{{Short description|American Egyptologist (born 1980)}} {{Infobox academic | name = Colleen Darnell | birth_name = Colleen Marie Manassa | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1980|7|26}} | birth_place = | spouse = John Coleman Darnell | discipline = Egyptologist | sub_discipline = {{hlist|Art of ancient Egypt|New Kingdom|Late Period|Military of ancient Egypt}} | education = Yale University (BA, MA, PhD) | workplaces = Yale University<br>University of Hartford | website = {{URL|https://www.colleendarnell.com/}} | module = {{Infobox social media personality |child=yes | instagram_handle = vintage_egyptologist | instagram_display_name = | instagram_years_active = 2017–present | instagram_genre = | instagram_followers = 323,000 (2026) }} }} '''Colleen Marie Darnell''' ({{IPAc-en|d|ɑr|ˈ|n|ɛ|l}}, {{nee|'''Manassa'''}}; born July 26, 1980)<ref>{{cite tweet |user=pastpreservers |number=890214080082046977 |title=Wishing Egyptologist Dr Colleen Darnell a Happy Birthday! |date=July 26, 2017}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |website=Radaris |title=Colleen M Manassa|url= https://radaris.com/~Colleen-Manassa/1470210815}}</ref><ref name="Carole1"/> is an American Egyptologist, whose expertise includes Late Period uses of the Underworld Books, ancient Egyptian military history, the literature of New Kingdom Egypt, and Egyptian revival history. Her research in Egyptian military history has led to the first recreation of the tactics of the Battle of Perire, {{circa}} 1208 BCE and one source says that her study ''The Great Karnak Inscription of Merneptah'' "replaces all other earlier studies of the key historical narratives relating Merneptah's war against the Libyans."<ref>{{cite book|last=Spalinger|first=Anthony|title=War in Ancient Egypt|year=2005|publisher=Oxford|location=Blackwell Publishing|page=245}}</ref> Her research on pharaoh Tutankhamun's military actions contributed to ''Tutankhamun's Armies: Battle and Conquest in Ancient Egypt's Late Eighteenth Dynasty'' (co-authored with John Coleman Darnell) and was featured in the historical section of the 2010 documentary "King Tut Unwrapped."<ref>{{cite news |newspaper=The New York Times |first=Neil|last= Genzlinger|date=February 19, 2010 |title=Television Review {{!}} 'King Tut Unwrapped' CSI: Egypt, Complete With DNA Tests of Mummies |url=http://tv.nytimes.com/2010/02/20/arts/television/20tut.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20100224023656/https://www.nytimes.com/2010/02/20/arts/television/20tut.html |archive-date=Feb 24, 2010}}</ref>
In Egypt, she has made several archaeological discoveries as the director of the Moalla Survey Project, an ongoing archaeological project.<ref name="yale">{{cite web |url=http://www.yale.edu/egyptology/ae_moalla.htm |title=Yale Egyptological Institute in Egypt: Mo'alla Survey Project |publisher=Yale.edu |date= |accessdate=2013-06-20 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130201012435/http://www.yale.edu/egyptology/ae_moalla.htm |archive-date=February 1, 2013 |url-status=dead }}</ref>
==Biography== Colleen Manassa studied for her undergraduate and postgraduate degrees at Yale, gaining her B.A. in 2001 and Ph.D. 2005. Manassa was awarded the Mellon Fellowship in 2001<ref name=":0">{{Cite web |date=2001 |title=Yale Bulletin and Calendar |url=http://archives.news.yale.edu/v29.n31/story112.html |access-date=2024-12-10 |website=archives.news.yale.edu}}</ref> while living in Trumbull College. The same year she also received the Wrexham Prize<ref name=":0" /> awarded "for the best senior essay in the field of the humanities" for her essay "The Grand Karnak Inscription of Merneptah: Grand Strategy in the 13th Century B.C."
