How to Rewrite the History Books

The Sydney Writers’ Festival brings together a broad and engaged community around the sharing of books, writing and ideas. Since the first Festival in 1997, the world’s best novelists, poets, journalists, public intellectuals, economists, politicians, podcasters and scientists have come together to discuss some of the most pressing issues of our times.

David Wengrow, together with writer and farmer Bruce Pascoe (Black Duck and Dark Emu), will participate in a free panel event on 24 May. Learn how their work has transformed our understanding of human history - quite literally overturning history as we knew it.

David is co-author (with the late David Graeber) of The Dawn of Everything: A New History of Humanity (2021), which was named a Sunday Times, Observer and BBC History Book of the Year. The Dawn of Everything has been translated into French, German, and Italian, and is due to appear in over 30 languages worldwide.  

While in Australia, David will also participate in a live interview with Richard Fidler, which will be broadcast on ABC Radio Australia's "Conversations" programme, the most popular podcast in Australia, and give a public lecture at the Australian National University, Canberra entitled What might an Archaeology of Freedom Look Like?

Event

• How to Rewrite the History Books

Read more

• The Dawn of Everything inspiration for Megalopolis film
• David Wengrow gives the McDonald Institute Annual Lecture for 2023
• David Wengrow gives SAGE Lecture 2023
• David Wengrow gives Stanford University Distinguished Lectures (April 2023)
• David Wengrow gives Sigmund H. Danziger Jr. Distinguished Lecture in the Humanities 2022-23
• Venice Biennale Exhibition on concept of cities and urban origins

Listen again

• Empire Podcast Republic (Episode 49, 4 May 2023) 

Image: Prof David Wengrow, UCL Institute of Archaeology (Image credit: Tom Jamieson)