Jordan Miller
Assistant Professor, Near Eastern Studies
Academic focus:
Ancient Egyptian religion and visual culture
Current research project:
I am preparing a book that explores ancient Egyptian and Classic Maya concepts and experiences surrounding what we call hieroglyphs. What did it mean to write, and what counted as writing, in these cultures? What can writing be and do? Apart from illuminating the Egyptian and Maya traditions, I hope that contextualizing writing practices in this way will inform culturally sensitive approaches to designing and preserving present-day minority scripts.
Previous positions:
- Research Associate, Faculty of Classics and St John’s College, University of Cambridge, 2023–2025
Academic background:
- D.Phil., Egyptology, University of Oxford, 2022
- M.St., Egyptology and history of art, University of Oxford, 2018
- B.A., Egyptology and Assyriology, University of Oxford, 2017
Last book read:
“The End of Everything (Astrophysically Speaking)” by Katie Mack
In your own time/when not working:
Scoping out innovative restaurants and attempting to keep houseplants alive. I am looking forward to getting back into the world of traditional Chinese music as well — I played the yangqin in orchestras for around 15 years.
Courses you’re most looking forward to teaching:
Body and Spirit in Ancient Egypt (NES 2772), which is a gentle invitation to think about how we approach cultures and concepts that can seem radically different from our own. The wealth of ancient Egyptian literature is often underappreciated, so Hieroglyphic Egyptian III (HIERO 1452) will be a treat to teach as well.
What most excites you about Cornell:
The multidisciplinarity on campus, the free spirit of Ithaca, culinary inspiration at the Farmers Market and having the Finger Lakes on our doorstep.
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