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Professional Activities

Conference Roles

  • Invited Lecture: Interdisciplinarity in the Humanities: an Example from the Field of Assyriology (Northeast Normal University, Institute for the History of Ancient Civilizations, 2023)
  • Invited Lecture: Bureaucracy and Bullshit Jobs in Early Babylonia: the Old Babylonian šatammu Official (University of Oxford, Asian and Middle Eastern Studies, 2023)
  • Conference Paper: Communication, Collaboration and Organisational Efficiency in the Early Old Babylonian Period: the E-urra of Addayya, Competition and Cooperation in the Ancient World (Eötvös Loránd University - Budapest, Department of Ancient History, 2022)
  • Conference Paper: Research Beyond the Dissertation: Preparing your PhD Students for an Academic Future, PGR Supervisors Network Seminar / 2022 Pedagogic Research Conference (Online, 2022)
  • Conference Paper: The Sumerian Expression a-ra2 X-kam and the Use of Installments in the Ur III Administration, Discussions in Assyriology (Annual Meeting) (Online, 2021)
  • Discussant: North and East, South and West: Thoughts on Living Modern and Ancient Civilizations in Israel and China, Northeast Normal University, Institute for the History of Ancient Civilizations (Online, 2020)
  • Invited Lecture: Administrative and Economic Structures in Early Babylonia: A (Hesitant) Case for the Un-Archival Approach (Northeast Normal University, Institute for the History of Ancient Civilizations, 2019)
  • Conference Paper: The Administration of the Dairy Industry in Ur III Umma, American Schools of Oriental Research Annual Meeting (San Diego, United States, 2019)
  • Conference Paper: When Goats get Horny. Ram-ifications of Sheep Thrills in Early Babylonia, IHAC Foreign Experts Conference (Changchun, China, 2018)
  • Discussant: Long-Term Environmental and Social Change in Mesopotamia - Evidence from Ancient Texts (University of Chicago, Oriental Institute, 2018)
  • Conference Paper: Assyriology - Everything you Always Wanted to Know, Studying Ancient Egypt and Mesopotamia at University - A Conference for Sixth-Formers (Royal Asiatic Society / British Museum, London, 2017)
  • Invited Lecture: New Light on Ur III (University of Cambridge, McDonald Institute, 2016)
  • Keynote: Water, The Water of Abundance: Perceptions of Water in Archaeology, History and Myth in the Ancient World (University of Liverpool, 2015)
  • Invited Lecture: Love, Locusts and Lettuce. A Story of the Oldest Poetry in the World, Southwest University (Chongqing, China, 2015)
  • Discussant: Digitizing in the Round, by Invitation (University of Oxford, Wolfson College, 2014)
  • Conference Paper: The Reconstruction of an Early Mesopotamian Archive, British Association for Near Eastern Archaeology Annual Conference (University of Reading, 2014)
  • Conference Paper: The Wedding of Sharrum-bani's Son, Annual Meeting of the American Oriental Society (Chicago, 2012)
  • Invited Lecture: Transactions and Writing in Ancient Sumer (University of Oxford, Oriental Institute, 2012)
  • Invited Lecture: Going Against the Grain! How to Understand Transactions and Receipts in Ancient Mesopotamia (Northeast Normal University, Institute for the History of Ancient Civilizations, 2011)
  • Invited Lecture: Epigraphy and Experimental Archaeology: The Function of Writing in Early Babylonia (Peking University, School of Oriental Literature, 2011)
  • Conference Paper: Clay Tablets, Envelopes and Lots of Breaking News! (University of Liverpool - Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, Management School, Centre for Archive Studies, 2011)
  • Conference Paper: Sheep and Goats in the Ur III Period (Annual Meeting of the American Oriental Society, Chicago, 2011)
  • Conference Presentation: Digitising Cuneiform Clay Tablets (University of Oxford, Wolfson College, 2010)
  • Invited Lecture: Archaeology and Administrative Procedures in Early Mesopotamia (Northeast Normal University - Changchun, Institute for the History of Ancient Civilizations, 2010)
  • Conference Paper: Time and History in the Ur III Period (Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Barcelona, 2010)
  • Invited Lecture: Early Chinese and Mesopotamian Calendars (Northeast Normal University - Changchun, Institute for the History of Ancient Civilizations, 2010)
