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 has taught many classes at all levels of Anthropology. This semester he is teaching a class on American Indians.