David Wengrow

Sep 23, 2024 | theanarchistlibrary.org | David Graeber |David Wengrow

In the mid-twentieth century, a British anthropologist named A. M. Hocart proposed that monarchs and institutions of government were originally derived from rituals designed to channel powers of life from the cosmos into human society. He suggested that “the first kings must have been dead kings,” and that individuals so honored only really became sacred rulers at their funerals. Hocart was considered an oddball by his fellow anthropologists, and many accused him of being unscientific.

Jul 22, 2024 | znetwork.org | David Wengrow

Contemporary historians tell us that, by the start of the Common Era, approximately three-quarters of the world’s population were living in just four empires (we’ve all heard of the Romans and the Han; fewer of us, perhaps, of the Parthians and Kushans). Just think about this for a minute. If true, then it means that the great majority of people who ever existed were born, lived and died under imperial rule.

Jul 5, 2024 | qoshe.com | David Wengrow

Contemporary historians tell us that, by the start of the Common Era, approximately three-quarters of the world’s population were living in just four empires (we’ve all heard of the Romans and the Han; fewer of us, perhaps, of the Parthians and Kushans). Just think about this for a minute. If true, then it means that the great majority of people who ever existed were born, lived and died under imperial rule.

Jun 25, 2024 | thecreativeindependent.com | Peter Matthiessen |David Graeber |David Wengrow |Margaret Killjoy

Writer and musician Margaret Killjoy discusses where inspiration comes from, why fiction is important even when the world is dying, and what “Stonewall was a riot” really means.

Sep 30, 2023 | thenation.com | Lily Meyer |David Wengrow |Joan Walsh |Mychal Denzel Smith

This article appears in the October 16/23, 2023 issue. Island Records 1Gene Seymour’s review of Saxophone Colossus, Aidan Levy’s new biography of Sonny Rollins, concludes with what is best in jazz writing: the larger picture and how jazz fits into it [“What Jazz Is,” August 7/14].2I’ve followed Rollins’s career for at least 60 years, but Seymour filled in a lot of the gaps and came up with some surprises for me.