Attendance is required at scheduled activities including presentations on site in Egypt to receive credit for components of the course.
Lectures will be not available as recordings, due to the nature of this course.
The course will include live online events including site presentations.
Attendance on campus is not required for the essay, but is required for each on-site presentation
The activities for the course are scheduled as a block delivery within the dates on site in Egypt (17 November - 15 December).

This course is available for delivery to students studying remotely outside NZ in 2024, but will require attendance in Egypt.

Taught courses use a learning and collaboration tool called Canvas to provide students with learning materials including reading lists and lecture recordings (where available). Please remember that the recording of any class on a personal device requires the permission of the instructor.

The learning resources will consist of the presentation notes of the student presentations on-site. This will have been compiled earlier by the course director and put up in Modules as a pdf.

The content and delivery of content in this course are protected by copyright. Material belonging to others may have been used in this course and copied by and solely for the educational purposes of the University under license.

You may copy the course content for the purposes of private study or research, but you may not upload onto any third-party site, make a further copy or sell, alter or further reproduce or distribute any part of the course content to another person.

In the event of an unexpected disruption, we undertake to maintain the continuity and standard of teaching and learning in all your courses throughout the year. If there are unexpected disruptions the University has contingency plans to ensure that access to your course continues and course assessment continues to meet the principles of the University’s assessment policy. Some adjustments may need to be made in emergencies. You will be kept fully informed by your course co-ordinator/director, and if disruption occurs you should refer to the university website for information about how to proceed.

This course can only be held in politically optimal circumstances in Egypt and wider, the Middle East. These situations are monitored closely, and if they are deemed to be too dangerous, the course will be cancelled.
The planning for this course begins in late February for the year it is being held. Because of the necessary travel and other arrangements, there is a cut-off date of the end of semester 1 for accepting new students. In the best of all possible circumstances, this course should be held every two years; the best means of being considered for inclusion is to contact the course director (Dr Jennifer Hellum - j.hellum@auckland.ac.nz) to let her know you are interested and be put on a list for consideration.

Please be aware that the conduct of students while in Egypt is taken very very seriously. Public drinking and drunkenness is not tolerated. Rudeness and condescension to the local Egyptians is not tolerated. Indulgence in illicit or recreational drugs is not tolerated. Any of these can cause the student to be dismissed from the course, which means finding their own way home. If a student is caught buying or taking drugs by the Egyptian police, you will be referred to the New Zealand consulate in Cairo and will receive no further assistance from the course director or assistants. Adherence to these and to whatever the director and/or assistants advise is fundamental to this course. Egypt is not an easy country in which to travel, and the director's years of experience in the country helps ensure the safety and well-being of the entire group.

For up-to-date information regarding this course, please contact the course director, Dr Jennifer Hellum (j.hellum@auckland.ac.nz).

The University of Auckland will not tolerate cheating, or assisting others to cheat, and views cheating in coursework as a serious academic offence. The work that a student submits for grading must be the student's own work, reflecting their learning. Where work from other sources is used, it must be properly acknowledged and referenced. This requirement also applies to sources on the internet. A student's assessed work may be reviewed for potential plagiarism or other forms of academic misconduct, using computerised detection mechanisms.

Similarly, research students must meet the University’s expectations of good research practice. This requires:

• Honesty - in all aspects of research work
• Accountability - in the conduct of research
• Professional courtesy and fairness – in working with others
• Good stewardship – on behalf of others
• Transparency – of research process and presentation of results
• Clarity - communication to be understandable, explainable and accessible

For more information on the University’s expectations of academic integrity, please see the Academic Conduct section of the University policy hub.

Elements of this outline may be subject to change. The latest information about taught courses is made available to enrolled students in Canvas.

Students may be asked to submit assessments digitally. The University reserves the right to conduct scheduled tests and examinations online or through the use of computers or other electronic devices. Where tests or examinations are conducted online remote invigilation arrangements may be used. In exceptional circumstances changes to elements of this course may be necessary at short notice. Students enrolled in this course will be informed of any such changes and the reasons for them, as soon as possible, through Canvas.

The 'Discussions' section includes engagement with both the ancient and the modern cultures

Feedback on taught courses is gathered from students at the end of each semester through a tool called SET or Qualtrics. The lecturers and course co-ordinators will consider all feedback and respond with summaries and actions. Your feedback helps teachers to improve the course and its delivery for future students. In addition, class Representatives in each class can take feedback to the department and faculty staff-student consultative committees.

This course changes every year it is held, due to the nature of travel and study in Egypt. Students' evaluations are taken into careful consideration and implemented as allowable by the conditions in Egypt.

Class representatives are students tasked with representing student issues to departments, faculties, and the wider university. If you have a complaint about this course, please contact your class rep who will know how to raise it in the right channels. See your departmental noticeboard for contact details for your class reps.

Tuākana is a multi-faceted programme for Māori and Pacific students providing topic specific tutorials, one-on-one sessions, test and exam preparation and more. Explore your options at Tuakana Learning Communities.

All students are asked to discuss any impairment related requirements privately, face to face and/or in written form with the course coordinator, lecturer or tutor.

Student Disability Services also provides support for students with a wide range of impairments, both visible and invisible, to succeed and excel at the University. For more information and contact details, please visit the Student Disability Services’ website.

Physical disabilities that require wheelchairs are difficult to accommodate in Egypt, but not impossible.

We all go through tough times during the semester, or see our friends struggling. There is lots of help out there - please see the Support Services page for information on support services in the University and the wider community.

If your ability to complete assessed work is affected by illness or other personal circumstances outside of your control, contact a member of teaching staff as soon as possible before the assessment is due. If your personal circumstances significantly affect your performance, or preparation, for an exam or eligible written test, refer to the University’s aegrotat or compassionate consideration page. This should be done as soon as possible and no later than seven days after the affected test or exam date.

The difficulty of travel in Egypt means almost everyone will get a stomach ailment, usually quite minor, while in the country. These and other illness/misfortunes will be taken into account with evaluation and marking by the course director.

The Student Charter assumes and acknowledges that students are active participants in the learning process and that they have responsibilities to the institution and the international community of scholars. The University expects that students will act at all times in a way that demonstrates respect for the rights of other students and staff so that the learning environment is both safe and productive. For further information visit Student Charter.

Students with concerns about teaching including how a course is delivered, the resources provided, or supervision arrangements, have the right to express their concerns and seek resolution. The university encourages informal resolution where possible, as this is quicker and less stressful. For information on the informal and formal complaints processes, please refer to the Student Academic Complaints Statute in the Student Policies and Guidelines section of the Policy Hub.