  • Invited Lecture: The Case of the Tablet (University of Wroclaw, Department of Archaeology, 2010)
  • Conference Paper: My Manchurian Summer (International Congress on the Archaeology of the Ancient Near East, London, 2010)
  • Discussant: Fragile Crescent Project, by Invitation (Durham University, Department of Archaeology, 2010)
  • Invited Lecture: The Lunisolar Calendar of Ancient Mesopotamia in the Late Third Millennium BC (University of Oxford, Oriental Institute, 2010)
  • Invited Lecture: Tid och Calendaria i Forntida Mesopotamien (Uppsala University, Department of Archaeology and Ancient History, 2010)
  • Conference Paper: The Sumerian Love Song 'Shu-Suen A' Revisited (Annual Chinese Academic History Research Meeting, Changchun, 2009)
  • Invited Lecture: Sex, Love and Literature in Ancient Sumer (Peking University, School of Oriental Literature, 2009)
  • Conference Paper: Trajectories and Adaptations in the Rain-fed Agricultural Zone of Upper Meso... (Annual Meeting of the Qaternary Research Association, Oxford, 2009)
  • Conference Paper: Water-based Transportation in Southern Mesopotamia in the Late Third Millennium (Annual Meeting of the British Association for Near Eastern Archaeology, Durham, 2009)
  • Invited Lecture: Chaos in Ancient Mesopotamia (University of Cambridge, Trinity College, 2009)
  • Invited Lecture: The Measurement of Time in Ancient Sumer (School or Oriental and African Studies - London, 2008)
  • Invited Lecture: Some Reflections on Time Keeping in Early Babylonia (University of Liverpool, School of Archaeology, Classics and Egyptology, 2008)
  • Invited Lecture: Chaos in Ancient Mesopotamia (Chuo University - Tokyo, Department of Humanities and Social Sciences, 2008)
  • Symposium Paper (Invited): Agriculture (Research Institute for Humanity and Nature, Kyoto, 2008)
  • Conference Paper: Who's who in A Balbale for Shu-Suen (Shu-Suen A) (Annual Meeting of the British Association for Near Eastern Archaeology, Liverpool, 2008)
  • Invited Lecture: Mesopotamia in the Late Third Millennium (Peking University, Department of Oriental Studies, 2007)
  • Conference Paper: The Sumerian igi-kar2 Revisited (Annual Meeting of the American Oriental Society, San Antonio, 2007)
  • Conference Paper: The Oxen of Umma (Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, Chicago, 2006)
  • Conference Paper: Cultivated Plots and Administrative Fields in Ancient Babylonia (Hawaii International Conference on Social Sciences, Honolulu, 2006)
  • Conference Paper: Calculating Economic Sustainability in the Ancient Near East (Peking University, 2006)
  • Conference Paper: Fields and Irrigation (co-authored with C. Hritz) (Annual Meeting of the British Association for Near Eastern Archaeology, Edinburgh, 2006)
  • Poster Session: Modeling Ancient Settlement Systems in a Dynamic Environment (National Science Foundation Annual Meeting (Biocomplexity), Arlington, VA, 2005)
  • Conference Paper: Modeling Mesopotamia (Annual Meeting of the American Oriental Society, Philadelphia, 2005)
  • Conference Paper: Exchange(s) in the Ur III Period (2112-2004 B.C.) (American Schools of Oriental Research Annual Meeting, San Antonio, TX, 2004)
  • Invited Lecture: Modeling Ancient Settlement Systems (MASS), by Invitation (University of Chicago, Oriental Institute, 2004)
  • Invited Paper: Reconstructing a Third Millennium BC City State (co-authored with TJ Wilkinson) (Santa Fe Institute, NM, 2004)
  • Conference Paper: Text Based Modeling of Upper Mesopotamia (co-authored with D Schloen et al.) (Annual Meeting of the Society of American Archaeology, Montreal, 2004)
  • Conference Paper: The Calendar of Ur and its Political Significance (Annual Meeting of the American Oriental Society, San Diego, CA, 2004)
  • Invited Lecture: An Imperial Capital of the 21st Century B.C. Ur of the Chaldeans (University of California - LA, Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures, 2004)
  • Conference Paper: The Ur III Metal Loans from Ur (Rencontre Assyriologique Internationale, London, 2003)
  • Conference Paper: "Inside" and "Outside" in the Ur III Administration (Annual Meeting of the Chinese Society for Ancient Civilizations, Beijing, 2001)

