Join us for this event in which David Wengrow will be in conversation with Alpa Shah about his new book co-authored with the late David Graeber, The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity.

A new science of history, it overturns our ideas of social evolution, and reveals new possibilities for human emancipation. Drawing on path-breaking research in archaeology and anthropology, Graeber and Wengrow question our fundamental assumptions about the origins of inequality, showing how history contains many more hopeful moments than we’ve been led to believe, once we learn to throw off our conceptual shackles and perceive what’s really there.

David Graeber's parting gift, this is his last book which he completed just before he died. We honour David Graeber in this event.

You can order the book, The Dawn of Everything, (UK delivery only) from our official LSE Events independent book shop, Pages of Hackney.

Meet our speakers and chair

Alpa Shah (@alpashah001) is Professor of Anthropology at LSE, convenes a research theme at the LSE International Inequalities Institute and is author of the award-winning Nightmarch: Among India’s Revolutionary Guerrillas.

David Wengrow (@davidwengrow) is Professor of Comparative Archaeology at UCL, and author of What Makes Civilisation? The Ancient Near East and the Future of the World. Photo credit - Antonio Olmos. 

Francisco Ferreira (@fhgferreira) is the Amartya Sen Professor of Inequality Studies and Director of the International Inequalities Institute at LSE.

More about this event

LSE's Anthropology Department (@LSEAnthropology), with a long and distinguished history, remains a leading centre for innovative research and teaching.

An LSE Anthropology Research Seminar series will take place from October to December 2021 in honour of David Graeber and his work.

The International Inequalities Institute (@LSEInequalities) at LSE brings together experts from many LSE departments and centres to lead cutting-edge research focused on understanding why inequalities are escalating in numerous arenas across the world, and to develop critical tools to address these challenges.

This event forms part of LSE’s Shaping the Post-COVID World initiative, a series imagining what the world could look like after the crisis, and how we get there.

Twitter Hashtag for this event: #LSEPostCOVID

Podcast & Video

A podcast of this event is available to download from The Dawn of Everything.

A video of this event is available to watch at The Dawn of Everything.

Podcasts and videos of many LSE events can be found at the LSE Public Lectures and Events: podcasts and videos channel.