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Join us for an ancient history lecture with renowned Egyptologist and best-selling author Kara Cooney. 

In a new era when democracies around the world are threatened or crumbling, Kara Cooney turns to five ancient Egyptian pharaohs--Khufu, Senwosret III, Akenhaten, Ramses II, and Taharqa--to understand why many so often give up power to the few, and what it can mean for our future. The pharaohs and their process of divine kingship can tell us a lot about the world's politics, past and present. In mining the past, we can better understand the reason why societies have so willingly chosen a dictator over democracy, time and time again.

Kara Cooney is Professor of Egyptian Art and Architecture and Chair of the Department of Near Eastern Languages and Cultures at UCLA. Her research in ancient Egyptian coffin reuse focuses on the socioeconomic and political aspects of funerary and burial practices in ancient Egypt. Her latest books The Good Kings and When Women Ruled the World were published with National Geographic Press.

This program is made possible by the generous support of the Friends of the Mountain View Library.