ISSE Virtual Conference 2025

Reception and Revival: Global Histories of ‘Egyptomania

Date: 9–10 August 2025

Conference Programme 2025

Please note that all timings are shown in UK time. (BST)

The conference takes place online via ZOOM. Tickets for each day of the conference will be available shortly from our ‘events’ webpage. Click here.

Conference outline

Saturday 9 August 2025

9:00-9:10 – Chair’s Welcome

9:10-9:30 – Introductory presentation

9:30-11:00 – Panel 1: Heritage, Collections and Culture

·      9:30 -9:50 Dr Jasmine Day An Aussie Digger in King Khufu’s Court: Frank Kirby’s soldier-collection of Egyptian antiquities

·      9:50 -10:10 Anastasija Golijewskaja Local Echoes of Eternity: Egyptomania and Funerary Private Pyramids in Ukraine

·      10:10-10:30 Susana Mota and José das Candeias Sales “I MYSELF AM THE IDEAL!” Nefertiti and the Utopia of Amarna in a Portuguese Show

·      10:30-11:00 – Q&A

11:00-11:30 – BREAK

11:30-13:30 -  Panel 2: Contemporary

·      11:30-11:50 Matt Szafran Egypt-on-Sea:  The Egyptianising of British Seaside Resort Towns

·      11:50-12:10 Yukimi Hashimoto Ancient Egyptian Women in Japanese Narrative Culture: From the Taishō Era to the Present

·      12:10-12:30 Mohga Abd El-Kawy & Reham Zaky Social media Egyptomania: Media events as a promotional tool for the Egyptian cultural heritage

·      12:30-12:50 Ariadne Douglas The Reception of Ancient Egypt & Egyptomania in Modern Egyptian Discourse and Heritage

·      12:50-13:30 – Q&A

13:30-17:00 – BREAK

17:00-18:30 – Keynote talk: Dr Campbell Price & Dr Andy H. King - Oscar Wilde, Granville Bantock and The Sphinx

18:30-19:00 – ISSE Updates

Sunday 10 August 2025

09:45-10:00 – Chair’s Welcome

10:00-12:00 – Panel 3: Literature

·      10:00-10:20 Christian Wilken After the Pharaohs. Egypt, Enchantment, and the Postsecular Imagination

·      10:20-10:40 Laura Rovedo Gothic Egypt: Egyptomania and Orientalism in Anne Rice’s “The Vampire Lestat”

·      10:40-11:00 Maiken Mosleth King Ancient Egyptian Gods and Kings in Zecharia Sitchin’s Stairway to Heaven

·      11:00-11:20 Yasi Zhu Egyptomania in Japan: insights from Atsushi Nakajima’s novel, The Mummy

·      11:20-12:00 – Q&A

12:00-13:00 – BREAK

13:00-14:40 – Panel 4: Museums and Displays

·      13:00-13:20 Dr Jay Sullivan Consuming Egypt: From Cannibalism to Capitalism

·      13:20-13:40 Laura Michelini “Speak, If You Can. What Are You?” — The Silent Witnesses of the Archaeological Museum of Bologna

·      13:40-14:00 Gemma Blanch Soriano The bourgeoisie and Egypt: Catalan Egyptomania in the 19th and 20th centuries

·      14:00-14:40 – Q&A

14:40-15:10 – BREAK

15:10-16:10 – QUIZ

16:10-16:30 – Conference close.

CALL FOR PAPERS

This year’s annual ISSE conference aims to draw together international scholars and interdisciplinary studies connected to the study/theme of Egyptomania, providing a space for this research to be shared. 

This conference wishes to explore the global historical background and evolution of ‘Egyptomania’, whilst engaging with modern perspectives of heritage and reception studies. ISSE is dedicated to embrace the need to engage critically with the subject, considering the ethical implications of our (ongoing) fascination with Egypt's ancient heritage and future directions for research. 

Our conference this year also coincides with the 100 year anniversary of Art Deco’s international exhibition in Paris, a style that drew heavy inspiration from ancient Egyptian themes and motifs, and was found in many aspects of everyday life across the world. 

We encourage abstracts from everyone with an academic/scientific interest in ‘Egyptomania’, including students, independent scholars, professional academics, and early career researchers. As the conference aims to provide a global perspective on the topic/add to the global narrative, we are particularly keen to receive abstracts from researchers based in countries that have been traditionally overlooked in this context. We want all voices to be heard.

Paper topics and subjects we would like to see include, but are not limited to:

  • Architecture

  • Art History

  • Cartography

  • Cultural Studies

  • Decolonisation

  • Development of Egyptology as a discipline

  • Entertainment 

  • Ephemera (eg, postcards, letters, menus, tickets etc)

  • Ethics (e.g. treatment/display of mummified remains)

  • Fashion & jewellery

  • Historiography

  • Literature – both ancient and modern

  • Material Culture

  • Media Studies (Music, cinema, television etc.)

  • Museum & Heritage Studies

  • Photography

  • Reception Studies

  • Reception of ancient Egypt within Egypt (past and modern)/ Egyptian Egyptomania

  • Travel Studies

  • Visual Culture

Please send an abstract of no more than 250 words and a short bio to conference.egyptomania@gmail.com by 18 June 2025 at Midnight (BST)

We look forward to hearing from you! There will be an opportunity to submit your papers for publication to the ISSE Journal after the conference!


 

TICKETS

Tickets will be available once the call for papers has ended and the programme has been announced. They will be available via this website. Members attend for free.