Dr William Carruthers
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Email
william.carruthers@essex.ac.uk -
Telephone
+44 (0) 1206 872405
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Location
6.147, Colchester Campus
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Academic support hours
My Academic Support Hours during Spring 2024 are Mondays and Thursdays, 12:00-1:00. Otherwise, please email me at william.carruthers@essex.ac.uk to sort out a meeting.
Profile
Biography
I'm a historian of archaeology, heritage, and decolonisation. I am a Fellow of the Royal Historical Society (May 2023), and hold an AHRC-funded PhD (2014) in the History and Philosophy of Science from the University of Cambridge. Prior to that, I trained in archaeology (BA and MA) at the UCL Institute of Archaeology. I also lived, worked, and studied Arabic in Egypt for several years, an experience which informs a further research interest in the ethics of archaeology and the construction of the past. My monograph, 'Flooded Pasts: UNESCO, Nubia, and the Recolonization of Archaeology', was published by Cornell University Press in December 2022 and was listed as one of History Today magazine's 'books of the year'. Flooded Pasts concerns decolonisation in Egypt and Sudan, the development of world heritage, and the role of colonial archaeology in that process. It is based around research on UNESCO’s International Campaign to Save the Monuments of Nubia, funded (2016–2018) by the Gerda Henkel Stiftung and supported by a fellowship at the German Historical Institute London. I am also the editor of 'Histories of Egyptology: Interdisciplinary Measures' (Routledge, 2014), 'Disassembling Archaeology: Reassembling the Modern World', a special issue of the journal History of Science (with Stéphane Van Damme, 2017), and, most recently (2021, although dated 2019) a special issue of the journal Future Anterior on 'Heritage, Preservation, and Decolonization'. I was a (2014–2015) Max Weber Postdoctoral Fellow at the European University Institute in Florence, Italy, and also (2016) held a short postdoctoral fellowship at the MS Merian-R Tagore International Centre of Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences in Delhi, India. My (2018-22) Leverhulme Early Career Fellowship project ('Making Global Heritage: Afro-Asianism and the Archaeological Survey of India') built on this Delhi research, examining the work of the Archaeological Survey of India across the formerly colonised world. It also informs my second, in-progress book project. That book is about why newly independent countries found an international organisation like UNESCO to be a useful partner in the preservation of what became known as heritage despite the organisation's colonial genealogies.
Qualifications
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PhD History and Philosophy of Science University of Cambridge, (2014)
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MA Research Methods for Archaeology University College London, (2009)
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BA Egyptian Archaeology University College London, (2006)
Appointments
Other academic
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Fellow, Royal Historical Society (5/5/2023 - present)
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Honorary Lecturer, School of Art, Media and American Studies, University of East Anglia (15/9/2022 - present)
Research and professional activities
Research interests
History of heritage
History of museums
History of archaeology
History of anthropology
Politics and ethics of archaeology and heritage
History of the field sciences
The field sciences, imperialism and colonialism
History, politics, and practice of archives
Dams and dispossession
Middle East history
Conferences and presentations
Creating Nubia: How Colonialism, Tourism, and Archaeology Made a Region, a Past, and a People
Invited presentation, Institute for the History of Ancient Civilizations Research Seminar Series, Institute for the History of Ancient Civilizations, Changchun, China, 13/3/2024
Creating Nubia: How Colonialism, Tourism, and Archaeology Made a Region, a Past, and a People
Invited presentation, Scottish Centre for Conservation Studies Architectural Masterclass Series, Scottish Centre for Conservation Studies, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 13/3/2024
Creating Nubia: How Colonialism, Tourism, and Archaeology Made a Region, a Past, and a People (Keynote Lecture)
Invited presentation, Keynote presentation, Narrating Nubia: The Social Lives of Heritage, Ann Arbor, United States, 19/10/2023
'Book Chat' about my book, 'Flooded Pasts' (Cornell UP, 2022)
Invited presentation, American Research Center in Egypt Missouri Chapter (online event), United States, 25/2/2023
Creating Nubia: How Colonialism, Tourism, and Archaeology Made a Region, a Past, and a People
