In the 14th century, the North African scholar Ab-ar-Rahman 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. In 1972, he received a M.A. in Sociology from the University of South Carolina. Soon after, he went back for an M.A in Anthropology in 1973. In 1977, he received his Ph.D in Anthropology from the University of California, San Diego. He further went on to get a post-doctural degree in Policy Studies from Duke University, Institute of Policy Sciences.
Since then, Dr. Weatherford has worked with contemporary groups in places such as Bolivia and the Amazon. He's also worked with historical analysis such as the impact of the American Indians on world history. In recent years, he has concentrated on the Mongols by looking at their impact since the time that Genghis Khan united the Mongol tribes in 1206. Currently, he's working on a book concerning Genghis Khan and the role of the Mongols in shaping the modern world. The April 2000 issue from the Chronicle of Higher Education gives an overview of that project.
Professor Weatherford has also 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 latest book, The History of Money (Crown Publishers), was chosen as 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.