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The Public Humanities Outreach Initiative at the Institute for Middle East Studies at the George Washington University offers programming for a variety of public audiences throughout the DC metro area. We share scholarly research and perspectives that enrich our understanding of the Middle East through expert lectures, film series, author talks, arts & culture programming, and K-12 curriculum development. We collaborate on events tailored to university and public audiences and offer a robust digital platform to archive events and resources for self-directed learners and educators.
Outreach News
Local students learn about ancient women’s leadership in the National Geographic Museum’s exhibition Queens of Egypt
The Institute for Middle East Studies at GW hosted a discussion in April 2019 with the American Chamber of Commerce in Egypt (AMCHAM) on Egyptian energy, environmental sustainability, and contemporary economic reforms. Afterwards, AMCHAM CEO Hisham Fahmy expressed his desire to host local students at the National Geographic Museum’s exhibition Queens of Egypt which runs until September 2019. The exhibition about ancient Egypt, one of the world’s greatest civilizations, highlights some of its lesser-known leaders—Egypt’s mighty queens
whose impact shaped both the ancient and modern worlds. IMES located a local educator, Kelitah Armstrong, who runs a summer enrichment program at Highland Elementary School in Silver Spring, MD. While the National Geographic Museum graciously waived the registrations fee for the students, the real impediment to getting the kids to the museum was securing funding for transportation and a nutritious lunch, since their school budget does not include funding for such extracurricular activities. Thanks to the generosity of Mr. Fahmy and AMCHAM, Ms. Armstrong was able to transport 55 people (45 children and 10 adult chaperones) to the Queens of Egypt exhibition on Friday, June 28. Ms. Armstrong reported that
the kids had a great time and especially loved the interactive portions of the exhibition. After spending a couple hours at the Museum, the kids shared lunch and even had time to stop by the Lincoln Memorial on their way back to Silver Spring. We appreciate AMCHAM’s generosity in extending this opportunity for local students to widen their global and historical perspectives.
