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W. H. McLeod

January 01, 1970

William Hewat McLeod (1932–2009; also Hew McLeod) was a New Zealand scholar who helped establish Sikh Studies as a distinctive field.[1][2]

William Hewat McLeod
Born(1932-08-02)2 August 1932
Feilding, New Zealand
Died20 July 2009(2009-07-20) (aged 76)
Dunedin, New Zealand
EducationSchool of Oriental and African Studies
Known forSikh theology and history
SpouseMargaret Wylie (m. 1955)
Scientific career
FieldsHistorian
InstitutionsUniversity of Otago, University of Toronto
Thesis The life and doctrine of Gurū Nānak  (1965)

Considered to be the most prominent Western historian of Sikhism, his publications had introduced higher criticism to Sikh sources for the first time and influenced generations of scholars.[3][4][5] However, his scholarship remains controversial among traditional Khalsa scholars, who accuse him of disrespecting the religion and argue that Sikhism can't be studied using Western methodologies.[3][5][6]

Career edit

McLeod attended the Nelson College from 1946 to 1950, before joining the University of Otago, where he earned a BA.[1] He earned an MA in history from the same college, graduating in 1955 with a 2nd Class Honours.[7][1] McLeod enrolled for theological studies at the Knox College and in 1958, joined the New Zealand Presbyterian Church, apparently out of a desire to serve the less privileged.[1][5] McLeod was deputed to Kharar in Punjab, India to teach English at a higher secondary school.[1][5]

During this stay, McLeod learned vernacular languages (Hindi and Punjabi) and became interested in Sikhs.[1] In 1963, he enrolled for a PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies under Arthur Llewellyn Basham and returned two years later upon a successful completion.[1][5] He was appointed as a lecturer in Punjab History at the Baring Union Christian College, the same year.[5] In 1968, The Clarendon Press published his thesis, establishing his reputation as a scholar and marking the beginning of his research career.[1][2]

In 1969, he left his job at India (and the Presbyterian Church) with a new-found atheism.[1][5] From 1969 to 1970, he was the Smuts Memorial Fellow for Commonwealth Studies at the University of Cambridge and from 1970 to 1971, the Leverhulme Visiting Fellow for Precolonial History at the University of Sussex.[1][5] In 1971, he was appointed as a lecturer of history at the University of Otago.[1][8] He would hold the post till retiring in 1997.[1]

All along this while, he oft-visited India, researched and wrote extensively about Sikh scriptures, literature, identity, and history.[2] From 1988 to 1993, McLeod also taught a one-term course at University of Toronto and supervised several PhDs.[1] From 1997 to 1998, he held a visiting fellowship at Balliol College, Oxford.[5]

Honors edit

In 1986, McLeod was chosen to deliver a series of public lectures on religion, sponsored by the American Council of Learned Societies (ACLS).[5] In 1990 the University of London awarded him a DLit.[9] He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1999.[5]

Personal life edit

McLeod was born on 2 August 1932 to Bruce McLeod and Margaret née Hewat (m. 1928), a farming family near Feilding.[1][5] McLeod had an older brother named Ian and a younger brother named Bruce.[10] In May 1955 he married Margaret Wylie, whom he had met during his university days.[1] They have four children — Rory, Michael, Shaun, and Ruth (half-Punjabi; adopted during his PhD days).[1]

On 2 February 1987, during the ACLS lecture series, he suffered a stroke; this significantly affected his ability to lecture and argue orally.[1] McLeod recovered within a year and half.[5]

Published works and reception edit

Monographs edit

Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion edit

In his PhD thesis (later published by OUP), McLeod introduced the tools of higher criticism and philology to Sikh janamsakhis and concluded them to have little reliable information.[1][2][a] The janamsakhis were apparently written by Nanak's followers, after about a century of his death, to reflect their perceptions of him; McLeod's objective account of Nanak's life had only three paragraphs.[3]

Simon Digby, for the Indian Economic and Social History Review, noted the work to be an important, rich, and rigorous study.[11] A review in Archiv Orientální found his work to be the product of painstaking research and responsible approach, supplying a wealth of information on Nanak.[12] Khushwant Singh, reviewing for The Journal of Asian Studies, admired McLeod's dispassionate objectivity in producing an exceptional scholarship; his exhaustive reading of primary sources and methodology of source criticism was lauded in particular.[13]

