Marissa Stevens
Office Hours: By Appointment
Marissa Stevens is the Assistant Director of the Pourdavoud Institute for the Study of the Iranian World and the Yarshater Center for the Study of Iranian Literary Traditions. Trained as an Egyptologist who studies the materiality, social history, and texts of the Third Intermediate Period and Late Period, she first earned an Honors B.A. in History and Sociology from Washington & Jefferson College and an M.A. from the University of Chicago, before completing her Ph.D. at the University of California, Los Angeles in the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures. Her dissertation focused on 21st Dynasty funerary papyri to determine funerary iconography’s role in defining an individual’s social identity, specifically with respect to titles, social position, family lineage, and gender of the Theban elite. Combining art historical and linguistic approaches, her research interests focus on how objects can solidify, maintain, and perpetuate social identity, especially in times of crisis when more traditional means of self-identification are absent.
Education
Ph.D., Egyptology, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, June 2018
C.Phil., Egyptology, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, The University of California, Los Angeles, September 2015
M.A., Social Sciences, The University of Chicago, June 2011
Honors B.A., History and Sociology, Summa Cum Laude, Washington & Jefferson College, May 2010
Articles
Book Chapters
Barbieri-Low, Anthony J. and Marissa Stevens, “Providing a Model Afterlife,” Ancient Egypt and Early China: State, Society, and Culture, editor Marissa Stevens (Seattle: University of Washington Press, 2021), 171-206.
Articles
“Unfinished Funerary Papyri and What It Reveals about Commission, Production, and Usage,” From Thebes to Tanis: Egypt in the 21st Dynasty, editor Rogério Sousa (Rome: L’erma di Bretschneider, forthcoming 2025).
“The Utilization of Collective Memory to Legitimize Persian Kingship in Egypt,” Proceedings of the 14th Melammu Symposium: 18-20 February 2020, editor M. Rahim Shayegan (Wien: Verlag der Österreichischen Akademie der Wissenschaften, forthcoming).
“Reactionary Functions of 21st Dynasty Funerary Papyri towards Coffin Reuse,” Proceedings of the Second Vatican Coffin Conference: 6-9 June 2017, editors Alessia Amenta and Hélène Guichard (Vatican City: Musei Vaticani Città del Vaticano, forthcoming).
“Persian Influences on Egyptian Perspectives: Demonstrating Authority through Nuance,” Proceedings from the Second Achaemenid Workshop: July 3-7, 2023, Obergurgl, Austria, editors M. Rahim Shayegan and Robert Rollinger (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, forthcoming 2024).
“Ägyptische Quellen,” Companion zum persisch-achaimenidischen Imperium (Springer Companion zur Geschichte), editor Julian Degen (Wiesbaden: Springer, forthcoming 2024).
“Layered Meanings: Spears, Enemies, and Achaemenid Iconography through Egyptian Eyes,” Navigating the Worlds of History: Studies in Honor of Robert Rollinger on the Occasion of His 60th Birthday, editors Kai Ruffing, Brigitte Truschnegg, Andres Rudigier, Julian Degen, Sebastian Fink, and Kordula Schnegg (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz, 2024) 1079-1090.
“Through the Eyes of the Beholder: Motifs (Re)Interpreted in the 27th Dynasty,” Ancient Egyptian Art Studies: Art in Motion, a Social Tool of Power and Resistance, editors Kathlyn Cooney and Alisée Devillers, Arts 13, no. 3: 76 (MDPI, 2024).
“Comparing the Civilizations of Ancient Egypt and Early China,” Ancient Near East Today, Vol. X, No. 3, editor Alexander Joffe (American Society of Overseas Research, March 2022).
Mousavi, Ali and Marissa Stevens, “The UCLA Archaeological Gazetteer of Iran: Excavations of Ancient Sites in a Digital Age,” Backdirt: Annual Review of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA (Los Angeles: UC Regents, 2021) 76-81.
“Neith as Legitimator: Persian Religious Strategy and Udjahorresnet,” The Journal of Ancient Egyptian Interconnections – Special Issue: Udjahorresnet and His World, editors Melanie Wasmuth and Pearce Paul Creasman (University of Arizona, 2020) 185-194.
“Family Associations Reflected in the Materiality of 21st Dynasty Funerary Papyri,” Invisible Archaeologies: Hidden aspects of daily life in ancient Egypt and Nubia, editor Loretta Kilroe (Oxford: Archaeopress, 2019) 26-55.
