The name of the anthropologist David Graeber came - again - into huge prominence at the end of 2021 when the book he coauthored with archaeologist David Wengrow was published. âThe Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanityâ is described as a âdramatically new understanding of human history, challenging our most fundamental assumptions about social evolution â from the development of agriculture and cities to the origins of the state, democracy, and inequality â and revealing new possibilities for human emancipationâ.
Sadly, David Graeber is not present to enjoy the acclaim or to participate in debates about the many provocative ideas laid out in the 704 page book. He died only weeks after finishing the book on September 2, 2020. He was 59 years young.
A professor of anthropology at the London School of Economics, Graeber taught anarchism and anti-capitalist movements. âHe was a hugely influential anthropologist, political activist and public intellectual,â³ said Professor Laura Bear, head of the anthropology department at the London School of Economics. âOur community of staff and students will not be the same now he is gone, but we know his brilliant work will be read by generations to come.â
David Graeber was an assistant professor at Yale University from 1998 to 2005, when the university, controversially, decided not to renew his contract before he was eligible for tenure. Graeber moved into what he called âacademic exileâ in the UK, first to the University of London and finally the London School of Economics.
David Graeberâs 2011 book âDebt: The First 5,000 Yearsâ was an anti-capitalist analysis that struck a chord with many readers in the wake of the 2008 financial crisis. Another response to the 2008 crisis was Graeberâs participation in the Occupy Wall Street movement, that began in Zuccotti Park in New York Cityâs Wall Street Financial District, in September 2011 - the same year Graeberâs book âDebt: The First 5,000 Yearsâ was published. It gave rise to the wider Occupy Movement in the United States and other countries.
In late December, 2021, a long lost interview showed up on YouTube that was conducted by television journalist and talk show host Charlie Rose. There is no exact date associated with this 23 minute clip but the topic is Graeberâs book âDebt: The First 5,000 Yearsâ published in 2011. And Charlie Rose is asking Graeber about Debt, Occupy Wall Street, Democracy, and Capitalism.
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