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Women of the Nile: Ancient Egyptian Women’s Social Power in the First 11 Dynasties
Room CP16, School of Sciences and Engineering (SSE)
AUC Avenue, P.O. Box 74, New Cairo, 11835, Egypt
63
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This lecture challenges the traditional focus on elite male narratives in ancient Egyptian history by examining the evolving social power of women from the Early Dynastic Period to the First Intermediate Period (Dynasties 1–11). Using Michael Mann’s Social Power Domains as a theoretical framework, the study analyzes women’s biographical inscriptions—mainly from funerary monuments—to map changes in their social capital over time. Through both quantitative and qualitative analysis, it traces how women’s agency shifted alongside major political developments: the rise of the state, the bureaucratic growth of the Old Kingdom, its collapse after the Sixth Dynasty and women’s adaptive roles in the fragmented First Intermediate Period. Ultimately, the research repositions Egyptian women as active and influential participants in the formation of the Egyptian state.
Speaker: Sue Kelly, Marie Curie postdoctoral fellow, Czech Institute of Egyptology, Charles University, Prague
AUC is a tobacco-free community. Smoking is permitted in designated smoking areas only.
Speakers
Sue Kelly
Sue Kelly obtained her PhD (2021) and completed her initial post-Doc (2023) in Egyptology at Macquarie University, Sydney. She is an early career researcher who is dedicated to shedding light on the contributions and impact of ancient Egyptian women on society by exploring their social power. Her book Unveiling Female Social Power (c. 3080-–2180 BCE), examines women’s titles in Early Dynastic- Pyramid Age Egypt, offering fresh perspectives on their roles. Based on statistical data, it challenges traditional narratives on female involvement in Egyptian society. She three-quarters through her two-year Marie Curie Actions Fellowship at the Czech Institute of Egyptology, under the guidance of Doc. PhDr. Hana Vymazalová, Ph.D. Her new research extends her chronological survey of ancient Egyptian women into the First Intermediate Period (FIP), where she is investigating “The Impact of Political and Climate Change on Women’s Agency: A Social Power Analysis” (IPOCCWWA Grant No 101148700). This project aims to identify royal and private women’s public activities, influence, rights, or authority that offers the ability for comparative analysis to her existing dataset to trace any changes, transitions, and fluctuations due to the political and social changes experienced in the FIP.
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School of Humanities and Social Sciences
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