In 2006 she joined the faculty as an assistant professor and director of undergraduate studies. She was promoted to associate professor in 2010.<ref name="YaleFaculty">{{cite web |title= Colleen Manassa|website= Yale University, Near Eastern Languages & Civilizations|url= https://nelc.yale.edu/colleen-manassa|url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20120506050150/https://nelc.yale.edu/colleen-manassa|archive-date= May 6, 2012}}</ref>
In January 2013, it was discovered that Colleen Manassa and fellow professor John Darnell had been carrying out a long-running affair while she was an undergraduate studying under him. Within the small Near Eastern Languages and Civilizations (NELC) department, they were the only two faculty members in the even-smaller Egyptology program.<ref name="Carole2"/> "Four individuals with close ties to the department" claimed the relationship was common knowledge within the department,<ref>{{cite news |work= Yale Daily News|first1= Nicole|last1= Narea|first2= Julia|last2= Zorthian|date= Jan 14, 2013|title= Darnell suspended following affair with fellow professor, former student|url= https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2013/01/14/darnell-suspended-following-affair-with-fellow-professor-former-student/|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130425115646/http://yaledailynews.com/blog/2013/01/14/darnell-suspended-following-affair-with-fellow-professor-former-student/|archive-date= April 25, 2013}}</ref> and Assyriology professor Benjamin Foster reported "the basic situation has been known for a very long time."<ref name="Carole3"/> In divorce documents filed by Darnell's wife Deborah Darnell on November 5, 2012, she asserted that the affair began in 2000 when Manassa was an undergraduate student under Darnell's direct supervision.<ref name="Carole1">{{cite news |work= Yale Alumni Magazine|first= Carole|last= Bass|date= January 17, 2013|title= New details in Darnell suspension|url= https://yalealumnimagazine.org/blog_posts/1319-new-details-in-darnell-suspension|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221111221832/https://yalealumnimagazine.org/blog_posts/1319-new-details-in-darnell-suspension|archive-date= November 11, 2022}}</ref> On January 8, 2013, John Darnell admitted to the affair with his student and accepted a one-year suspension without pay.<ref>{{cite news |work= Yale Alumni Magazine|first= Mark Alden|last= Branch|date= February 1, 2013|title= Yale staffer reported Darnell relationship|url= https://yalealumnimagazine.org/blog_posts/1335-yale-staffer-reported-darnell-relationship|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221111221145/https://yalealumnimagazine.org/blog_posts/1335-yale-staffer-reported-darnell-relationship|archive-date= November 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |work= Yale Daily News|first1= Nikita|last1= Lalwani|first2= Julia|last2= Zorthian|date= Jan 10, 2013|title= Darnell resigns as dept chair following relationship with student|url= https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2013/01/10/darnell-resigns-as-dept-chair-following-relationship-with-student/|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130113003051/https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2013/01/10/darnell-resigns-as-dept-chair-following-relationship-with-student/|archive-date= January 13, 2013}}</ref> Darnell also admitted to "participating in the review" of Manassa's hiring and attempting to cover up his multiple policy violations.<ref name="Carole3">{{cite news |work= Yale Alumni Magazine|first= Carole|last= Bass|date= March–April 2013|title= Professor suspended over affair with student |url= https://yalealumnimagazine.org/articles/3656-professor-suspended-over-affair-with-student |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20221113081928/https://yalealumnimagazine.org/articles/3656-professor-suspended-over-affair-with-student |archive-date=November 13, 2022}}</ref> In August 2013 the university prohibited Darnell from holding an administrative position until 2023, and Manassa until 2018.<ref name="Carole2">{{cite news |work= Yale Alumni Magazine|first= Carole|last= Bass|date= August 28, 2013|title= Scandal brings new punishments for Egyptology program|url= https://yalealumnimagazine.org/blog_posts/1550-scandal-brings-new-punishments-br-for-egyptology-program|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20221111221645/https://yalealumnimagazine.org/blog_posts/1550-scandal-brings-new-punishments-br-for-egyptology-program|archive-date= November 11, 2022}}</ref><ref>{{cite news |work= Yale Daily News|first= Julia|last= Zorthian|date= Aug 28, 2013|title= Egyptology program in hot water|url= https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2013/08/28/egyptology-program-in-hot-water/|url-status=live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170710000216/https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2013/08/28/egyptology-program-in-hot-water/|archive-date= July 10, 2017}}</ref>
She taught art history at the University of Hartford; she was listed as visiting professor there as early as 2015.{{citation needed|date=May 2023}} She now teaches Art History at Naugatuck Valley Community College in Waterbury, Connecticut.<ref name="Academia.edu">{{cite web|website= Academia.edu|title= Colleen Manassa Darnell|url= https://yale.academia.edu/ColleenManassaDarnell}}</ref>
Now married, John and Colleen live in Durham, Connecticut.