Christopher Shackle notes that McLeod's questioning the historicity of previously unchallenged "facts" created a predictable ruffle among orthodox Sikhs.[14][b] However, the work had exhibited a naive reductionist understanding of the links between hagiography and historical biography, and created a dead-end for scholars not willing to align with the Khalsa-centric school.[14][16][c] S.C.R. Weightman had a mixed opinion.[17][18]

J.S. Grewal took a critical view of the book.[2] While considering Guru Nanak to consider both Hindu and Muslim beliefs as wrong, and Sikhism to be distinct from both, as opposed to a synthesis, he categorized the faith as a "reworking of the sant synthesis," despite the explicit statements of Nanak delineating the start of a new panth with new traditions, and leaving this unaccounted.[2]

Tony Ballantyne commends the study for introducing "rigorous professionalism" into discourse on Sikh history.[3] Published a year before Guru Nanak's fifth birth-centenary, McLeod ran contrary to the "reverential and even hagiographical tone" of volumes that had flooded the market and his textualist methodology "transformed" the field.[3] Harjot Oberoi opines that the entire field of Sikh Studies should remain indebted to McLeod's pioneering book. A 2009 editorial of Sikh Formations noted the work to be a seminal and highly influential contribution to the field.[19] Pashaura Singh (along with Michael Hawley and Susan Prill) note that McLeod's work remains the best in expounding Nanak's teachings.[20]

Early Sikh Tradition: A Study of the Janamsakhis edit

This was written in 1971 but first published in 1980 by The Clarendon Press.[5][16]

Christopher Shackle, in a review for Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, found the work to be formidable in its pioneer borrowing of higher criticism from Biblical studies; it was far more sophisticated than his 1968 volume and was among the rare examples of major scholarship arising out of traditionally neglected areas.[14] Surjit Hans noted that McLeod's knowledge of the Janamsakhis, as exhibited in the work, was unrivaled.[21] So did Christine Moliner.[22]

Shackle later noted that the political turbulence in Punjab since the 80s meant that McLeod's best work failed to receive its deserved attention among scholars.[16] Pashaura Singh (along with Michael Hawley and Susan Prill) note it to provide a comprehensive analysis of the hagiographical cannon of janamsakhis.[20]

Sikhs of the Khalsa: A History of the Khalsa Rahit edit

His last significant work, it was noted by Christopher Shackle to be the last word on the question of development of Sikh Identity.[16]

Essay Volumes edit

The Evolution of the Sikh Community edit

In 1975, McLeod published The Evolution of the Sikh Community, a collection of five essays.[5][23]

Clive Dewey was effusive in his praise of the work; even if McLeod had written nothing else, this "bravura performance" was sufficient to establish his unprecedented caliber in the field of Sikh Studies.[23] J.S. Grewal was again critical of his approach.[2][24]

The Sikhs: History, Religion, and Society edit

There were seven essays, five of which were reprints of the ACLS lectures.[25] The compilation was published by Columbia University Press in 1989.[5]

Christopher Shackle, in a review for Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, found the volume to be a must-read for all students of Sikh History.[25] McLeod's willingness to critique his earlier stances and his fluency in recent scholarship were admired.[25] Shackle found the second essay to be the "most stimulating", where McLeod used newer evidence to convincingly reject the popularly ascribed roles of Islam in development of Sikhism.[25][26][27]

Who is a Sikh? The Problems of the Sikh Identity edit

Published in 1990 by the Oxford University Press, this collated ten essays delivered during the 1986-87 Radhakrishnan Lecture at Oxford University.[28][16][29]

Christopher Shackle, in a review for Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, found the work to be quite good but poorer to his The Sikhs: History, Religion, and Society.[25] Both W. Owen Cole (reviewing for Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society) and Surjit Hans (reviewing for Studies in History) found the book to be a mandatory read for anyone having an interest in Sikh identity.[29][21] Bruce La Brack, reviewing for Journal of Asian Studies, noted that the volume re-proved why McLeod was the leading scholar of Sikh Studies in the West.[28]

Translation edit

The Chaupa Singh Rahit-nama edit

Christopher Shackle, in a review for Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society, found the work to cement McLeod's reputation as the preeminent scholar of Sikh Studies.[30] The detailed notes accompanying the text and McLeod's introduction detailing the historical development of the text were particularly praised.[30][31]

