Opening the Ancient World
A Public Academic Virtual Conference
SASA has created a new type of annual academic
Ancient Studies conference.
We are proud to have convened scholars from around the world and from all fields within Ancient Studies annually since 2021!
Submit your abstract for the 2026 Conference:
Fashion Forward!
*Abstract Submissions will open soon*
View the full call for papers here:
Click here to submit your abstract:
View the conference details here:
Click here for the Conference Report for 2024
Conference Goals
1
Hold an academic Ancient Studies conference freely available to the public.
2
Foster discussion and action regarding public outreach and scholarly inclusiveness.
3
Present and support excellent scholarship by independent scholars around the world.
4
Build a community of all who study the deep past, whether they work inside or outside academia.
Conference Components
Renowned Keynote Speakers
Academic Sessions with Independent Scholars' Presentations
Workshops & Roundtable discussions on Issues in Ancient Studies
Livestreaming on multiple SASA and partner platforms
Widespread advertising
Public Q&A for all presentations
Next Year's Conference
Opening the Ancient World 2026
Fashion Forward:
Interdisciplinary Approaches to Ancient Apparel
July 19th and 20th
Register here!
Past Conferences
2025
Theme: Body and Medicine in Antiquity: Health Care, Knowledge, and Practice
When: July 20th and 21st, 2025
Viewership: 16,000
Where: Livestreamed on:
Livestreamed in Spanish on:
SASA's YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, and Twitter
Digital Hammurabi's YouTube
World History Encyclopedia's YouTube, and Facebook
History with Kayleigh YouTube, Twitter / X and Facebook
World of Antiquity's YouTube
SASA's YouTube en español
Livestreamed in Arabic on:
Livestreamed in Spanish on:
2024
Theme: Representations of the Past in Ancient & Modern Times
When: July 21st and 22nd, 2024
Viewership: 23,000
Where: Livestreamed in English on:
Livestreamed in Arabic on:
SASA's YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, and Twitter / X
World History Encyclopedia's YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter / X
Digital Hammurabi's YouTube, Twitter / X and Twitch
World of Antiquity's YouTube
Per-Hay Studio's YouTube
New Classicists' Facebook and Twitter / X
History with Kayleigh YouTube, Twitter / X and Facebook
Archthot's YouTube and Instagram
Supported by a grant from the Wenner-Gren Foundation
2023
Theme: Discovery, Science, and Technology in the Ancient World: Traditions and Innovations
When: July 23rd and 24th, 2023
Viewership: 17,000
Where: Livestreamed on:
SASA's YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, and Twitter
World History Encyclopedia's YouTube, Facebook, and Twitter
Digital Hammurabi's YouTube, Twitter and Twitch
Voices of Ancient Egypt YouTube
2022
Theme: Who Has the Power? - Leaders and Leadership in the Ancient World
When: August 14-15, 2022
Viewership: 10,000
Where: Livestreamed on:
2021
Theme: Religion, History, & Culture
When: August 15 & 16, 2021
Viewership: 1,800
Where: Livestreamed on:
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Past Keynotes
2025
Dr. Casey Kirkpatrick
Assistant Professor in the Department of Archaeology at Simon Fraser University.
MA in Ancient Egyptian Culture from Swansea University.
PhD in Anthropology, specializing in Bioarchaeology and Archaeology, from the University of Western
Ontario.
Bronwyn L. Wickkiser
Professor of Ancient History at Hunter College
Bronwen is the author of Asklepios, Medicine and the Politics of Healing in Fifth-Century Greece: Between Craft and Cult (Johns Hopkins University 2008).
Co-author of The Thymele at Epidauros: Healing, Space, and Musical Performance in Late Classical Greece, with P. Schultz, G. Hinge, C. Kanellopoulos, and J. Franklin (Theran 2017).
2023
2024
Dr. Martha Tepepa Covarrubias
Ph.D. in urban environmental studies from El Colegio de México, Mexico City.
M.A. in cultural anthropology from Columbia University, New York
Dr. Laura Castro Royo
Director online public project Las Plumas de Simurgh
(Mesopotamia and Iran)
Ph.D. School of Art History and School of Modern Languages, University of St Andrews, Scotland
M.A. Medieval Studies, Universidad Complutense de Madrid.
Prof. Marian Feldman
Professor & Diversity Champion:
W. H. Collins Vickers Chair in Archaeology
Ph.D. in art history at Harvard University in ancient Near Eastern Art
Dr. Alexander Jones
Professor of the History of Exact Sciences in Antiquity at New York University
Director of the Institute for the Study of the Ancient World
Dr. Adrienne Mayor
Research Scholar in the Classics Department and History and Philosophy of Science Program at
Stanford University
Dr. Jeffrey Moser
Assistant Professor of History of Art and Architecture at Brown University
2022
Dr. Kara Cooney
Egyptologist, archeologist, Associate Professor of Egyptian Art and Architecture at UCLA and chair of the Department of Near Eastern Language and Cultures at UCLA
Dr. Sarah Allan
Burlington Northern Foundation Professor of Asian Studies Emeritus,
Dartmouth College.
She specializes in the study of China before the Qin Dynasty.
Dr. Amanda Podany
Professor of History at California State Polytechnic University, Pomona. She specializes in the study of Syria and Mesopotamia in the Middle and Late Bronze Age
Dr. Mark Smith
Helene Professor of Old Testament Literature and Exegesis at Princeton Theological Seminary
Dr. Moudhy al-Rashid
Assyriologist and Junior Research Fellow at Wolfson College, University of Oxford
Heba Abd el Gawad
Postdoctoral Researcher for "Egypt's Dispersed Heritage: Views from Egypt" at the Institute of Archaeology, University College of London
Saber A. Parian
Engineer
Researcher of Elamite and the Behistun Inscription
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The conference is FREE to attend but donations are appreciated.
Your tax-deductible donation helps support SASA’s education and live events programs.
2021