== Egyptology == === Archaeological work === In 2008, Darnell created the Moalla Survey Project, an archaeological survey expedition in Egypt (under the auspices of the Egyptian Ministry of State for Antiquities) that has discovered several important new sites on the east bank of the Nile approximately 45 km south of Luxor, ranging in date from the late Predynastic period through the late Roman period.<ref name="yale" /> In 2010, she discovered an extensive late Roman settlement with over a hundred distinct structures. Within the necropolis of Moalla, the Moalla Survey Project also discovered a Nubian Pan Grave cemetery ({{circa}} 1600 BCE).<ref>{{cite book|last=Naser|first=C.|title=Nomads at the Nile: Towards an Archaeology of Interaction, in H Barnard and K. Duistermaat (eds), The History of the Peoples of the Eastern Desert|year=2012|location=Los Angeles}}</ref> In 2010, Darnell presented the first identification of Nubian (Pan Grave) pottery manufactured at the site of Umm Mawagir in Kharga Oasis.<ref>{{cite book|last=Fortner-Muller, Irene|first=Pamela Rose|title=1 Nubian Pottery from Egyptian Cultural Contexts of the Middle and Early New Kingdom Proceedings of a Workshop held at the Austrian Archaeological Institute at Cairo, 1–12 December 2010|publisher=Vienna}}</ref>
=== Museum work === As curator of the exhibition "Echoes of Egypt: Conjuring the Land of the Pharaohs," Darnell assembled nearly one hundred objects ranging from ancient Egyptian objects to pieces that span two millennia of fascination with ancient Egypt.<ref>{{cite web|website= Yale Peabody Museum |title=Echoes of Egypt: Conjuring the Land of the Pharaohs|date=2013-04-13 |url=http://peabody.yale.edu/exhibits/echoes-egypt-conjuring-land-pharaohs |url-status= dead|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20130208011242/http://peabody.yale.edu/exhibits/echoes-egypt-conjuring-land-pharaohs|archive-date=February 8, 2013}}</ref> Critics described the exhibition as “an ambitious... landmark exhibition”<ref>{{cite web|website=Connecticut Post |first=Phyllis A.S. |last= Boros |title='Echoes' may resonate with just about everyone|date=April 4, 2013 |url=http://www.ctpost.com/entertainment/article/Echoes-may-resonate-with-just-about-everyone-4409918.php |url-status= live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130701073754/https://www.ctpost.com/entertainment/article/Echoes-may-resonate-with-just-about-everyone-4409918.php |archive-date=July 1, 2013}}</ref> with “careful curation."<ref>{{cite web|website= New Haven Register|last=Dohertyddoherty |first=Donna |title=Peabody Museum at Yale explores the 'Land of the Pharaohs'|date=2013-04-14 |url=http://www.nhregister.com/articles/2013/04/14/entertainment/doc5167025746fd4915510640.txt |url-status= dead |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20161029045613/http://www.nhregister.com/general-news/20130411/peabody-museum-at-yale-explores-the-land-of-the-pharaohs|archive-date=October 29, 2016}}</ref> The exhibition was accompanied by print catalog and online catalogs,<ref>{{cite web|website= Yale Peabody Museum|url=http://echoesofegypt.peabody.yale.edu/ |title=Echoes of Egypt |date=2013-04-13 |accessdate=2013-06-20}}</ref> and included a driving tour of Connecticut Egyptian revival buildings.<ref>{{cite web|website= Yale Peabody Museum|url=http://echoesofegypt.peabody.yale.edu/driving-tour |title=Walking and Driving Tour {{!}} Echoes of Egypt |date= |accessdate=2013-06-20}}</ref>
== Vintage fashion == Darnell, as well as her husband, are known for their choice of clothes, remarked upon as early as 2007.<ref>{{cite news |work= Yale Daily News|first= Catherine|last= Killingsworth|date= Dec 7, 2007|title= Profile – Man, Myth, or Legend?|url= https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2007/12/07/profile-man-myth-or-legend/|url-status= live|archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20170929044040/https://yaledailynews.com/blog/2007/12/07/profile-man-myth-or-legend/|archive-date= September 29, 2017}}</ref> She has been interviewed by ''Racked'',<ref>{{cite AV media |website= Racked|title= This Egyptologist Wears Vintage Every Day {{!}} Dress The Part|date= Nov 29, 2017|via= YouTube|url= https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6TofUn1nkA}}</ref> the historical fashion podcast ''Dressed: The History of Fashion'',<ref>{{cite podcast |url= https://omny.fm/shows/dressed-the-history-of-fashion/dress-like-an-egyptian-an-interview-with-egyptolog|website= Dressed: The History of Fashion|title= Dress Like an Egyptian, an interview with Egyptologist Dr. Colleen Darnell|publisher= |host= Cassidy Zachary and April Calahan|date= Sep 4, 2018}}</ref> and ''Egypt Today''.<ref>{{cite web |website= Egypt Today|title=Lost In Time |first=Maria |last=Fathy|date=19 Nov 2018 |url=https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/15/60709/Lost-In-Time |url-status=live |archive-url= https://web.archive.org/web/20181119141603/https://www.egypttoday.com/Article/15/60709/Lost-In-Time |archive-date=19 November 2018}}</ref>