Bibliography edit

Textual Sources for the Study of Sikhism edit

Christopher Shackle found the work to "ably" present the fundamental texts of Sikh tradition.[25] Pashaura Singh (along with Michael Hawley and Susan Prill) found it to be a good selection of texts.[20]

References edit

Historical Dictionary of Sikhism edit

It was first published in 1995, under the editorship of McLeod.[32] A second edition appeared in 2002 by Oxford University Press.[32] A third edition was published in 2014 by Scarecrow Press alone; Louis Fenech was roped in as co-editor.

In 2006, Simon Barrett reviewed the second edition.[33] In 2009, Michael Hawley reviewed the same edition to be a useful and reliable reference for Sikh scholars, containing "clearly written" and "informative" definitions.[32] However, certain expected entries were skipped or were too short and the cross-referencing was poor; the dictionary was also in the need of an update to accommodate diaspora Sikhs.[32]

Collections edit

Exploring Sikhism: Aspects of Sikh Identity, Culture, and Thought edit

Published by Oxford University Press in 2007, it contains sixteen previously published essays.[34]

In a review for Nova Religio, George Adams noted an exhaustive examination of all important aspects of the Sikh tradition in a lucid and convincing manner.[34] Daniel Gold, reviewing for The Indian Economic & Social History Review, praised McLeod as the foremost Western historian of Sikhism, whose "careful scholarship and thoughtful analytic temper" were visible across all essays; the volume was authoritative and remained accessible to scholars as well as laymen.[35]

Sikhs and Sikhism edit

An omnibus volume, it was published by Oxford University Press as hardback in 1999 and reissued in 2004.[16] It comprises four works — Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion, Early Sikh Tradition: A Study of the Janamsakhis, The Evolution of the Sikh Community, and Who is a Sikh? The Problems of the Sikh Identity.[36]

Frederick M. Smith remarked in a review that despite methodological advances in the field, the omnibus was a must-read for all scholars of religion.[36] Christopher Shackle noted that the omnibus has already established itself as the standard reference work.[16]

Essays in Sikh History, Tradition, and Society edit

A collation of his most significant essays, the collection was published by Oxford University Press in 2007.[37]

Notes edit

  1. ^ He counts 87 of 124 sakhis as variously discounted, improbable, or only possible.[3]
  2. ^ John C. B. Webster found the responses to evidence the effect of religious orthodoxy and popular sentiment even among "scholars", and the fact of few Indian scholars having proper training in religious studies.[15]
  3. ^ Read alongside Shackle's review of Early Sikh Tradition: A Study of the Janamsakhis (1980).

