In Fall 2025, the department’s “Curating an Exhibition” course was taught by Dr. Jacquelyn Williamson. Throughout the semester Dr. Williamson guided students through the process of organizing, researching, and installing an art exhibition. Thanks to the assistance of art librarian Stephanie Grimm, this year’s show was displayed in Fenwick Library, a highly visible venue. The theme of the exhibition was “The Mirage of Ancient Egypt: Exploring Ancient Egypt’s Legacy in Popular Culture.” The idea, as the students wrote, was to explore how ancient Egypt has been represented in popular culture:
Ancient Egypt fascinates us, yet most knowledge of this remarkable society is based on a fiction built upon Orientalism: a lens through which Western colonial powers judge Eastern cultures. These ideas harm modern Egyptians, whose history is no longer their own but a creation of the modern misunderstandings of the West.
This exhibit discusses this false view through three connecting themes. Consuming Ancient Egypt demonstrates how modern media and consumer culture intentionally exploits Ancient Egypt to create marketable products. Unwrapping Spirituality reveals how the West reimagines Ancient Egyptian spirituality to explore their own ideas of life, death, and the unknown. Undressing Orientalist Fantasies examines the oversexualization of Ancient Egyptians in a variety of media. With this foundation, The Mirage of Ancient Egypt provides an opportunity to reflect on how society has shaped today’s interpretation of Ancient Egypt. The exhibition ran from Dec. 5, 2025 to Feb. 13, 2026.
In addition, two students in the class organized a symposium to complement the exhibition. The event took place at Fenwick Library on February 7 and also offered a tour of the exhibition led by the student-curators. Speakers included Dr. Jacquelyn Williamson, Dr. David S. Anderson, and Dr. Leslie Anne Warden.