After 1177 B.C.: The Survival of Civilizations

Tuesday, June 16, 2026
No charge
Reservations required

5:30 p.m., King Library

Please note this is a book discussion without the author present.

Eric Cline’s After 1177 B.C. explores what happened in the centuries following the Bronze Age collapse. Some civilizations adapted and transformed, while others vanished entirely. The book traces the rise of new cultures, the spread of iron and the alphabet, and the foundations laid for Greece’s resurgence.

Facilitator: Douglas Nelson

Biography: Douglas Nelson earned a PhD in European history and a JD in law from Columbia University. His career included college professor, Wall Street lawyer, corporate executive, trade association executive, foundation president and security-cleared advisor to the Bush II, Obama and Trump administrations.

He studied in Paris, Oxford University and Germany and has spoken/moderated at major international conferences. Nelson was part of the U.S. Delegation in Geneva, New Delhi, Beijing, and Paris; delegate to the World Trade Organization (WTO) Ministerial Meetings in Seattle, Cancun and Hong Kong; delegate at UN Summits in Johannesburg and Rio de Janeiro; and Vice Chair of the Business Food and Agriculture Committee at the OECD in Paris.

Nelson taught history at NC State University, Columbia University and Brooklyn College, was adjunct law lecturer at Johns Hopkins University, American University Law School, and New School for Social Research in NYC.

He and his wife now reside in Palm Beach, FL.