Call for Editors or Book Proposals: Monograph or Edited Volume Proposals on Contemporary Social Anthropology, Human Cooperation, and Early Civilizations

Vernon Press invites monograph or edited volume proposals for a new series dedicated to Contemporary Social Anthropology, Human Cooperation, and the Study of Early Civilizations.

Recent developments in social anthropology have sparked renewed interest in the origins of human societies, social organization, and cultural evolution. Influential thinkers such as David Graeber, David Wengrow, and Yuval Noah Harari have inspired debates about inequality, cooperation, and the imagination of alternative social structures. Their work challenges conventional narratives about hierarchy, civilization, and the inevitability of social order, offering fresh perspectives for both historical and contemporary analysis.

This call seeks proposals that explore these new currents in anthropology, combining critical theory, ethnography, and interdisciplinary approaches. We welcome contributions that rethink foundational assumptions, examine contemporary social phenomena, or propose innovative frameworks for understanding human societies, past and present.

Scope of the Call

This call is open to proposals addressing all aspects of contemporary social anthropology, early civilizations, political anthropology, and human cooperation. Cross-disciplinary perspectives linking anthropology with archaeology, history, and cultural studies.

The scope of the present call is broad. Possible topics include (non-comprehensive list):

• The origins of human societies and social hierarchies

• Political anthropology and alternative models of governance

• Cooperation, reciprocity, and collective social imagination

• Contemporary social movements analyzed through anthropological frameworks

• Rethinking ethnographic methods and fieldwork in the 21st century

• Comparative studies of past and present societies

• Intersections between anthropology, archaeology, and evolutionary theory

• Anarchist anthropology and critiques of conventional civilization narratives

• Material culture, exchange systems, and economic anthropology

• Law, justice, and social norms in cross-cultural perspective

• Hierarchy, power, and authority in historical and modern contexts

• Public anthropology and the communication of anthropological knowledge

• Digital anthropology and social behavior in online communities

• Human cooperation, conflict resolution, and cultural evolution

How to submit your proposal

Please submit monograph proposals (approx. two pages) to submissions@vernonpress.com including a summary, a short biographical note, and (if applicable) a list of similar titles using this form: Proposal form. More information on what we look for in a proposal is available on our website.

About the publisher

Vernon Press is an independent publisher of scholarly books in the social sciences and humanities. We work closely with authors, academic associations, distributors, and library information specialists to identify and develop high quality, high impact titles.