Oriental Institute to Host a Screening of Letters from Baghdad and Discussion with Filmmakers
The Oriental Institute will host a screen in Breasted Hall of Letters from Baghdad, the story of a true original — Gertrude Bell — sometimes called the “female” Lawrence of Arabia, on Wednesday, October 11, 2017, from 6:30 pm - 9:30 pm. The screening will be followed by a discussion with the filmmakers Sabine Krayenbühl and Zeva Oelbaum, led by McGuire Gibson, Professor of Mesopotamian Archaeology.
Posted on September 8, 2017
Oriental Institute to Host the 2017 CIPEG Annual Meeting
The University of Chicago and the Oriental Institute have the honor to host the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Comité international pour l’Égyptologie” (CIPEG), one of 30 International Committees of the International Council of Museums (ICOM). The meeting will be held in Chicago, USA, from September 5th through September 8th, 2017. The theme of this meeting is “The Role of Curators in Museum Research and Exhibits: Tradition, Change, and Looking to the Future.”
Posted on September 6, 2017
Online Publication of News & Notes 235 (2017) is Available
The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago announces complimentary online publication of the 2017 Autumn News & Notes (#235).
Posted on September 6, 2017
Lecture by Lindsay Allen on "The Stones of Persepolis"
Dr. Lindsay Allen, Lecturer in Greek and Near Eastern History, King's College London, will give a lecture about "The Stones of Persepolis: Dissemination, Excavations, and Reconstruction" on Wednesday, August 30th, at 7:00 pm in Breasted Hall at the Oriental Institute.
Posted on August 17, 2017
Oriental Institute to Host the 10th International Congress of Hittitology
The University of Chicago and the Oriental Institute have the honor to host the 10th International Congress of Hittitology, the triennial gathering of Hittitologists and Anatolianists. The meeting will be held in Chicago, USA, from August 28th through September 1st, 2017. The theme of this meeting is “The Next 100 Years.”
Posted on August 17, 2017
Mace Head Misidentified as a Fidget Spinner
A photo of this object, currently on display in our Mesopotamian Gallery, was included in a tweet that recently went viral on the internet with nearly 100,000 likes – and counting. The tweet mistakenly identified the artifact as an early version of the modern-day fidget spinner. It is actually a mace head from ancient Mesopotamia.
Posted on August 3, 2017
New Book by Clifford Ando and Seth Richardson Explores the Ancient State
A new book edited by Clifford Ando, David B. and Clara E. Stern Professor of Humanities and Professor of Classics, History, Law and in the College, and Seth Richardson, Research Associate and Managing Editor of the Journal of Near Eastern Studies, explores "the ways in which early states built their territorial, legal, and political powers before they had the capabilities to enforce them" across three continents.
Posted on July 13, 2017
Oriental Institute Acquisitions Policy approved
On May 10, 2017 the Oriental Institute Voting Members approved an acquisitions policy for the Oriental Institute Museum.
Posted on June 27, 2017
Lynn Welton will give a lecture on "The Regeneration of Northern Levantine Society in the Early Iron Age"
Lynn Welton will give a lecture about "Reconstructing Identities in a Dark Age: The Regeneration of Northern Levantine Society in the Early Iron Age" on Friday, June 2, 2017, at 4:30 PM in room 146 of Saieh Hall. The lecture is the inaugural CMES Friday lecture on the ancient Middle East.
Posted on May 31, 2017
Christopher Woods Appointed Director of the Oriental Institute
Dr. Christopher Woods, Professor of Sumerian, has been appointed the thirteenth director of the Oriental Institute. He will begin his tenure as directoy on July 1, 2017, succeeding Dr. Gil Stein, Professor of Archaeology, who has served as Oriental Institute Director since 2002. Woods, who has degrees from Yale University and Harvard University, has published widely on Sumerian linguistics and culture, including his book on The Grammar of Perspective: The Sumerian Conjugation Prefixes as a System of Voice. He has also served as Editor-in-Chief for the Journal of Near Eastern Studies and administered the Oriental Institute's Post-Doctoral Scholars program.
Posted on May 24, 2017