“Illustrations of Temple Rank on 21st Dynasty Funerary Papyri,” Current Research in Egyptology 2018: Proceedings of the Nineteenth Annual Symposium, Czech Institute of Egyptology, Faculty of Arts, Charles University, Prague, 25-28 June 2018, editors Dana Bělohoubková, Jiří Honzl, Věra Nováková, and Marie Peterková Hlouchová (Oxford: Archaeopress, 2019) 162-228.
Arbuckle MacLeod, Caroline, Elsbeth Geldhof, Marissa Stevens, and Kathlyn Cooney, “The Life of the Egyptian Coffin: Preliminary Report,” Backdirt: Annual Review of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA (Los Angeles: UC Regents, 2016) 32-37.
Stevens, Marissa and Kathlyn Cooney, “The Ongoing Study of Coffin Reuse in 21st Dynasty Egypt,” Backdirt: Annual Review of the Cotsen Institute of Archaeology at UCLA (Los Angeles: UC Regents, 2015) 42-47.
Book Reviews
“Book Review: Rogério Sousa, Burial assemblages from Bab el-Gasus in the geographical society of Lisbon. Monumenta Aegyptiaca, 14. Turnhout: Brepols, 2017. xiv, 290 p. €89,00 (pb). ISBN 9782503565750,” Bryn Mawr Classical Review (December 2017).
“Book Review: France Jamen, Le cercueil de Padikhonsu au musée des Beaux-Arts de Lyon (XXIe dynastie), Studien zu altägyptischen Totentexten 20 (Wiesbaden: Harrassowitz Verlag, 2016). ISBN 9783447103725. Pp. xii +240.,” Journal of the American Research Center in Egypt, Vol. 52 (2016) 353-355.
Encyclopedia Entries
“Tomb Robbery,” All Things Egyptian: An Encyclopedia of the Ancient Egyptian World, editor Lisa K. Sabbahy (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2019) 538-41.
“Egyptian Mummies,” “Opening of the Mouth,” “Theban Necropolis,” and “The Egyptian Exhibit, The British Museum,” Mummies around the World: An Encyclopedia of Mummies in History, Religion, and Popular Culture, editor Matt Cardin (Santa Barbara: ABC-CLIO, 2014).
“Ammit,” “Amun,” Amun-Re,” “Aten,” “Atum,” “Horus,” “Introduction,” “Isis,” Mut,” “Osiris,” “Ptah,” “Re,” and “Thoth,” Lincoln Library of World Mythology: Ancient Near East Volume, editor Derek Gleason (Cleveland: The Lincoln Library Press, 2013).
Courses
LECTURER, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
- ANE130/RELG 132 Ancient Egyptian Religion, Summer 2018
LECTURER, Art Department, California State Polytechnic University, Pomona, CA
- ART 3311 Art of Egypt and the Ancient Near East, Spring 2021
- ART 315 Art of Egypt and the Ancient Near East, Spring 2017
INSTRUCTOR OF RECORD, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
- ANE 98T Death, Afterlife, and the Underworld, Spring 2018
- ANE/ART HIS M110A Art & Arch of Ancient Egypt, Summer 2016
- ANE 15 Women in Power in the Ancient World, Summer 2015
- ANE130/RELG 132 Introduction to Egyptian Religion, Summer 2014
TEACHING FELLOW, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
- ANE130/RELG 132 Introduction to Egyptian Religion, Spring 2017
- ANE/HIST 103B Ancient Egyptian Civilization II, Winter 2017
- ANE 10W Jerusalem: Holy City, Fall 2016
- ANE 15 Women in Power in the Ancient World, Winter 2016
- ANE/HIST 103A Ancient Egyptian Civilization I, Fall 2015
TEACHING ASSOCIATE, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
- ANE 15 Women in Power in the Ancient World, Winter 2015
TEACHING ASSISTANT, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
- ANE130/RELG 132 Introduction to Egyptian Religion, Spring 2014
- ANE/HIST 103A Ancient Egyptian Civilization I, Fall 2013
READER, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, University of California Los Angeles, Los Angeles, CA
- ANE130/RELG 132 Introduction to Egyptian Religion, Spring 2013
TEACHING ASSISTANT, Physics Department, Washington & Jefferson College, Washington, PA
- SCI 106 What’s Center? – The Galileo Affair, Winter 2008
Presentations
“The Manipulation of Egyptian Text and Image for the Benefit of Achaemenid Imperial Rule”
- American Research Center in Egypt Annual Conference, Pittsburgh, PA, April 2024
“Unfinished Funerary Papyri and What It Reveals about Commission, Production,
and Usage”
- Second Gate of the Priest Conference, Cairo, Egypt, December 2023
“The Book of the Dead as a Family Affair”
- J. Paul Getty Museum, Los Angeles, CA, November 2023
