- American University in Cairo, Core Curriculum, Post-DocUniversity of Oklahoma, History of Science, Graduate Studentadd
- History of Science, History of Egyptology, 19th Century Britain, Women in Science, Technology and Engineering, Edwardian Britain, History and Political Science, and 15 moreEgyptian Archaeology, History Of Eugenics, Mummy Studies, Science Popularization, Flinders Petrie, Margaret Murray, British History, Victorian Studies, Archaeology, History, Social Networks, Women's History, Biography, Prosopography, and History of Archaeologyedit
To combat high dropout rates and low motivation for online courses, and thanks to a generous eFellows grant from Missouri S&T, we have developed a self-paced, gamified course using an online educational program called 3dgamelab. Our... more
To combat high dropout rates and low motivation for online courses, and thanks to a generous eFellows grant from Missouri S&T, we have developed a self-paced, gamified course using an online educational program called 3dgamelab. Our goal for the Fall 2014 semester was to move a well-liked history of science course at Missouri S&T from a face-to-face lecture and discussion to an online format, for the purposes of long-distance teaching and learning. According to online education experts Joey Lee and Jessica Hammer, gamification...attempts to harness the motivational power of games and apply it to real-world problems, such as the motivational and engagement problems encountered by online courses (Lee and Hammer 2011, 1). In order to deal with the problems of expectations between students and instructors in motivation for online courses, Lee and Hammer propose adding options such as level completion badges, leader boards, activity experience points (XP), and more as game components. We proposed a similar model. Within 3dgamelab, we allowed students a choose-your-own-adventure format. Each student worked their way through a number of different topic options for the course, earning experience points and leveling-up on their way to various thresholds tied to traditional letter grades. Clear tasks and immediate rewards further contributed to a transparent motivational system as compared to traditional grading (Ibid., 3)
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To combat high dropout rates and low motivation for online courses, we gamified a history of science course. To do so, we used an online educational program called 3DGameLab to convert what had been a well-liked face-to-face lecture and... more
To combat high dropout rates and low motivation for online courses, we gamified a history of science course. To do so, we used an online educational program called 3DGameLab to convert what had been a well-liked face-to-face lecture and discussion course to an online format, for the purposes of long-distance teaching and learning. Within 3DGameLab, we prepared approximately three times as much content as would be taught in a face-to-face class. Clear tasks and immediate rewards in the form of experience points (XP) contributed to a transparent motivational system as compared to traditional grading. In this course, students completed their assignments asynchronously. Sustaining engagement is challenging in this format due to student self-management, but, with the game mode, students could repeat their attempts to pass a quest (a lesson) until they succeed (submit a passable response). The feedback cycle was short, and we found that students tend to persevere in the face of failure wh...
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Research Interests: History and Archaeology
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James Henry Breasted and his crew arrived in Cairo in 1919 to begin the first of many seasons in the Near East for the newly-founded Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. Breasted and his crew aimed to cross the Mesopotamian... more
James Henry Breasted and his crew arrived in Cairo in 1919 to begin the first of many seasons in the Near East for the newly-founded Oriental Institute at the University of Chicago. Breasted and his crew aimed to cross the Mesopotamian desert to Syria to seek out surviving sites, and the British took this opportunity to gather intelligence. They gave Breasted and his crew special protections, arranged transportation and accommodations, as well as providing special access to military outposts in exchange for gathering information from native groups. Breasted's situation as an archaeologist-turned-spy was not unique, but the fact that he was an American gathering intelligence for the British was indeed unexpected. Using archival correspondence, this paper traces Breasted's expedition from Cairo, through Mesopotamia and back. I argue that although Breasted's intelligence reports were well-researched and supported by native leaders, they went unheeded, therefore hindering diplomatic efforts in the area. This episode in the history of Egyptology is significant because, even though others have mentioned this part of his expedition, no one has yet examined his intelligence and covert activities exclusively.
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This article explores the history of mummy unwrappings in the West, culminating in Margaret Murray’s public unrolling of two mummies in Manchester in 1908. Mummy unwrappings as a practice have shifted often between public spectacles... more
This article explores the history of mummy unwrappings in the West, culminating in Margaret Murray’s public unrolling of two mummies in Manchester in 1908. Mummy unwrappings as a practice have shifted often between public spectacles which displayed and objectified exotic artifacts, and scientific investigations which sought to reveal medical and historical information about ancient life. Although others have looked at Murray’s work in the context of the history of mummy studies, I argue that her work should be viewed culturally as poised between spectacle and science, drawing morbid public interest while also producing ground-breaking work that continues to this day. Murray’s main goal was to excite the interest of the public while at the same time educating them in the true history of ancient Egypt, and while ascertaining new scientific information and contributing to the scholarly interpretations of ancient Egypt.
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This paper highlights the classroom training of archaeologists from 1900-1935 by focusing on the Egyptology program at University College, London (UCL). I will explore part of the career of Margaret Alice Murray and her cohort who spent... more
This paper highlights the classroom training of archaeologists from 1900-1935 by focusing on the Egyptology program at University College, London (UCL). I will explore part of the career of Margaret Alice Murray and her cohort who spent much of their careers training future well-known field archaeologists. I argue that it was her organization and consolidation of the first two-year training program in archaeology at UCL that produced the graduates who quickly became famous field archaeologists in their own right. Therefore I argue that it is first the classroom, and not the field, where the “heroes” in archaeology are made.