The Gender Studies Network invites you to the book launch of 'Why Men? A Human History of Violence and Inequality', with authors Nancy Lindisfarne and Jonathan Neale, and Katalin Zsiga as Chair.

Elites have always called hierarchy and violence unavoidable facts of human nature. Evolution, they claim, makes men to fight in order to dominate women. This is bad science. Why Men? tells a smarter story of humanity, from bonobo sex and prehistoric childcare to human sacrifice, Joan of Arc, Darwinism, and Abu Ghraib.

‘A brilliant, funny, unputdownable book for our times, spectacularly puncturing dominant myths about human nature to explain how wealth creates war, why the “dark ages” weren’t so dark, and how we were once much less violent. Wonderful.’ — Danny Dorling, author of Peak Inequality and All That Is Solid

About the speakers

Nancy Lindisfarne

Nancy taught anthropology for many years at SOAS. Her most recent book, written with Richard Tapper, is Afghan Village Voices.

Jonathan Neale

Jonathan is a historian and professional writer. His most recent book is Fight the Fire: Green New Deals and Global Climate Jobs.

Katalin Zsiga

Katalin is finishing her PhD research at the Department of International Development, King's College London. Her study seeks to politicise women’s sexual experiences by examining the processes that influence women’s perceptions of their own sexual encounters in relation to pleasure, sexual violence, and empowerment. She has also written about masculinity and hypersexuality in relation to the subculture of Pickup Artists. Katalin hosts a YouTube Channel where she tackles topics around pleasure and equality.