Editorships

  • Cuneiform Digital Library Journal (Editorial Board Member, 2011 - 2019)
  • Cuneiform Digital Library Bulletin (Editorial Board Member, 2011 - 2019)
  • Journal of Near Eastern Studies (Associate Editor, 2006 - 2007)
  • Journal of Ancient Civilizations (Senior Editor, 2001 - 2002)
  • Journal of Ancient Civilizations (Consultant Editor, 1999 - 2001)

Examination Roles

  • University of Liverpool, PhD (2023)
  • University of Oxford, MPhil (2021)
  • University of Oxford, MA (PGT, 2021)
  • University of Oxford, BA (UG, 2021)
  • University of Oxford, MPhil (2020)
  • University of Oxford, MA (PGT, 2020)
  • University of Oxford, BA (UG, 2020)
  • University of Oxford, MPhil (2019)
  • University of Birmingham, PhD (2015)
  • University of Liverpool, PhD (2015)
  • University of Liverpool, PhD (2014)
  • University of Oxford, MA (PGT, 2014)
  • University of Oxford, BA (UG, 2014)
  • University College London (University of London), PhD (2013)
  • University of Oxford, MA (PGT, 2013)
  • University of Oxford, BA (UG, 2013)
  • University of Birmingham, MA (PGT, 2012)
  • University of Birmingham, BA (UG, 2012)
  • University of Oxford, MA (PGT, 2012)
  • University of Oxford, BA (UG, 2012)
  • University College London (University of London), PhD (2011)
  • University of Oxford, MA (PGT, 2011)
  • University of Oxford, BA (UG, 2011)
  • University of Birmingham, MA (PGT, 2011)
  • University of Birmingham, BA (UG, 2011)
  • University of Birmingham, MPhil (2010)
  • University of Birmingham, MA (PGT, 2010)
  • University of Birmingham, PhD (2010)
  • University of Oxford, MPhil (2010)
  • University of Oxford, MA (PGT, 2010)
  • University of Oxford, BA (UG, 2010)
  • School of Oriental & African Studies (University of London), PhD (2010)
  • University of Birmingham, BA (UG, 2010)
  • University of Birmingham, MPhil (2009)
  • University of Birmingham, MA (PGT, 2009)
  • Northeast Normal University, PhD (2009)
  • University of Birmingham, BA (UG, 2009)
  • University of Birmingham, PhD (2008)
  • University of Cambridge, PhD (2008)
  • University of Liverpool, PhD (2008)
  • University of Birmingham, MPhil (2008)
  • University of Birmingham, MA (PGT, 2008)
  • University of Birmingham, BA (UG, 2008)
  • University of Birmingham, PhD (2007)

External Administrative or Committee Roles

  • Committee Member: General Fund for Assyriology at Wolfson College, University of Oxford (2022 - 2023)
  • Board Member: Gerald Averay Wainwright Fund for Near Eastern Archaeology (2013 - 2019)

Internal Administrative or Committee Roles

  • Chair, Module Review Board (Department, 2022 - 2023)
  • China Strategy Lead - Education and Research (Department, 2020 - 2023)
  • International Exchange Coordinator (Department, 2022)
  • Academic Lead, Postgraduate Taught Programmes in Archaeology (Department, 2019 - 2022)
  • Academic Lead, Undergraduate Programmes in Archaeology (Department, 2020 - 2022)