Thomas R. Trautmann | |
|---|---|
| Born | May 27, 1940 |
| Residence | Ann Arbor, Michigan |
| Nationality | American |
| Occupation | Scholar of ancient Indology |
| Spouse(s) | Marcella Hauolilani Choy(m. 1967) |
| Children | 2 |
| Parent(s) | Milton and Esther Florence (Trachte) Trautmann |
| Academic background | |
| Alma mater | |
| Thesis | Kautilya and the Arthasastra: a Statistical Investigation of the Authorship and Evolution of the Text (1968) |
| Academic work | |
| Discipline | Anthropology & history |
Thomas Roger Trautmann is an American historian, cultural anthropologist and Professor Emeritus of History and Anthropology at the University of Michigan. He is considered a leading expert on the Arthashastra , the ancient Hindu text on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy, written in Sanskrit. Trautmann has mentored many students during his tenure at the University of Michigan. His studies focus on Ancient India, the history of anthropology and other related subjects. Trautmann's work in Indology has been credited with illuminating the underlying economic philosophy that governed ancient Indian kinship. He has also written book-length studies on both Dravidian and American Indian kinship. His most recent study concerns the use of the elephant in Ancient India.
Emeritus, in its current usage, is an adjective used to designate a retired chairperson, professor, pastor, bishop, pope, director, president, prime minister, rabbi, emperor, or other person.
The University of Michigan, often simply referred to as Michigan, is a public research university in Ann Arbor, Michigan. The university is Michigan's oldest; it was founded in 1817 in Detroit, as the Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania, 20 years before the territory became a state. The school was moved to Ann Arbor in 1837 onto 40 acres (16 ha) of what is now known as Central Campus. Since its establishment in Ann Arbor, the university campus has expanded to include more than 584 major buildings with a combined area of more than 34 million gross square feet spread out over a Central Campus and North Campus, two regional campuses in Flint and Dearborn, and a Center in Detroit. The university is a founding member of the Association of American Universities.
The Arthashastra is an ancient Indian treatise on statecraft, economic policy and military strategy, written in Sanskrit. Likely to be the work of several authors over centuries, Kautilya, also identified as Vishnugupta and Chanakya, is traditionally credited as the author of the text. The latter was a scholar at Takshashila, the teacher and guardian of Emperor Chandragupta Maurya. However, scholars have questioned this identification. Composed, expanded and redacted between the 2nd century BCE and 3rd century CE, the Arthashastra was influential until the 12th century, when it disappeared. It was rediscovered in 1905 by R. Shamasastry, who published it in 1909. The first English translation was published in 1915.
Contents
Trautmann began as an assistant professor in 1968, teaching his entire career at Ann Arbor until he was awarded emeritus status. Trautmann has served as director of the University of Michigan History Department, as well as head of the Center for South Asian Studies. From 1997 - 2006 he served as the editor of Comparative Studies in Society and History . He was honored with a festschrift in 2011. Born and raised in Madison, Wisconsin, he completed his undergraduate work at Beloit College and holds a Ph.D. from the University of London [1] where he wrote his dissertation on the structure and composition of the Sanskrit text Arthasastra (published in book form in 1971).
Comparative Studies in Society and History is a peer-reviewed academic journal published quarterly by Cambridge University Press on behalf of the Society for Comparative Study of Society and History. It was established in 1958.
In academia, a Festschrift is a book honoring a respected person, especially an academic, and presented during their lifetime. It generally takes the form of an edited volume, containing contributions from the honoree's colleagues, former pupils, and friends.
Madison is the capital of the U.S. state of Wisconsin and the seat of Dane County. As of July 1, 2018, Madison's estimated population of 258,054 made it the second-largest city in Wisconsin by population, after Milwaukee, and the 81st-largest in the United States. The city forms the core of the Madison Metropolitan Area which includes Dane County and neighboring Iowa, Green, and Columbia counties for a population of 654,230.
