Roser Boltes-Beard, Olivia Holly-Johnson, Tenni Littlewhiteman
Egyptology, the study of Ancient Egypt, is a small but dedicated profession. Virginia is blessed with three fully trained Egyptologists: Jacquelyn Williamson at Mason, Leslie A. Warden at Roanoke College, and Jeremy Pope at the College of William and Mary.
In 2021, during the COVID-19 pandemic, the three met over Zoom. They expressed pride in their students and bemoaned the fact that there was no student conference on Egyptology in the United States. They decided to create on themselves to showcase their students and encourage community.
Williamson invited three Mason students to present their research at the inaugural conference: Roser Boltes-Beard and Olivia Holly-Johnson, both pursuing an MA in art history, and Tenni Littlewhiteman, who completed a BA in art history after the conference. When she learned of her invitation, Holly-Johnson was so excited that she immediately had to share the news with her family. Littlewhiteman says, "It meant a lot to me, knowing that Dr. Williamson believed that I had an important contribution."
The three scholars formed a bond of academic fellowship, with Williamson guiding their presentations. Both Boltes-Beard, who presented on a royal statue at the Metropolitan Museum of Art, and Littlewhiteman, whose work focused on the images of winged giraffes from ancient Nubia, agree that working together was a positive experience and the students made a great team. Holly-Johnson, who deconstructed theories of portraiture, notes that practicing with each other also made her feel more comfortable during the actual event.
The Mason students attended every session in the two-day conference. Littlewhiteman felt the conference allowed her to feel like her voice was valued. Holly-Johnson agrees: "I learned a lot about presenting in a professional capacity... it was great to see what other research was being conducted by my peers." Boltes-Beard also observes, "This experience will help my future career because I now know what it feels like to both present and attend an academic conference."
In addition to a group discussion about the problems of diversity in academia in general and Egyptology specifically, Williamson, Warden, and Pope concluded the conference with a panel on graduate school. Littlewhiteman says, "The professors and [my] peers gave me great advice in regard to furthering my professional development after undergrad studies and obtaining certain career options."
The next Virginia Student Egyptology Conference will be held during the academic year 2023-24.
April 01, 2023