Invited presentation, Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo lecture series, Netherlands-Flemish Institute in Cairo lecture series, Zamalek, Cairo, Egypt, 12/1/2023
Creating Nubia: How Colonialism, Tourism, and Archaeology Made a Region, a Past, and a People
Invited presentation, The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago 'OI Explorers Lecture' series, The Oriental Institute of the University of Chicago 'OI Explorers Lecture' series, Chicago, United States, 5/12/2022
Connected Histories of Science, Islam, and the State in the Globalizing Middle East, 18th–20th Centuries (roundtable)
Middle East Studies Association annual meeting, Denver, United States, 4/12/2022
Making Sudan Archaeological: UNESCO's Nubian Campaign and the Recolonization of Archaeology
Invited presentation, Materials of Empire, L’Aquila, Italy, 25/11/2022
On Egyptological Anniversaries
Invited presentation, University of Pennsylvania Modern Egyptian Studies Forum, Modern Egyptian Studies Forum (online series), Philadelphia, United States, 27/10/2022
Remarks for Discussion
Invited presentation, History and Egyptology Roundtable, History and Egyptology Roundtable, London, United Kingdom, 7/3/2022
Creating Nubia: How Colonialism, Tourism, and Archaeology Made a Region, a Past, and a People
Invited presentation, Architectural Association Visiting School, Khartoum, Sudan (online due to Covid): 'A Blue Dilemma', Architectural Association Visiting School, Khartoum, Sudan (online due to Covid): 'A Blue Dilemma', London, United Kingdom, 18/12/2021
Creating Nubia: How Colonialism, Tourism, and Archaeology Made a Region, a Past, and a People
Invited presentation, Archaeology, Colonialism, and the History of Tourism (conference online due to Covid), Florence, Italy, 6/12/2021
Creating Nubia: How Colonialism, Tourism, and Archaeology Made a Region, a Past, and a People
Invited presentation, Durham University Department of History departmental seminar, Departmental seminar, Durham, United Kingdom, 17/11/2021
On Water and Mit Rahina
Invited presentation, Living in a Changing Flood Plain: Joint Summer School on Climate Adaptive Revitalization of Historic City Districts (my presentation given online), Cairo University (with Brandenburg University of Technology, Cottbus-Senftenberg), Giza, Egypt, 9/2021
Panel co-organiser: 'Visions of Heritage in Pan-Arab Contexts, Then and Now'. Paper: 'Nubia, Pan-Arabism/Non-Alignment, and the Constitution of Heritage'.
Middle East Studies Association Annual Meeting (online due to Covid), 17/10/2020
Records of Dispossession? Archival Thinking and UNESCO's Nubian Campaign in Egypt and Sudan
Association of Critical Heritage Studies Biennial Conference, Biennial Conference, London, United Kingdom, 8/2020
Teaching and supervision
Current teaching responsibilities
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Introduction to Heritage and Museum Studies (AR123)
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Digital Heritage and Museums (AR229)
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Heritage and Human Rights (AR959)
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Digital Heritage (CS901)
Publications
Journal articles (11)
Carruthers, W., (2021). Editor's Introduction: Inequality and Race in the Histories of Archaeology. Bulletin of the History of Archaeology. 31 (1), 2-2
Carruthers, W., (2020). Records of Dispossession: Archival Thinking and UNESCO's Nubian Campaign in Egypt and Sudan. International Journal of Islamic Architecture. 9 (2), 287-314
Carruthers, W., (2020). Archaeological (Non?) Alignments: Egypt, India and Global Geographies of the Post-War Past. South Asian Studies. 36 (1), 45-60
Carruthers, W., (2019). Credibility, Civility and the Archaeological Dig House in Mid-1950s Egypt. Journal of Social Archaeology. 19 (2), 255-276
Carruthers, W., (2017). Rule of Objects: On the De-Peopling of Safe Havens. Review of Middle East Studies. 51 (2), 228-233
Carruthers, W. and Van Damme, S., (2017). Disassembling Archeology, Reassembling the Modern World:. History of Science: review of literature and research. 55 (3), 255-272
Carruthers, W., (2017). Visualizing a Monumental Past: Archeology, Nasser's Egypt, and the Early Cold War. History of Science: review of literature and research. 55 (3), 273-301
Carruthers, W., (2017). Entangled Tensions. History of Anthropology Newsletter. 41
Carruthers, W., (2016). Multilateral Possibilities: Decolonization, Preservation, and the Case of Egypt. Future Anterior. 13 (1), 37-48
Carruthers, W., (2015). The Planned Past: Policy and (Ancient) Egypt. Egyptian and Egyptological Documents, Archives, Libraries. 4, 229-240
Carruthers, W., (2011). The Rise and Fall of Ancient Egypt? Egyptology's Never-Ending Story. Antiquity: a quarterly review of archaeology. 85 (330), 1444-1447
Books (2)
