Dr Katharina Zinn

Senior Fellow of the Higher Education Academy (SFHEA), 2015 Dr. phil. in Egyptology, University of Leipzig (Germany), 2008 M.A. in Egyptology – Egyptology (major), Communication- and Media-Sciences (minor), Economy (minor), University of Leipzig (Germany), 1998 BA Library and Information Science, Leipzig University of Applied Science (Germany), 1993

Dr Katharina Zinn

Lecturer in Information Studies

Department of Information Studies

Contact Details

I am an inter- and transdisciplinary heritage and museum professional / researcher as well as Egyptologist applying approaches from heritage, museum and information studies, visual/material culture, archaeology, art/design and anthropology as well as reception studies. I collaborate with a wide range of artists (fine arts, dance, poetry, performance, AI, game design) interpreting museum objects to audiences in - and outside museum settings to foster belonging/identity, to show how the past is important for the present and future and to connect the Western world with Egypt and China under a postcolonial lens. I love research and teaching; combining both. 

I studied Library Science, followed by Egyptology, Media and Communication Science and Business at Leipzig University, Germany where I also did my PhD in Egyptology. I worked in universities in Germany, UK, China and Egypt as well as in museums and libraries in Germany, UK, US and Egypt.

In 2006 I moved to the UK and taught Egyptology, archaeology and heritage at Cambridge University, Swansea University and UWTSD.

My research focusses on narratives of tangible/intangible heritage based on object biographies of un-provenanced museum objects. I supervise research students (MRes, PhD, ProfDoc) in Egyptology, heritage, museum studies and art/design. I act as external examiner for MRes, MPhil and PhD examinations (nationally/internationally) and have been external examiner at Cambridge University (Egyptology) and Chester University (Heritage) and to several programme validations. 

In 2023/24, I was awarded a Visiting Professorship in Egyptology at the Institute for the History of the Ancient World, Northeast Normal University, Changchun, China. and in 2025/26 a Visiting Professorship in Egyptology and Heritage, Alexandria University, Egypt, Faculty of Hotels and Tourism. 

I am the lead of the long-term project “The Oriental Collection of Cyfarthfa Castle Museums and Art Gallery” and curator of annual temporary pop-up exhibitions (including the “Museum of Lies”) with outreach/public engagement.

Professional Membership or Roles: AHRC Peer Review College (academic, international, strategic) UKRI Talent Peer Review College (international); Associate Curator for the Egyptian Collection of Cyfarthfa Castle Museums and Art Gallery, Merthyr Tydfil; Academic Lead Museums Portalis Project; Advisory Board ERC Consolidator Grant: Education in Graeco-Roman Egypt. An Intercultural Approach (EduGRE), PL Chiara Meccariello, Exeter University; Egypt Exploration Society (EES); International Council Of Museums (ICOM) - voting membership to CIPEG (International Committee for Egyptology); IAE (International Association of Egyptologists); SMA (Society of Museum Archaeology)

Heritage: tangible and intangible cultural heritage, identity, decolonising heritage, art/design solutions to heritage - cross-over of creative processes and Humanities

Museum studies: representations of the past, pop-up exhibitions, object biographies, alternative (non-)academic narratives, public engagement

Egyptian Archaeology; Egyptology (religion, gender, heritage, literacy, art)

Archaeology, Archaeology and Art

Digital Humanities

The Museum of Lies: The layered lives of objects out of context? / Zinn, Katharina.
In and Out of Context: Objects and their itineraries in museums, collections, and storerooms. ed. / Kleopatra Kathariou; Christina Marini; Cécile Colonna; Susanna Sarti. British Archaeological Reports, 2026. p. 183-195 (BAR International Series; No. S3266).

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

Material Culture, the Public, and the Extraordinary: “Unloved” Museums Objects as the Tool to Fascinate. / Zinn, Katharina.
In: Open Archaeology, Vol. 11, No. 1, 20250048, 09.06.2025.

Research output: Contribution to journalArticlepeer-review

Creating and Conserving Sacred Landscapes: Abydos and Amarna – keeping the spirit alive? / Zinn, Katharina.
Sacred Landscapes in Antiquity: Creation, Manipulation, Transformation. ed. / Gian Franco Chiai; Ralph Häussler . Oxbow Books, 2020.

Research output: Chapter in Book/Report/Conference proceedingChapter

More publications on the Research Portal