David Wengrow to give Sigmund H. Danziger Jr. Distinguished Lecture in the Humanities 2022-23

David's presentation for the Sigmund H. Danziger Jr. Distinguished Lecture in the Humanities 2022-23, which will take place on 10 November at the University of Chicago, will explore how we get stuck in mythological conceptions of the origins of inequality. His lecture is dedicated to the memory of the late David Graeber. 

This prestigious annual event was initially established to bring "an established scholar of classical literature, who has made substantial contributions to the critical analysis of classical literature, or has been exceptionally skilled at inspiring an appreciation for classical literature" and was then broadened to include scholars of the 'classical tradition' and their wider place in the Humanities. 

David Wengrow, Professor of Comparative Archaeology at the UCL Institute of Archaeology, is the author of three books, including The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity. This volume, co-authored with the late David Graeber and published in October 2021 by Penguin, outlines an ambitious new world history, from egalitarian early cities in Mexico and Mesopotamia to part-time kings and queens in Ice Age Europe, bringing together the latest scholarship and archaeological evidence to tell a new story about the last 30,000 years which fundamentally transforms our understanding of the human past. 

Further details

• Sigmund H. Danziger Jr. Distinguished Lecture in the Humanities