References edit

  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Ballantyne, Tony (3 September 2009). "WH McLeod". The Guardian. Retrieved 26 August 2013.
  2. ^ a b c d e f g J.S. Grewal (2010), W.H. McLeod and Sikh Studies, Journal of Punjab Studies, 17 (2010): 1-2, pages 115–142
  3. ^ a b c d e f Ballantyne, Tony (2006). Between Colonialism and Diaspora: Sikh Cultural Formations in an Imperial World. Duke University Press. pp. 10–15. ISBN 0-8223-3824-6.
  4. ^ Oberoi, Harjot (15 December 1994). The Construction of Religious Boundaries: Culture, Identity, and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition. University of Chicago Press. ISBN 978-0-226-61593-6.
  5. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Pashaura, Singh (2004). "Introduction-I: The Contribution of Professor W.H. McLeod in the Field of Sikh Studies". In Singh, Pashaura; Barrier, N. Gerald (eds.). Sikhism and History. Oxford University Press. ISBN 9780195667080.
  6. ^ Singh, Pashaura (18 April 2019), "McLeod, W. H.", A Dictionary of Sikh Studies, Oxford University Press, doi:10.1093/acref/9780191831874.001.0001, ISBN 978-0-19-183187-4
  7. ^ "NZ university graduates 1870–1961: Mc". Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  8. ^ Grewal, Jagtar Singh (2010). "W. H. McLeod and Sikh studies" (PDF). Journal of Punjab Studies. 17 (1 and 2): 116. Retrieved 5 November 2020. Professor McLeod had started teaching History at the University of Otago in 1971.
  9. ^ Olssen, Erik (19 November 2010). "William Hewat McLeod". Royal Society of New Zealand. Retrieved 9 December 2014.
  10. ^ McLeod, Hew (2004). Discovering the Sikhs: Autobiography of a Historian. Permanent Black. ISBN 81-7824-068-8.
  11. ^ Digby, Simon (1 June 1970). "Book Reviews : Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion by W.H. Mcleod; pp. xii, 259; Oxford University Press 1968 ; 50 shillings". The Indian Economic & Social History Review. 7 (2): 301–313. doi:10.1177/001946467000700206. ISSN 0019-4646. S2CID 144482715.
  12. ^ Marek, J. (January 1972). "Book Review". Archiv Orientální. 40: 277.
  13. ^ Singh, Khushwant (November 1969). "Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion. By W. H. McLeod. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968. ix, 259 pp., Indexes. $7.00". The Journal of Asian Studies. 29 (1): 192–193. doi:10.2307/2942570. ISSN 1752-0401. JSTOR 2942570. S2CID 170724858.
  14. ^ a b c Shackle, C. (1983). "Early Sikh tradition: a study of the Janam-Sākhīs". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain & Ireland. 115 (2). Cambridge University Press: 323–324. doi:10.1017/S0035869X00137888. S2CID 162551465.
  15. ^ Webster, John C. B. (Fall 2018). "Review Article: Brill's Encyclopedia of Sikhism - Volume I: History, Literature, Society, Beyond Punjab". Journal of Sikh & Punjāb Studies. 25 (2): 315–324.
  16. ^ a b c d e f g Shackle, Christopher (May 2006). "W. H. MCLEOD, Sikhs and Sikhism (New Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2004). Pp. 890. Rs 635.00 paper". International Journal of Middle East Studies. 38 (2): 338–339. doi:10.1017/S0020743806422364. ISSN 1471-6380. S2CID 162840917.
  17. ^ Weightman, S. C. R. (June 1970). "W. H. McLeod: Gurū Nānak and the Sikh religion, xii, 259 pp. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1968. 50s". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 33 (2): 412–413. doi:10.1017/S0041977X0010374X. ISSN 1474-0699. S2CID 161056149.
  18. ^ "Besprechungen". Orientalistische Literaturzeitung (in German). 68 (1–6): 167–207. 1 December 1973. doi:10.1524/olzg.1973.68.16.167. ISSN 2196-6877.
  19. ^ "The subject of Sikh Studies". Sikh Formations. 1 (1): 1–11. 1 June 2005. doi:10.1080/17448720500215345. ISSN 1744-8727. S2CID 185568701.
  20. ^ a b c "Sikhism and Hinduism". obo. Retrieved 21 July 2021.
  21. ^ a b Hans, Surjit (1 February 1992). "Book Reviews : W.H. McLEOD, Who Is a Sikh? The Problem of Sikh Identity, Oxford University Press, Delhi, 140 pp. , Rs. 70". Studies in History. 8 (1): 157–159. doi:10.1177/025764309200800107. ISSN 0257-6430. S2CID 163141134.
  22. ^ Moliner, Christine (16 October 2007). "Frères ennemis? Relations between Panjabi Sikhs and Muslims in the Diaspora". South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal (1). doi:10.4000/samaj.135. ISSN 1960-6060. S2CID 142758295.
