At the core of Museum of Care and David Graeber Institute is the idea of Carnival. The Museum of Care emerged from the Carnival4David, held in David’s memory, that took place in 250 sites around the world. The Carnivalesque tradition was followed by DGI, which is building the faculty of Carnival in St. Vincent and Grenadines.

Why Carnival?

The carnival is one of the oldest institutions in the world. In one form or another, it is present in every culture. It is usually thought of as just a large party but, more importantly, the carnival is an occasion for social renewal, where ordinary life is turned upside down, where social roles and identities are being changed. Employing music, costumes, sets, storytelling, comedy, and more, the carnival initiates a totally new social reality. That is why what starts as a carnival often ends up as a revolution.

There are many theater, film and television schools and institutes in the world, but there are not many institutions devoted to the training of practitioners and scholars of the carnival. The David Graeber Institute is committed to building just such an institution in Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, where this summer’s  DGI Discussion circles will address the carnival as a central concept.

In addition, DGI is organizing an online reading group and a talk series on the carnival and its democratic and revolutionary spirit.

About the Carnaval’s Reading Group

We will collectively read one of David’s favorite books, Mikhail Bakhtin’s Rabelais and His World.

The book can be found here.

The reading group will meet by Zoom on the last Thursday of every month at 7:00 pm GMT and will last 60 minutes. The first meeting will take place on October 31, 2024. We are planning to include up to 20 people who can commit to participating in every session throughout the year (12 months – 12 sessions).

Public Talks

Each meeting of the reading group will be followed by a public talk with a guest speaker, for an additional sixty minutes of discussion. Our speakers will explore carnival practices in the contexts of activism or research, helping us relate the historical tradition of the carnival to contemporary situations. The public talks will start at 8:00 pm GMT on the last Thursday of every month and will be open not just to the reading group participants, but also to the broad public. 

Our guest speaker on October 31, 2024 will be Peter Sahlens, the author of Forest Rites: The War of the Demoiselles in Nineteenth-Century France. We invite everyone to dress up for the occasion and to Zoom in from in-person parties.

Consider whether you can commit to not missing any reading session or public talk throughout the year. If you decide to dedicate a total of 24 hours to exploring the carnival, please,

Each meeting of the reading group will be followed by a public talk with a guest speaker, for an additional sixty minutes of discussion. Our speakers will explore carnival practices in the contexts of activism or research, helping us relate the historical tradition of the carnival to contemporary situations. The public talks will start at 8:00 pm GMT on the last Thursday of every month and will be open not just to the reading group participants, but also to the broad public. 

Our guest speaker on October 31, 2024 will be Peter Sahlens, the author of Forest Rites: The War of the Demoiselles in Nineteenth-Century France. We invite everyone to dress up for the occasion and to Zoom in from in-person parties..

Consider whether you can commit to not missing any reading session or public talk throughout the year. If you decide to dedicate a total of 24 hours to exploring the carnival, please email us at info@davidgraeber.org

email us at info@davidgraeber.org