu.” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt 41 (2004):113–134 [Published 2007]

“Towards a Better Understanding of the ‘Opening of the Mouth Ritual’” in: Proceedings of the Ninth International Congress of Egyptologists. Eds. J-C Goyon and C. Cardin. Orientalia Lovaniensia Analecta 150. Leuven: Peeters, 2007, 109–116.

“La sposa divina, la divina Adoratrice e il Clero di Amon durante la XXV dinastia,” in: L’ enigma di Harwa alla scoperta di un capolavoro del Rinascimento Egizio, eds. S. Einaudi and F. Tiradritti (Turin, 2004), 107–127.

“Towards an Edition of the Chapel of Amenirdis I at Medinet Habu,” in: Nubian Studies 1998: Proceedings of the Ninth Conference of the International Society of Nubian Studies. August 21-26, 1998, Boston, Massachusetts, ed. T. Kendall. (Boston, 2004), 214–222.

“Some Thoughts on the Disappearance of the Office of God’s Wife of Amun,” Journal of the Society for the Study of Egyptian Antiquities 28 (2001): 1–14.

“Nemty Nakht’s Warning to the Peasant,” Göttingen Mittzellen 152 (1996): 9–10.
Book Reviews

Review of From Slave to Pharaoh: The Black Experience of Ancient Egypt by Donald B. Redford (Baltimore: Johns Hopkins University, 2004) Archaeology Odyssey vol. 8 no. 5 (September/ October 2005): 46–48.

Review of Les texts de la pyramide de Pépy Ier. By Catherine Berger-el Naggar; Jean Leclant; Bernard Mathieu; and Isabelle Pierre-Croisiau. 2 vols.Mémoires de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale, vol.118/1-2. Cairo: Institut français d’archéologie orientale, 2001. Journal of the American Oriental Society 124.1 (2004): 27–28.

In Progress

Review of Les formules des transformations du Livre des Morts à la lumière d’une théorie de la performativité. By Frédric Servajean. Bibliothèque d’Étude 137. Cairo: Institut français d’archéologie orientale, 2003. Journal of the American Oriental Society.

Review of Ermant I: Les crypts du temple ptolémaique. By Christophe Thiers and Youri Volokhine. Mémoires de l’Institut français d’archéologie orientale, vol. 124. Cairo: Institut français d’archéologie orientale, 2005. Journal of the American Oriental Society.
Popular Articles

Encyclopedia of Society and Culture in the Ancient World, Editor in Chief: P. Bogucki (In Press)
– “Slaves and Slavery in Ancient Egypt”
– “Festivals in Ancient Egypt”
– “Government Organization in Ancient Egypt”
– “Collapse and Abandonment in Ancient Egypt”
– “War and Conquest in Ancient Egypt”

“TT 37,” Dig Magazine (November/December 2004): 10–12.

“A Love of Building,” Calliope vol. 14, no.2 (October 2003): 24–26.

“Building a Pyramid,” Calliope vol. 12, no.1 (September 2001): 14–18.

“On the Egyptian roots of Coptic language and culture: I. Language.” El-Keraza vol. 19 (Winter 2000): 17–19.

“On the Ancient Egyptian and Greco-Roman roots of Coptic Iconography: the case of the Fayoum portraits,” El- Keraza vol. 17 (Fall 1998): 20–24.

Peer Reviewer, American Journal of Archaeology (2006-2007)