In 2017, Darnell launched an Instagram account with the username 'Vintage Egyptologist'. With few Egyptian workers appearing in the pictures, the account was critiqued by fellow Egyptologists for being "scholars who know these problematic histories choose to engage in the aesthetics of colonialism."<ref>{{Cite web|website=Hyperallergic|last1=Blouin |first1=Katherine |last2=Hanna |first2=Monica |author-link2=Monica Hanna |last3=Bond |first3=Sarah E. |author-link3=Sarah Bond (historian) |date=22 October 2020 |title=How Academics, Egyptologists, and Even Melania Trump Benefit From Colonialist Cosplay |url=https://hyperallergic.com/595896/how-academics-egyptologists-and-even-melania-trump-benefit-from-colonialist-cosplay/ |url-status=live|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20201024063410/https://hyperallergic.com/595896/how-academics-egyptologists-and-even-melania-trump-benefit-from-colonialist-cosplay/ |archive-date= 24 October 2020}}</ref>
==Books== * {{Cite book|first1= John |last1= Darnell|first2= Colleen|last2= Darnell |year= 2022 |title= Egypt's Golden Couple: When Akhenaten and Nefertiti Were Gods on Earth |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=NXpVEAAAQBAJ |publisher= St. Martin's Publishing Group |isbn= 9781250272874}}
* {{Cite book|first1= John Coleman|last1= Darnell|first2= Colleen Manassa|last2= Darnell |year= 2018 |title= The Ancient Egyptian Netherworld Books |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=eWV0DwAAQBAJ |publisher= Society of Biblical Literature |isbn= 9780884142768}}
* {{Cite book|first= Colleen|last= Manassa |year= 2013 |title= Imagining the Past: Historical Fiction in New Kingdom Egypt |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=xNE8BAAAQBAJ |location= Oxford|publisher= Oxford University Press |isbn= 9780199947225}}
* {{Cite book|first= Colleen|last= Manassa |year= 2013 |title= Echoes of Egypt: Conjuring the Land of the Pharaohs |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=SDbNnAEACAAJ |location= New Haven|publisher=Yale Peabody Museum of Natural History |isbn= 9781933789002}}
* {{Cite book|first= Colleen|last= Manassa |year= 2007 |title= The Late Egyptian Underworld: Sarcophagi and Related Texts from the Nectanebid Period |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=rHenQgAACAAJ |location= Wiesbaden|publisher= Harrassowitz Verlag|isbn= 9783447056717 }} ** Winner of the Samuel and Ronnie Heyman Prize for Outstanding Scholarly Publication, 2008. * {{Cite book|first1= John Coleman|last1= Darnell|first2= Colleen|last2= Manassa |date= 2007 |title= Tutankhamun's Armies: Battle and Conquest during Ancient Egypt's Late 18th Dynasty |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=7MvtJ2LbKgwC |location= Hoboken|publisher= John Wiley & Sons |isbn= 9780471743583}}
* {{Cite book|first= Colleen|last= Manassa |date= 2003 |title= The Great Karnak Inscription of Merneptah: Grand Strategy in the 13th Century B.C. |url= https://books.google.com/books?id=z7Z7QgAACAAJ |location= New Haven|publisher= Yale Egyptological Seminar |isbn= 9780974002507}} ** Winner of the Samuel and Ronnie Heyman Prize for Outstanding Scholarly Publication, 2008
== References == {{reflist|30em}}
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{{DEFAULTSORT:Darnell, Colleen}} Category:1980 births Category:Living people Category:American Egyptologists Category:21st-century American archaeologists Category:American women archaeologists Category:American art historians Category:American women art historians Category:Yale University alumni Category:Yale University faculty Category:21st-century American academics Category:Historians from Missouri Category:People from St. Louis Category:Instagram accounts Category:21st-century American women academics