In the 14th century, the North African scholar Ibn Khaldun wrote the first historical analysis to focus on tribalism as the key to understanding human civilization. In his analysis, civilization faces an eternal dilemma and needs tribal values to survive. In his scholarship, Professor Weatherford tries to follow the tradition of Ibn Khaldun by studying the relationship of tribal people to the larger societies around them.
Professor Weatherford is a cultural anthropologist who has been teaching Anthropology at Macalester since 1983. He graduated from the University of South Carolina in 1967, with a B.A in Political Science followed by a M.A. in Sociology in 1972. He also received a M.A in Anthropology in 1973 and a Ph.D in Anthropology from the University of California, San Diego. He went on to post-doctoral work in the Institute of Policy Sciences at Duke University.
Dr. Weatherford has worked with contemporary groups in places such as Bolivia and the Amazon with emphasis on the role of tribal people in world history. The April 2000 issue from the Chronicle of Higher Education gives an overview of some of that work. In recent years, he has concentrated on the Mongols. His book Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World was an international best seller published in more than twenty languages. In 2007 President Enkhbayar of Mongolia awarded him the Order of the Polar Star, Mongolia’s highest national award, in recognition of his contribution toMongolian culture. His next book The Daughters of Genghis Khan is scheduled for publication in 2009.
Professor Weatherford has appeared on radio and television programs, including "The Today Show", "ABC Evening News with Peter Jennings", "Geraldo's Now It Can Be Told", "Larry King", "All Things Considered", "Nightwatch", "Tony Brown's Journal", and the "Voice of America" as well as international programs from Bolivia to Mongolia.
His earlier book The History of Money was a selection of the Conservative Book-of-the-Month Club, and Charles Schwab wrote that "this is the book to read!" Other books include Savages and Civilization: Who Will Survive? (1994) on the contemporary clash of world cultures; Indian Givers: How the Indians of the Americas Transformed the World (1988); and Native Roots: How the Indians Enriched America (1991). Dr. Weatherford's books have won the Minnesota Book Award in 1989 and in 1992. He also received the 1992 Anthropology in the Media Award from the American Anthropological Association, and he received the 1994 Mass Media Award of the National Conference of Christians and Jews.
For Professor Weatherford, scholarship involves teaching as much as research and writing. "In teaching, I try to teach my students to live anthropology. I want them to use it every day of their lives in making sense of the world around them. I want them to understand different theories because sometimes one theory helps to explain one problem, but another theory illuminates another one. Theories are tools. They are neither right nor wrong; they are merely useful in a particular situation or not useful. Sometimes we need a hammer and sometimes a screwdriver. I want my students to have a large tool kit with many theories, ideas, and skills at their disposal as they face new challenges and situations which I never even imagined."
Professor Weatherford frequently teaches a popular course, Peoples and Cultures of Mongolia. In 2004-2005 Professor Weatherford taught a First Year Course entitled Genghis Khan and the Making of the Modern World. To view a document produced by this class click on this link. |
