2026 SPRING LECTURES
Dr. Rita Lucarelli
In an age increasingly shaped by artificial intelligence, where images, texts, and even ancient cultures can be generated instantly, what role do museums still play in helping us understand the past? This lecture revisits Egypt as a case study to explore the enduring human value of museum experiences in a digital and AI-driven world.
Drawing on examples from Egyptian collections and exhibitions, the speaker’s own 3D and VR projects and student engagement with the ancient Egyptian collection of the Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology of UC Berkeley, the talk examines how museums create forms of knowledge and emotional connection that cannot be reduced to data or algorithms alone. While AI offers powerful new tools for access, reconstruction, and interpretation, it also raises important questions about authenticity, presence, and the meaning of cultural encounter.
By re-encountering Egypt through the physical, sensory, and social space of the museum, this lecture argues that museums remain vital sites where history is not only learned, but felt, questioned, and shared.
She is presently working at a project aiming at realizing 3D models of ancient Egyptian coffins, the “Book of the Dead in 3D” and a VR App, “Return to the Tomb”, which recreates the tomb space where an ancient Egyptian sarcophagus is brought back from the museum to the tomb. She is also completing a monograph on demonology in ancient Egypt entitled “Agents of punishment and protection: ancient Egyptian Demonology in the First Millenium BCE”. Rita Lucarelli is also involved in a teaching Higher Education in the San Quentin State Prison, in California.
In an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer (Oct. 1987) on the importance of the Museum’s Egyptian section volunteers, Felix is quoted as saying “Handling these objects is a privilege. We’re not spinning our wheels here, we’re making an important contribution.”
This is especially so for Felix’s work at the museum, and continues to be true today through the Korsyn Fund, which has enabled ARCE-PA to host prominent scholars for our members and guests.
More information on the Korsyn Lecture & Felix Korsyn:
2026 ANNUAL KORSYN LECTURE
March 7, 2026
Penn Museum, Classroom 2
3:30 pm EST
Prof. Rita Lucarelli, Associate Professor of Egyptology, UC Berkeley
Faculty Curator of Egyptology, Phoebe A. Hearst Museum of Anthropology
Re-Encountering Egypt: Museums and the Human Experience in the Age of AI
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April 18, 2026
Penn Museum, Room 345
3:30 PM EST
Dr. Mena Melad, Luxor Times
Topic TBD
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May 9, 2026
Penn Museum, Room 345
3:30 PM EST
Prof. Josef Wegner, Curator Penn Museum, Professor of Egyptian Archaeology, Department of Middle Eastern Languages and Cultures, University of Pennsylvania
New Discoveries in the Anubis-Mountain Royal Necropolis at Abydos
Entrance fees for ARCE-PA In-Person Lectures are:
$10 for the general public
$7 for Penn Museum members/Penn Staff/Penn Faculty
$5 for Students with ID
FREE for ARCE-PA Members, ARCE Members, & children under 12, unless otherwise stated.
All ARCE-PA entry fees will be taken at the door only of the lecture venue at the ARCE-PA table.
Light refreshments will be served starting at 3 pm.
Per the Penn Museum COVID-19 protocols, masks are optional.
If you are interested in joining ARCE or need to renew your membership*, please visit:
https://www.arce.org/membership
*Please do not forget to associate with the "Pennsylvania Chapter" in order to stay up to date with ARCE-PA events.
