Upcoming Classes and Webinars

I offer remote, live webinars and classes about ancient Egypt. Topics include religion and magic, history, animals, literature, art, and much more. Classes focused on how to read hieroglyphs and hieratic teach you step-by-step the language and writing systems of ancient Egypt.

A New Horizon: The Rise of Akhenaten and Nefertiti

Relief of Queen Nefertiti

Akhenaten and Nefertiti are two of the most famous names from antiquity—a royal couple who changed the course of history. Akhenaten has been described in harshly contradictory terms: a teacher of pacificism or totalitarian ruler; a loving father or a morally corrupt one; Egypt’s best pharaoh or its worst. But what do we really know about Tutankhamun’s parents? (and, yes, Nefertiti was likely Tutankhamun’s mother)

In this new, five-part Zoom class, we will dive deep into the primary sources that tell the story of the rise of Akhenaten and Nefertiti. My vividly illustrated, live lectures bring Akhenaten and Nefertiti to life through ancient texts, artwork, and archaeological remains. After completing this class, you will have gained insights into Egyptian solar religion and creation theology, the religious landscape of ancient Thebes, the art and architecture of the New Kingdom, and much more!

Class 1: Setting the Stage—the Eighteenth Dynasty

Class 2: From Pyramids to a Unique Obelisk—Ancient Egyptian Solar Religion

Class 3: Divinity and Wine—Theban Festivals and a Jubilee City

Class 4: Rapid Development—Bricks of Stone and Artistic Transformation

Class 5: A Royal Scholar—Akhenaten Speaks to Us

A NEW HORIZON: THE RISE OF AKHENATEN AND NEFERTITI meets live Tuesdays on Zoom July 8, 15, 22, 29 and August 5 from 2-3PM and 8-9PM US Eastern Time. The same material is covered each week in the two time slots, but each class is a unique experience with Q & A. The registration fee is $95, which gives you access to both sections of the live class, recordings (viewable for a month), and a curated reading list of freely available material. The fee is payable via PayPal at the link below or on Venmo @vintage-egyptologist (if paying by Venmo, please make sure to include your email address).

Past Hieroglyph Reading & Grammar Courses

Tomb of Nefertari

Hymn to Aten

Story of Sinuhe

Introduction to Coptic

Tomb of Khnumhotep

Introduction to Hieratic

Pseudo-verbal Sentences

Past Lectures

Secrets of the Valley of the Kings

How to Cast a Spell in Ancient Egypt

Deciphering Cartouches

Party Like an Ancient Egyptian

Historical Fiction in Ancient Egypt

Introduction to Ancient Egypt

Ancient Egypt in Creation Theology

Fashion and Beauty in the
Age of Cleopatra

Ancient Egypt in Film

The Life and Times of Hatshepsut

Kind Words

  • "Having taken every one of Dr. Colleen’s Zoom classes over the last four years, I find her to be delightful, informative, lovely and brilliant! You will never regret spending time with her and you will always learn something new no matter how well versed in Ancient Egypt you are!”

    Lauren P

  • "The classes bring Ancient Egypt alive! Colleen’s knowledge and expertise in the field is deep. She is engaging and makes everything very user friendly. I can’t recommend the classes enough!"

    Gabrielle F

  • "​​I absolutely recommend Dr. Darnell’s courses on Egyptology. She is so knowledgeable and her insight is brilliant. She goes above and beyond to also provide resources for further studies. She has such passion for the subject and it radiates when she is teaching!"

    Julia V

  • I appreciate both the breadth of the topics she chooses to present — everything from Hermeticism and the Book of Thoth to Pharaoh Hatshepsut and the Queens of Ancient Egypt and Nubia — but also the depth to which she researches each of those topics. I’ve learned about aspects of Ancient Egyptian culture that I might not otherwise have been able to access.

    Elizabeth W.