A woman's power in the ancient world was always compromised from the outset. Complex societies are inherently based on masculine dominance, forcing female rulers to resort to familiar methods to gain power. Almost no evidence of successful, long-term female leaders exists from the ancient world. Only the female king of Egypt, Hatshepsut, was able to take on formal power for any considerable length of time, and even she had to share power with a male ruler. Given this social reality, how did Hatshepsut negotiate her leadership role? How did she rule behind the throne before her accession? Why did she ascend the throne as a king? What was her relationship with her co-regent Thutmose III? How are we to understand this woman's power when it is cloaked by traditional, patriarchal systems?

Kara Cooney traces the ample evidence for Hatshepsut’s reign in an attempt to find the woman behind the statues, monuments, stelae and obelisks. Cooney is co-producer of the comparative archaeology TV series Out of Egypt, which aired on the Discovery Channel, and author of the book Hatshepsut: The Woman Who Would Be King.

A reception to meet the speaker and a book signing follow the lecture.