History - Egyptology
Recipient of the Pamela and Benson Harer Fellow specializing in Egyptology
Kate Liszka directs the Wadi el-Hudi Expedition to the Eastern Desert of Egypt, an archaeological and epigraphic project that looks at ancient Egyptian mining activities.
CSUSB professor consults for Disney’s sequel ‘Under Wraps 2’ CSUSB Faculty Spotlight – Kate LiszkaKate Liszka is a professor of history and the Pamela and Benson Harer Fellow specializing in Egyptology, CSUSB’s first-ever fully endowed faculty fellowship.
Liszka is interested in all things ancient and archaeological, but her specific research focuses on ancient Nubians interacting with Egyptians and the Egyptian government. Ancient Egypt is more than a history subject for Liszka. It’s also a great means of learning about where the world has come from, she said.
She directs the Wadi el-Hudi Expedition to the Eastern Desert of Egypt, an archaeological and epigraphic project that looks at ancient Egyptian mining activities, their organization, and individuals who participated in them, especially in light of ancient ethnicities.
In 2023, Liszka and a group of CSUSB students excavated two ancient houses and an ancient Egyptian mining settlement that archaeologists had not yet explored, and discovered six new archaeological sites at Wadi el-Hudi. In winter 2019, Liszka led five CSUSB students to do archaeological work. During this study abroad, students helped make 3D models of 11 archaeological sites.
Liszka also served as the Egyptological consultant for the movies "Under Wraps" and "Under Wraps 2" on the Disney Channel and on Disney+ to make sure the films were both culturally appropriate and historically accurate.
In addition, Wondrium’s “The Real Ancient Egypt” featured Liszka and Kasia Szpakowska, W. Benson Harer Egyptology Scholar in Residence at CSUSB in spring 2021, in a mini-series looking at the people and society of ancient Egypt. Liszka and Szpakowska both starred in and helped to write the tell-all history of ancient Egypt. The series’ nine episodes examine the hidden stories of the past that make the ancient Egyptians become human to us today. It looks at topics like tomb robbery, immigrants, daily religious practices, useful demons and justice in the past.
In 2022, Liszka was awarded the grant from the Antiquities Endowment Fund of the American Research Center in Egypt for conservation, restoration and 3D recording of more than a dozen ancient rock inscriptions that could provide new insights into the history of ancient Egypt. In 2019, the Wadi el-Hudi Expedition in Egypt was awarded the Ellen and Charles Steinmetz Endowment Fund for Archaeology.
Liszka obtained her Ph.D. and M.A. in near Eastern languages and civilizations from the University of Pennsylvania, and her B.A. in classics and ancient Mediterranean studies and international studies from Penn State University.