Rate My Professor Ellen Ryan

Dr. Ellen Ryan is an Egyptologist in Macquarie University's History faculty, specifically within the Department of Ancient History. She completed her PhD in Egyptology at Macquarie University in 2018. Ryan's research investigates concepts of leaders, leadership, governance, and the roles of high-ranking officials during the New Kingdom period (c. 1539–1077 BCE). Her work analyzes private texts inscribed on tomb walls, statues, and stelae, elucidating the delicate balance between leading and following in the social hierarchy of ancient Egyptian monarchy. She conducts regular fieldwork in the private tombs of the Theban necropolis in Luxor, Egypt, and the necropolis at Dendera.

At Macquarie University, Ryan holds the position of Unit Convenor and Tutor for AHIS2250 – Ancient Egypt: Culture and Society, a course exploring key aspects of ancient Egyptian culture and society. She also tutors the Hieroglyphic Egyptian Beginners course at the Macquarie Ancient Languages School, suitable for students with no prior experience. This program introduces the fundamentals of the Ancient Egyptian hieroglyphic script, Middle Egyptian grammar and vocabulary, and the reading of short inscriptions from various periods of Egyptian history. Ryan has played a key role in documenting Macquarie University's Egyptian collections at the Museum of Ancient Cultures. She co-authored 'Strangers in a Strange Land: the Australian Museum's Collections of Egyptian Human Remains Housed in the Museum of Ancient Cultures at Macquarie University' (Bulletin of the Australian Centre for Egyptology 25, 2014, pp. 147–160) with Yann Tristant, Ronika K. Power, John Magnussen, and others. Furthermore, she co-edited with Associate Professor Yann Tristant the volume Death is Only the Beginning: Egyptian Funerary Customs at the Museum of Ancient Cultures, Macquarie University (Australian Centre for Egyptology Studies 11, 2017), providing the first comprehensive catalogue of the museum's Egyptological holdings, which include approximately 4,700 genuine artifacts.

Ryan contributes to public outreach and education through lectures and workshops. She has spoken at the Australian Museum on ancient Egyptians' use of hieroglyphic script and insights into funerary practices, as well as on 18th Dynasty topics during Archaeology Week events at the Museum of Ancient Cultures. In addition, she presented a seminar at the Australian National University on leaders and leadership in New Kingdom Egypt based on evidence from private texts.