Disability has always been a part of our shared human history yet has been understudied in our research of the ancient past.  The study of disability in the ancient world is limited, especially in relation to ancient Egypt. Several sources surviving from ancient Egypt allow us to explore disability in the ancient Egyptian context. This includes material culture, textual sources and artistic data, as well as human remains. This author and editor, together with an increasing number of peers, are challenging the research agendas of ancient world studies to be more inclusive of disability; in both the writing of our histories, but also within disciplinary praxes.  For UK Disability History Month, this presentation offers an overview of disability in ancient Egypt and an insight from a disabled Egyptologist into both the state of the historical and heritage fields and the processes of accessible and inclusive publishing. 

Dr. Alexandra F. Morris (she/her) is an Egyptologist and disability activist tying the past to the present. She is a Lecturer of Classical Studies at the University of Lincoln (UK), a Honorary Research Fellow at the University of Nottingham (UK), a Research Fellow with History UK, and was named the Working Classicists’ Unsung Classicist of the Year for 2024. Her research is on disability in ancient Egypt and creating inclusive museums. She holds a PhD in History, MA in Museum Studies, and an MA in Near Eastern Languages & Civilisations (Egyptology). Her BA is in Archaeological Studies, Anthropology, and Art History with minors in Classics and history. Alexandra is also a Co-Founder of the UK Disability History and Heritage Hub, President of the Museum Education Roundtable, Co-Chair of CripAntiquity, serves on the Editorial Board for Asterion Hub, is Chair of the Lewisboro, NY Advisory Committee for the Disabled, and a member of the Disability Culture Research Group, and the Disabled Action Research Kollective (D.A.R.K.). She has cerebral palsy and dyspraxia.

Details of the event
Thursday 28 November at 1pm
ATB3128, Alfred Tennyson Building and online