Inaugural Lecture - Professor Stephanie Moser Event

Seeing is believing: Victorian visions of ancient Egypt

This lecture will be chaired by Professor Clive Gamble

In nineteenth century Britain, dramatic images of ancient Egypt, Greece and Rome were publically displayed in museums, exhibitions and art galleries. Audiences were captivated by the visual reconstruction of civilisations long since gone, expressing a deep fascination for the monuments and antiquities left by their ancestors in the ancient world. In this talk I will look at how ancient Egypt was defined as an exotic, mysterious and ‘monstrous' culture in the displays, designs, and paintings of Victorian Britain. In each of these visual domains, powerful and influential ideas of ancient Egypt were created. This was a period when the popular consumption of the past was at its height and many of the misconceptions of ancient Egypt that survive today can be traced to the vivid images produced at the time.

Each of the Inaugural Lectures in Humanities will have an end of lecture collection for the speakers nominated charity.  For this lecture Professor Moser has chosen to support the Opportunity Fund.  This fund helps to change lives across campus, enabling deserving Southampton students to achieve their best.  Through a combination of one-off emergency funds and longer-term support for financial hardship, this fund is helping break down the barriers for gifted yet disadvantaged students. 

This lecture will be streamed live, please follow the link in the right.