Nov 25, 20204 min read

Resources from the 2020 African Studies Teachers' Workshop

Updated: Feb 24, 2021

Recordings for the workshop are now available HERE. Please find the available resources referenced in each presentation below. The title of each session also links to the session's recording (if available). Not all sessions were able to be recorded.

Session 1: 1:00pm - 2:30pm EST

Teaching About Nubia in the K-12 Classroom

Overview Materials:

Set of 10 videos from Museum of Fine Arts, Boston
Article "A Nubian Kingdom Rises" from Archaeology
Podcast about Kush and why its ruins are endangered: Ep. 24 "Finding Nubia" from Feb. 27, 2018 on Apple Podcasts.
Egypt and Nubia timeline from British Museum
Presentation Slides PDF :

Materials/Videos that are accessible to students:

Virtual tour of Ancient Nubia show at Museum of Fine Arts Boston
3D virtual exploration of Nubian ruins
Images from Fine Arts Museum, Boston's collection. Search the collections for additional artifacts!
Life in the Heart of Nubia (book for Nubian children about the history of Nubia, English version)
Amara West video in Nubian with English subtitles and images
History of Africa with Zeinab Badawi

Deeper Dive:

Stuart Smith lecture at Hutchins Center, "Black Pharaohs? Egyptological bias, racism, and Egypt and Nubia as African Civilizations"
"The Goddess Isis and the Kingdom of Meroe" talk by Solange Ashby
"Dancing for Hathor: Nubia Women in Egyptian Cultic Life" talk by Solange Ashby
"From occupiers to good neighbors" article from LMU in Münich outlining what archaeological evidence suggests and interaction between Nubians and Egyptians in Nubia
There are some great children's books written by author Kandance Chimbiri that present an Africa centered perspective on Egypt and Nubia and are really well grounded in the evidence: LINK -The Story of Early Ancient Egypt (ages 7-12, might be good fro 6th/7th grade or a bit younger) -Step Back in Time to Ancient Kush (7-12 again, lots of activities, crossword and other puzzles, and cut outs of a king and queen that you can put different crowns on - very cute and very clever) -Secrets of the Afro Comb (listed as Key Stage 2 in England (7-11), wider in scope but traces Afro style combs across different cultures in Africa, including Egypt and Nubia, through modern Africa and the diaspora, really fun!)

Assassin's Creed Origins, which is set in ancient Egypt, does a really good job of creating a Nilotic environment in Cleopatra's time that is impressive in the way reflects the multi-cultural/ethnic nature of society—and again the Egyptians look like Africans. They have an educational version (Discovery Tour) where you tour around the game world that's really good and might make for a clever way to hook the interest of children. I know some Egyptology professors who use it in their classes, so not sure about grade level—I see it's ESRB rated Teen, but that may be more for the game. Anyhow, it has lots of great information and the PC version costs $20 from Ubisoft