On Thursday 22 March 2022, the CFLC offered an academic lecture, entitled “Deciphering the ‘Words of the Gods’: The Story of the Egyptian Hieroglyphic Script”, held by Dr. Julien Charles Cooper. Prof. Carlotta Viti, coordinator of the CFLC, held an opening speech, introducing to the public the keynote speaker as well as the activities of the CFLC, one of the most important centres in UIC. 

The keynote speaker, Dr. Julien Charles Cooper, is Assistant Professor at the General Education Office at UIC with a joint position at the Research Centre for History and Culture at BNU. He is trained as an Egyptologist specializing in the peripheries of the Pharaonic World. His research now encompasses much of Northeast Africa including the ancient history Sudan and Nubia. He achieved his PhD at Macquarie University Sydney (2016), and then had postdoctoral roles at Oxford and Yale universities, while conducting fieldwork on ancient nomads of Eastern Sudan. He therefore combines philological scholarship on Egyptology with an areal and historical approach which places Ancient Egypt in its African context.

The lecture discussed the Egyptian hieroglyphic script, which is one of the world's oldest writing systems. The first hieroglyphic texts date as far back as 3100 BCE and it was in continuous use until the period of Roman domination in Egypt (c. 4^th Century CE). Due to the graphic nature of the script and its dissimilarity to later writing systems, scholars struggled to decipher Egyptian hieroglyphs despite many focused attempts throughout classical, medieval, and renaissance history. It was not until the 19^th century, and after various scientific expeditions to Egypt, that breakthroughs were being made. This decipherment would eventually provide a foundation for the dedicated historical discipline of ‘Egyptology’. Scholars could now give a voice to the hitherto silent and mysterious texts of the Egyptian past – unlocking Egyptian history and thousands of texts for historians. The talk narrated and cross-examined key steps in the decipherment process, noting the elements of the Egyptian hieroglyphic script which provide unique challenges for linguists. The lecture was addressed to a general audience in languages and ancient cultures.

The lecture was offered in a mixed mode between face-to-face and online participation. It was attended by the staff of the CFLC, by colleagues of other UIC divisions, and by students. At the end of the lecture, Dr. Julien Charles Cooper answered to the questions and comments of the public. We thank Dr. Cooper for having offered such an interesting lecture. We also thank all our colleagues and students for having attended this successful academic event.

Edited by: Yuzhu Su 2022.3.4