Students from the fall 2025 seminar “Fashion and Footwear in Late Antiquity” traveled to Cairo and Alexandria, Egypt during fall break, with support from the Humanities Council’s Program in the Ancient World.
The course, taught by AnneMarie Luijendijk (Religion), explored self-expression through dress, footwear, hairdo, and jewelry in late antiquity through the examination of literary and documentary texts, iconographic representations, and archeological finds.
During the 10-day trip, graduate students from the Departments of Classics, Religion, Art & Archaeology, and History toured the Pharaonic, Hellenistic, and Roman sites of Egypt.
In a story on the Department of Art and Archaeology website, first-year graduate student Lisa Marzhan recounted her most memorable parts of the trip.
“There were definitely many highlights, but it was very special to visit excavations and sites in the Faiyum Oasis,” she said. “These excavations, such as at Karanis, have yielded a lot of material with which I engage in my readings and in other classes. Seeing these places and getting insights from archaeologists excavating Soknopaio Nesos brought much of what I am reading alive and showed us a contemporary context.”
Lizzy Hane, a second-year graduate student in the Department of Religion, was awed by the ancient archaeological sites.
“There are parts of this trip that [were] simply unbelievable. To be inside a tomb, deep underground, and staring up at the remaining frescoes that adorned the resting places of families – it provides a necessary reminder that these sites are tangible.” Hane said, in a post on the Classics Department Instagram account. “Egypt was deeply formative to my thinking. I am so so grateful to PAW for facilitating this!”
View a selection of photos from the trip below.
