David D. Laitin
David Dennis Laitin | |
---|---|
Born | 1945 (age 78–79) |
Education | Swarthmore College (B.A.), University of California, Berkeley (Ph.D.) |
Occupation | Political scientist |
Awards | Johan Skytte Prize in Political Science (2021) |
Scientific career | |
Institutions | Stanford University |
Doctoral advisor | Ernst B. Haas |
Other academic advisors | Hanna Pitkin |
Doctoral students | Stathis Kalyvas |
David D. Laitin (born in 1945)[1] is the James T. Watkins IV and Elise V. Watkins Professor of Political Science in the School of Humanities and Science at Stanford University.[2] He is a comparative politics scholar who has written works on civil war,[3] ethnic identity, culture and nationalism.[4] He is known for his application of rational choice to the study of ethnic conflict,[3] and for bridging a gap between ethnography and rational choice.[5]
He was awarded the Johan Skytte Prize in 2021.[6] He is an elected member of the National Academy of Sciences.[7] Before joining Stanford University, he was a professor in the political science department at the University of Chicago.[7]
In 1986, he published a book about the Yoruba in Nigeria, Hegemony and Culture: The Politics of Religious Change Among the Yoruba.[7] Laitin studied Russian and lived with a Russian family in Estonia for a year.[7] The experiences formed the basis of his 1998 book Identity in Formation: The Russian-Speaking Populations in the Near Abroad.[7] In the 1990s and 2000s, Laitin published several highly influential works on ethnicity with James Fearon.[7][4]
Early life and education
Laitin was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1945.[4] He grew up in a Jewish family in Flatbush, Brooklyn.[8][7] He is the grandson of émigrés from Russia and Austria.[7] In 1967, he was awarded an undergraduate degree from Swarthmore College.[7] While at Swarthmore, he took a class alongside fellow students Margaret Levi and Peter Katzenstein, who would both go on to become prominent political scientists.[9]
He received his Ph.D. in Political Science from University of California at Berkeley, where he did his dissertation under the guidance of Ernst Haas,[2] Hanna Pitkin,[2] and Kenneth Waltz.[10] During his time at Berkeley, Laitin served with the Peace Corps in Somalia and Grenada.[7] Laitin has said that this decision was in part motivated by seeking to avoid the Vietnam draft.[9] Laitin's experiences in Somalia influenced his dissertation and his 1977 book Politics, Language and Thought: The Somali Experience.[7]
References
- ^ Munck, Gerardo L.; Snyder, Richard (2007). Passion, Craft, and Method in Comparative Politics. Johns Hopkins University Press. p. 5. ISBN 978-0-8018-8464-1.
- ^ a b c "David D. Laitin | Political Science". politicalscience.stanford.edu. Retrieved 2020-03-15.
- ^ a b Kaufmann, Chaim (2005-01-01). "Rational Choice and Progress in the Study of Ethnic Conflict: A Review Essay". Security Studies. 14 (1): 178–207. doi:10.1080/09636410591002554. ISSN 0963-6412. S2CID 143819357.
- ^ a b c Munck, Gerardo L.; Snyder, Richard (2007). Passion, Craft, and Method in Comparative Politics. Johns Hopkins University Press. pp. 601–602. ISBN 978-0-8018-8464-1.
- ^ Wedeen, Lisa (2010-05-01). "Reflections on Ethnographic Work in Political Science". Annual Review of Political Science. 13 (1): 255–272. doi:10.1146/annurev.polisci.11.052706.123951. ISSN 1094-2939.
- ^ "The 27th Johan Skytte Prize goes to David D. Laitin | The Johan Skytte Prize". Retrieved 2021-04-14.
- ^ a b c d e f g h i j k Gupta, Sujata (2011-12-20). "Profile of David D. Laitin". Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences. 108 (51): 20301–20303. Bibcode:2011PNAS..10820301G. doi:10.1073/pnas.1117177108. ISSN 0027-8424. PMC 3251095. PMID 22106288.
- ^ Fearon, James D.; Laitin, David D. (1996). "Explaining Interethnic Cooperation". The American Political Science Review. 90 (4): 715–735. doi:10.2307/2945838. ISSN 0003-0554. JSTOR 2945838. S2CID 55500292.
- ^ a b Prize, The Johan Skytte (2021-10-15), 2020/2021 Johan Skytte Prize Award Ceremony, retrieved 2021-10-15
- ^ "Interview - James Fearon". E-International Relations. 2013-12-16. Retrieved 2021-05-09.
- v
- t
- e
![]() | This article about an Africanist (person involved in the study of Africa) is a stub. You can help Wikipedia by expanding it. |
- v
- t
- e