  23. ^ a b Dewey, Clive (October 1978). "The Evolution of the Sikh Community. Five Essays. By W. H. McLeod. Clarendon Press: Oxford, 1976. Pp. viii, 119. £3.50". Modern Asian Studies. 12 (4): 701–703. doi:10.1017/S0026749X00006405. ISSN 1469-8099. S2CID 145505591.
  24. ^ Uberoi, J. P. S. (May 1978). "The Evolution of the Sikh Community: Five Essays. By W. H. McLeod. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1976. 119 pp. Glossary, Bibliography, Index. $8.75". The Journal of Asian Studies. 37 (3): 549–550. doi:10.2307/2053618. ISSN 1752-0401. JSTOR 2053618. S2CID 161969046.
  25. ^ a b c d e f Shackle, Christopher (February 1991). "W. H. McLeod: The Sikhs: history, religion, and society. (The American Council of Learned Societies Lectures on the History of Religions, no. 14.) ix, 161 pp. New York: Columbia University Press, 1989. $29. - W. H. McLeod: Who is a Sikh? The problem of Sikh identity, ix, 140 pp. Oxford: Clarendon Press, 1989. £19.50". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 54 (1): 184–186. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00010016. ISSN 1474-0699.
  26. ^ Dusenbery, Verne A. (May 1994). "The Sikhs: History, Religion, and Society. By W. H. McLeod. New York: Columbia University Press, 1989. ix, 161 pp. $12.50". The Journal of Asian Studies. 53 (2): 600–602. doi:10.2307/2059906. ISSN 1752-0401. JSTOR 2059906. S2CID 204483560.
  27. ^ Lochtefeld, James G (1 December 1993). "Book Reviews". Journal of the American Academy of Religion. LXI (4): 839–841. doi:10.1093/jaarel/LXI.4.839. ISSN 0002-7189.
  28. ^ a b Brack, Bruce La (November 1990). "Who is a Sikh? The Problem of Sikh Identity. By W. H. McLeod. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 1989. viii, 140 pp. $29.95". The Journal of Asian Studies. 49 (4): 976–977. doi:10.2307/2058315. ISSN 1752-0401. JSTOR 2058315. S2CID 161255786.
  29. ^ a b Cole, W. Owen (January 1990). "Who is a Sikh? The problem of Sikh identity By W. H. McLeod. pp. xi, 140. Oxford, Clarendon Press, 1989, £19.50". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 122 (1): 193–194. doi:10.1017/S0035869X00108299. ISSN 2051-2066. S2CID 162733191.
  30. ^ a b Shackle, C. (June 1989). "W.H. McLeod(ed.): The Chaupa Singh rahit-nama. 260 pp. Dunedin: University of Otago Press, 1987". Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies. 52 (2): 371. doi:10.1017/S0041977X00035837. ISSN 1474-0699. S2CID 162232662.
  31. ^ Cole, W. Owen (January 1989). "The Chaupa Singh Rahit-Nama. By W. H. McLeod. pp. 260. Dunedin, University of Otago Press, 1987. NZ$27.23". Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society. 121 (1): 183–184. doi:10.1017/S0035869X00168303. ISSN 2051-2066. S2CID 163836344.
  32. ^ a b c d Hawley, Michael (1 January 2012). "A Review of "The A to Z of Sikhism"". Journal of Religious & Theological Information. 11 (1–2): 91–92. doi:10.1080/10477845.2012.673145. ISSN 1047-7845. S2CID 142793337.
  33. ^ Barrett, Simon (1 January 2006). "Historical Dictionary of Sikhism (2nd edition)". Reference Reviews. 20 (5): 13–14. doi:10.1108/09504120610672746. ISSN 0950-4125.
  34. ^ a b "Exploring Sikhism: Aspects of Sikh Identity, Culture, and Thought". Nova Religio. 9 (2): 122–123. 1 November 2005. doi:10.1525/nr.2005.9.2.122. ISSN 1092-6690.
  35. ^ Gold, Daniel (1 December 2002). "Book Reviews : VASUDHA DALMIA, ANGELIKA MALINAR and MARTIN CHRISTOF, eds, Charisma and Canon: Essays on the Religious History of the Indian Subcontinent, Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2001, pp. 461. ANTONY COPLEY, ed., Gurus and Their Followers: New Religious Reform Movements in Colonial India, Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2000, pp. 235. W.H. McLEOD, Exploring Sikhism: Aspects of Sikh Identity, Culture and Thought, Delhi: Oxford University Press, 2000, pp. 288". The Indian Economic & Social History Review. 39 (4): 454–458. doi:10.1177/001946460203900413. ISSN 0019-4646.
  36. ^ a b Smith, Frederick M. (2006). "Sikhs and Sikhism: Comprising Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion, Early Sikh Tradition, the Evolution of the Sikh Community, and Who is a Sikh – By W. H. McLeod". Religious Studies Review. 32 (1): 61. doi:10.1111/j.1748-0922.2006.00045_6.x. ISSN 1748-0922.
  37. ^ "A Different Approach to History – The Book Review, Monthly Review of Important Books". Retrieved 20 July 2021.

