Melvyn Goldstein
| Melvyn C. Goldstein | |
|---|---|
| Born | 8 February 1938 New York City |
| Residence | Cleveland, Ohio |
| Citizenship | United States |
| Nationality | US |
| Fields | Anthropology |
| Institutions | Case Western Reserve University |
| Alma mater | University of Michigan |
| Known for | Tibetology |
Melvyn C. Goldstein (born 8 February 1938) is an American social anthropologist and Tibet scholar. His research focuses on Tibetan society, history and contemporary politics, population studies, polyandry, studies in cultural and development ecology, economic change and cross-cultural gerontology.
Goldstein obtained a BA with a major in history in 1959, and an MA in history in 1960 from the University of Michigan. He pursued his research in anthropology at the University of Washington and was awarded a PhD in 1968. In 1968 he immediately joined the faculty of the Department of Anthropology at Case Western Reserve University as an Assistant Professor. He became an Associate Professor in 1974 and full Professor in 1978. From 1975 to 2002 he was the Chairman of the Department of Anthropology. Between 1987 and 1991 he was the Director of the Center for Research on Tibet, and is still the Co-Director. From 1991 he has been the Professor (on secondary appointment) of the International Health, School of Medicine. He was elected to the U.S. National Academy of Sciences (Section 51, Anthropology) in 2009.
Goldstein is an American scholar whose research focuses on Tibet. His research has been described as "nuanced"; while he portrays pre-1950 Tibet as "de facto independent", he also portrays the old state as a feudal theocracy. His A History of Modern Tibet, 1913-1951: The Demise of the Lamaist State was awarded Honorable Mention for the Joseph Levenson Book Prize in 1989 by the Association for Asian Studies, but was denounced by Tibetan independence activist Jamyang Norbu for having "little account of honourable service, sacrifice or courage", and for documenting events in Tibetan history Norbu considers "shameful". He married the daughter of the famous Tibetan scholar-official-aristocrat, Surkhang Wangchen Gelek.
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