Carruthers, W., (2022). Flooded Pasts: UNESCO, Nubia, and the Recolonization of Archaeology. Cornell University Press. 1501766449. 9781501766442
Carruthers, W., (2014). Histories of Egyptology: Interdisciplinary Measures. Routledge. 9780415843690
Book chapters (3)
Carruthers, W., (2022). Processing (Ancient) Egypt: Spectacles of the Past. In: Visions of Ancient Egypt. Editors: Ferrari, A. and Hinson, B., . Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts. 168- 177
Carruthers, W., (2015). Grounding Ideologies: Archaeology, Decolonization and the Cold War in Egypt. In: Decolonization and the Cold War: Negotiating Independence. Editors: Leake, E. and James, L., . Bloomsbury Academic. 167- 182
Carruthers, W., (2014). Introduction: Thinking about Histories of Egyptology. In: Histories of Egyptology: Interdisciplinary Measures. Editors: Carruthers, W., . Routledge. 1- 15
Other (29)
Carruthers, W., (2023).On Violence at Taffa/Taffeh. Bridging Humanities
Carruthers, W., (2023).How Egypt's Aswan Dam Washed Away Nubian Heritage. Newlines Magazine
Carruthers, W., (2023).In Luxor, Egypt Projects Renewed Tourism Economy. The Markaz Review
Carruthers, W., (2023).The French archaeologist who was a force to be reckoned with. Apollo,Apollo Magazine Ltd
Carruthers, W., (2023).Why is the United States rejoining UNESCO?. Apollo,Apollo Magazine Ltd
Carruthers, W., (2022).Who is UNESCO for?. Apollo. October 2022,Appolo Magazine Ltd
Carruthers, W., (2022).William Carruthers, Flooded Pasts: UNESCO, Nubia, and the Recolonization of Archaeology (New Texts Out Now). Jadaliyya,Arab Studies Institute
Carruthers, W., (2021).Special Issue: Inequality and Race in the Histories of Archaeology. Bulletin of the History of Archaeology. 31(1),Ubiquity Press
Carruthers, W., (2021).Special Issue: Heritage, Preservation, and Decolonization: Entanglements, Consequences, Action?. Future Anterior. 16(2),University of Minnesota Press
Carruthers, W., (2021).Heritage, Preservation, and Decolonization: Entanglements, Consequences, Action?. Future Anterior. 16(2),University of Minnesota Press
Carruthers, W., (2021).Michael Falser, Angkor Wat: A Transcultural History of Heritage. Architecture Beyond Europe Journal. 19
Carruthers, W., (2021).'A Pearl in Peril' by Christina Luke. History of Anthropology Review. 45
Carruthers, W., (2021).Spectacles of the Past. Jadaliyya,Arab Studies Institute
Carruthers, W., (2020).Lucia Allais, Designs of Destruction: The Making of Monuments in the Twentieth Century. Journal of Contemporary History. 55(4),SAGE Publications
Carruthers, W., (2019).'A Future in Ruins' by Lynn Meskell. History of Anthropology Newsletter. 43
Carruthers, W., (2018).'The Pursuit of Ruins' by Christina Bueno. History of Anthropology Newsletter. 42
Carruthers, W., (2018).'Artefacts of History' by Sudeshna Guha. History of Anthropology Newsletter. 42
Carruthers, W. and Van Damme, S., (2017).Special Issue: Dissassembling Archeology, Reassembling the Modern World: Questions and Possibilities. History of Science. 55(3)
Carruthers, W., (2016).On Heritage, Culture and Trading Zones. TRAFO: Blog for Transregional Research
Carruthers, W., (2016).Contesting Antiquity in Egypt: Archaeologies, Museums & the Struggle for Identities from World War I to Nasser. Public Archaeology. 14(3),Taylor and Francis Group
Carruthers, W., (2015).What We Are Talking About When We Talk About Tutankhamun’s Beard. The Max Weber Programme Blog
Carruthers, W., (2015).Unwrapping Ancient Egypt. Christina Riggs. London: Bloomsbury Academic, 2014. 384 pp.. Museum Anthropology Review. 9
Carruthers, W., (2014).A Review of Dialogues with the Dead: Egyptology in British Culture and Religion, 1822-1922. Bulletin of the History of Archaeology. 24,Ubiquity Press
Carruthers, W., (2012).Jeffrey Abt, American Egyptologist: The Life of James Henry Breasted and the Creation of His Oriental Institute. British Journal for the History of Science. 45(4),Cambridge University Press
Carruthers, W., (2012).Mit Rahineh-Memphis and Egyptian Fieldwork after the Free Officers' Coup of 1952. Antiquity: a quarterly review of archaeology. 86(334),Cambridge University Press
Quirke, S., Haikal, F., El Daly, O., Carruthers, W., Helmy, M., Laziridis, N. and Exell, K., (2011).Egyptologists Speak Out. The New Statesman
Carruthers, W., (2010).Means to an End: Seeking Bryan Emery in Archives. Egyptian Archaeology. 36
Carruthers, W., (2010).Conference Report. Disciplinary Measures? Histories of Egyptology in Multi-Disciplinary Context conference, June 10–12, 2010, London.. History of Anthropology Newsletter. 37
Carruthers, W., (2009).Walter Bryan Emery and the History of Egyptology. Antiquity: a quarterly review of archaeology. 83(321),Cambridge University Press
Contact
Academic support hours:
My Academic Support Hours during Spring 2024 are Mondays and Thursdays, 12:00-1:00. Otherwise, please email me at william.carruthers@essex.ac.uk to sort out a meeting.