“A Reassessment of Persian Period Material in Egypt”
- International Congress of Egyptologists 13, Leiden, the Netherlands, August 2023
“Persian Influences on Egyptian Perspectives: Demonstrating Authority through Nuance”
- Achaemenid Workshops II, Obergurgul, Austria, July 2023
“Commodity and Competition: How Funerary Papyri Contain More Than Religious Knowledge”
- Egypt Society of Bristol, Bristol, UK, March 2023
“Funerary Papyri as Social Reflections of the Living and the Dead”
- American Research Center in Egypt – Orange County Chapter, September 202
- American Research Center in Egypt – Northern California Chapter, September 2022
“Unfinished Business: Incomplete Funerary Papyri and Possible Implications”
- American Research Center in Egypt Annual Conference, Irvine, CA, April 2022
- Exalted Spirits: Veneration of the Dead through the Ages, Cairo, Egypt, November 2021
“The Art of Egyptian Funerary Ritual: Manufacturing Papyri for the Living and the Dead”
- Cal Poly Art History Faculty Annual Lecture, Pomona, CA, November 2020
“The Utilization of Collective Memory to Legitimate Persian Kingship in Egypt”
- 14th Melammu Symposium, Los Angeles, CA, February 2020
“The Rise of the Ramesside Priesthood: Divine Oracles as a Path to Power”
- International Congress of Egyptologists 12, Cairo, Egypt, November 2019
“Reading 21st Dynasty Funerary Papyri as Social Documents”
- Crossing Over: A Multidisciplinary Exploration of Death, Bryn Mawr, PA, April 2019
“The Rise of the of the Ramesside Priesthood: Restructuring a Path to Power”
- The American Research Center in Egypt Annual Conference, Alexandria, VA, April 2019
“The Ownership of Funerary Papyri as a Means of Defining Social Identity”
- American Schools of Oriental Research Annual Meeting, Denver, CO, November 2019
“Family and Priesthood: Social Interconnectedness on 21st Dynasty Funerary Papyri”
- Current Research in Egyptology Conference, Prague, Czech Republic, June 2018
“Temple Rank and 21st Dynasty Funerary Papyri: Documenting Status in Theban Society”
- The American Research Center in Egypt Annual Conference, Tucson, AZ, April 2018
“Family Associations Reflected in the Materiality of 21st Dynasty Funerary Papyri”
- American Research Center in Egypt – Orange County, Santa Ana, CA, January 2018
- University of Oxford Invisible Archaeologies Conference, Oxford, U.K., November 2017
“Reactionary Functions of Funerary Papyri towards 21st Dynasty Coffin Reuse”
- Brown University Reuse Reconsidered Conference, Providence, RI, September 2017
“In the Shadow of Coffin Reuse: Reactionary Functions of 21st Dynasty Funerary Papyri”
- Second Vatican Coffins Conference, Vatican City, June 2017
“Connecting Coffins and Papyri: An Analysis of Social Identity through 21st Dynasty Funerary Iconography”
- American Research Center in Egypt Annual Conference, Atlanta, GA, April 2016
- Ancient Egyptian Coffins: Past, Present, Future, Cambridge, U.K., April 2016
- American Research Center in Egypt – Orange County, Santa Ana, CA, March 2016
“Negotiating Social Identity in 21st Dynasty Thebes: Female Agency in Funerary Papyri”
- UCLA Interdisciplinary Archaeology Conference, Los Angeles, CA February, 2016
“Unwrapped: The Mysterious World of Mummies”
- The Houston Museum of Natural Science, Houston, TX, February 2016
“Shifting Social Identity and Self-Presentation: The Growing Emphasis on Family in New Kingdom Theban Tombs”
- Egypt Exploration Organization of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, April 2015
- American Research Center in Egypt Annual Conference, Houston, TX, April 2015
“Tomb Function and Innovation: A New Interpretation of the Monochrome Tomb Chambers of Deir el-Medina”
- Center for the Study of Religion Graduate Conference, Los Angeles, CA, May 2014
“Understanding Agency in Funerary Iconography: An Analysis of a Group of 21st Dynasty Funerary Papyri”
- American Research Center in Egypt Annual Conference, Portland, OR, April 2014
“Amarna: Akhenaten’s Palace City”
- American Research Center in Egypt – Orange County, Santa Ana, CA, January 2014
- Wep Wa-ut in Westwood Conference, Los Angeles, CA, April 2013
- Egypt Exploration Organization of Southern California, Los Angeles, CA, March 2013