My old friend Ed Capano — the onetime publisher of National Review — likes to say, “You’re a scholar and a gentleman. And there aren’t many of us left.” Well, Peter Wood is one, for sure. He is the president of the National Association of Scholars. He is also an anthropologist. And he is my guest on Q&A, here.
Peter grew up in the Pittsburgh area. And he went to Haverford College. There, he found a crackerjack anthro prof, Wyatt McGaffey. Sometimes all it takes is one professor. And that set Peter’s course. Peter went on to earn his Ph.D. at the University of Rochester.
In our podcast, we talk anthro major to anthro major, so to speak. (I once wrote a piece, an essay, called “Majoring in Anthro: A lament for a field.”) We talk about great anthropologists past — and less-than-great ones. Was Margaret Mead a fraud? Peter talks at some length about this, and the answer, in short, is yes, unfortunately. Big talent for self-promotion, however. That is always a factor, in any number of fields.
Peter Wood taught at Boston University, and also held administrative posts there. If you’re talkin’ BU, you’re talkin’ John Silber, the legendary president. Great, admirable man or impossible, irascible SOB? Yes, says Peter — as virtually everyone who knew the great man says. (He was one of my favorite people in public life, but then, I’m drawn to the prickly — Phil Gramm would be another example.)
Eventually, Peter landed at NAS — the National Association of Scholars — which — I quote from the organization itself — “upholds the standards of a liberal arts education that fosters intellectual freedom, searches for the truth, and promotes virtuous citizenship.” In our Q&A, Peter and I talk about higher ed, and lower ed, too. (I ask: By the time a person reaches college, is it too late? Are primary and secondary education the whole ballgame, pretty much?) We also talk about online education. That’s the wave of the future, right? Maybe, says Peter — but he does not take a positive view of it. Interaction with others — actually rubbing shoulders with the Wyatt McGaffeys — is critical in an education.
I am sympathetic to this. Not long ago, I had dinner with an old prof of mine. Such satisfaction.
In the 2000s, Peter published two books: one on diversity, “the invention of a concept,” and the other on anger. It has an excellent title: “A Bee in the Mouth: Anger in America Now.” This book came out more than ten years ago. What about now, baby!
Anyway, if you don’t know Peter Wood, you will enjoy getting to know him via our podcast — again, here.