Much of our evidence for the lives of non-elite women in Ancient Egypt derives from Deir el-Medina, the New Kingdom desert village of Pharaohs' tomb-builders on the West Bank of modern Luxor. This settlement sheds light into menstruation, contraception, and childbirth, together with marriage, adultery, and divorce. With its remarkable forty per cent literacy rate, there is tangible evidence that some of its female inhabitants could read and write. Delving into the working lives of non-elite Egyptian women - from bread-makers and spinners to musicians and dentists - will enable us to assess their vital socio-economic contribution. The course culminates with a glimpse into the privileged position of older women at Deir el-Medina, including the role of the shadowy Wise Woman. A class visit to the Ashmolean Museum provides an opportunity to actively engage with pertinent artefacts, including the famous Will of the widow Naunakhte.
Women of Ancient Egypt: An Exploration of Non-Elite Female lives
This is an In-person course which requires your attendance to the weekly meetings which take place in Oxford.
Overview
Programme details
Courses starts: 23 Jan 2025
Week 1: Menstruation, Contraception, and Childbirth
Week 2: Marriage, Adultery, and Divorce
Week 3: Working Women
Week 4: Visit to the Ashmolean Museum
Week 5: Wise Women
Recommended reading
All weekly class students may become borrowing members of the Rewley House Continuing Education Library for the duration of their course. Prospective students whose courses have not yet started are welcome to use the Library for reference. More information can be found on the Library website.
There is a Guide for Weekly Class students which will give you further information.
Availability of titles on the reading list (below) can be checked on SOLO, the library catalogue.
Preparatory reading
- Growing up and Geting old in Ancient Egypt / Janssen, Rosalind M. and Janssen, Jac. J.
- Women in Ancient Egypt / Robins, Gay
Certification
To complete the course and receive a certificate, you will be required to attend at least 80% of the classes on the course and pass your final assignment. Upon successful completion, you will receive a link to download a University of Oxford digital certificate. Information on how to access this digital certificate will be emailed to you after the end of the course. The certificate will show your name, the course title and the dates of the course you attended. You will be able to download your certificate or share it on social media if you choose to do so.
Fees
| Description | Costs |
|---|---|
| Course Fee | £155.00 |
| Take this course for CATS points | £30.00 |
Funding
If you are in receipt of a UK state benefit, you are a full-time student in the UK or a student on a low income, you may be eligible for a reduction of 50% of tuition fees. Please see the below link for full details:
Tutor
Mrs Rosalind Janssen
Rosalind Janssen’s career was spent at UCL: firstly as a curator of the Petrie Museum, and then as a Lecturer in Egyptology at the Institute of Archaeology. She currently teaches Egyptology at the OUDCE and the City Lit in London.
Course aims
The aim of this course is to introduce students to the lives of non-elite women in Ancient Egypt, by providing an insight into their domestic and working roles assisted by the evidence afforded by material culture
Course objectives:
- describe the domestic and working lives of non-elite women in Ancient Egypt
- recognise what their life courses have to tell us about the socio-economic status of non-elite females
- evaluate the supporting evidence regarding non-elite women from material culture
Teaching methods
A diverse range of teaching methods will be used throughout the course, acknowledging that students learn in different ways.
Seminar format with:
- tutor presentations using PowerPoint and video clips
- questions and answers
- whole group discussion
- small group activities
- museum object-based learning
Learning outcomes
By the end of the course students will be expected to:
- recognise the domestic and working lives of non-elite women
- critically evaluate the socio-economic role of non-elite women in Ancient Egypt
- have engaged in object-based learning in order to discuss representations of non-elite females
- have developed learning autonomy through the submission of coursework
Assessment methods
Option A: short exercises over the period of the course, in the form of: a reflective learning diary book/article/radio/tv review
or
Option B: a single piece of coursework of up to 750 words, which includes the earlier submission of a non-assessed informal piece of up to 500 words.
Coursework is an integral part of all weekly classes and everyone enrolled is strongly encourage to do coursework in order to benefit fully from the course. Only those who have registered for credit will be awarded CATS points for completing work the required standard.
Students must submit a completed Declaration of Authorship form at the end of term when submitting your final piece of work. CATS points cannot be awarded without the aforementioned form - Declaration of Authorship form
Application
To earn credit (CATS points) for your course you will need to register and pay an additional £30 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online.
Please use the 'Book' or 'Apply' button on this page. Alternatively, please complete an Enrolment Form (Word) or Enrolment Form (Pdf)
Level and demands
While this is an introductory course, you will find it helpful to have read the two books designated as preparatory reading. You may also wish to consult the website of the Ashmolean Museum's Ancient Egypt and Sudan Collection in preparation for our class visit:
https://www.ashmolean.org/ancient-egypt-and-sudan
The Department's Weekly Classes are taught at FHEQ Level 4, i.e. first year undergraduate level, and you will be expected to engage in a significant amount of private study in preparation for the classes. This may take the form, for instance, of reading and analysing set texts, responding to questions or tasks, or preparing work to present in class.
Credit Accumulation and Transfer Scheme (CATS)
To earn credit (CATS points) you will need to register and pay an additional £30 fee per course. You can do this by ticking the relevant box at the bottom of the enrolment form or when enrolling online. Students who register for CATS points will receive a Record of CATS points on successful completion of their course assessment.
Students who do not register for CATS points during the enrolment process can either register for CATS points prior to the start of their course or retrospectively from the January 1st after the current full academic year has been completed. If you are enrolled on the Certificate of Higher Education you need to indicate this on the enrolment form but there is no additional registration fee.