External links edit

  • Grewal, J. S. (2010). "W. H. McLeod and Sikh studies" (PDF). Journal of Punjab Studies. 17 (1&2): 115–144.

January 01, 1970
mcleod, william, hewat, mcleod, 1932, 2009, also, mcleod, zealand, scholar, helped, establish, sikh, studies, distinctive, field, william, hewat, mcleodborn, 1932, august, 1932feilding, zealanddied20, july, 2009, 2009, aged, dunedin, zealandeducationschool, or. William Hewat McLeod 1932 2009 also Hew McLeod was a New Zealand scholar who helped establish Sikh Studies as a distinctive field 1 2 William Hewat McLeodBorn 1932 08 02 2 August 1932Feilding New ZealandDied20 July 2009 2009 07 20 aged 76 Dunedin New ZealandEducationSchool of Oriental and African StudiesKnown forSikh theology and historySpouseMargaret Wylie m 1955 Scientific careerFieldsHistorianInstitutionsUniversity of Otago University of TorontoThesisThe life and doctrine of Guru Nanak 1965 Considered to be the most prominent Western historian of Sikhism his publications had introduced higher criticism to Sikh sources for the first time and influenced generations of scholars 3 4 5 However his scholarship remains controversial among traditional Khalsa scholars who accuse him of disrespecting the religion and argue that Sikhism can t be studied using Western methodologies 3 5 6 Contents 1 Career 1 1 Honors 2 Personal life 3 Published works and reception 3 1 Monographs 3 1 1 Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion 3 1 2 Early Sikh Tradition A Study of the Janamsakhis 3 1 3 Sikhs of the Khalsa A History of the Khalsa Rahit 3 2 Essay Volumes 3 2 1 The Evolution of the Sikh Community 3 2 2 The Sikhs History Religion and Society 3 2 3 Who is a Sikh The Problems of the Sikh Identity 3 3 Translation 3 3 1 The Chaupa Singh Rahit nama 3 4 Bibliography 3 4 1 Textual Sources for the Study of Sikhism 3 5 References 3 5 1 Historical Dictionary of Sikhism 3 6 Collections 3 6 1 Exploring Sikhism Aspects of Sikh Identity Culture and Thought 3 6 2 Sikhs and Sikhism 3 6 3 Essays in Sikh History Tradition and Society 4 Notes 5 References 6 External linksCareer editMcLeod attended the Nelson College from 1946 to 1950 before joining the University of Otago where he earned a BA 1 He earned an MA in history from the same college graduating in 1955 with a 2nd Class Honours 7 1 McLeod enrolled for theological studies at the Knox College and in 1958 joined the New Zealand Presbyterian Church apparently out of a desire to serve the less privileged 1 5 McLeod was deputed to Kharar in Punjab India to teach English at a higher secondary school 1 5 During this stay McLeod learned vernacular languages Hindi and Punjabi and became interested in Sikhs 1 In 1963 he enrolled for a PhD at the School of Oriental and African Studies under Arthur Llewellyn Basham and returned two years later upon a successful completion 1 5 He was appointed as a lecturer in Punjab History at the Baring Union Christian College the same year 5 In 1968 The Clarendon Press published his thesis establishing his reputation as a scholar and marking the beginning of his research career 1 2 In 1969 he left his job at India and the Presbyterian Church with a new found atheism 1 5 From 1969 to 1970 he was the Smuts Memorial Fellow for Commonwealth Studies at the University of Cambridge and from 1970 to 1971 the Leverhulme Visiting Fellow for Precolonial History at the University of Sussex 1 5 In 1971 he was appointed as a lecturer of history at the University of Otago 1 8 He would hold the post till retiring in 1997 1 All along this while he oft visited India researched and wrote extensively about Sikh scriptures literature identity and history 2 From 1988 to 1993 McLeod also taught a one term course at University of Toronto and supervised several PhDs 1 From 1997 to 1998 he held a visiting fellowship at Balliol College Oxford 5 Honors edit In 1986 McLeod was chosen to deliver a series of public lectures on religion sponsored by the American Council of Learned Societies ACLS 5 In 1990 the University of London awarded him a DLit 9 He was elected a Fellow of the Royal Society of New Zealand in 1999 5 Personal life editMcLeod was born on 2 August 1932 to Bruce McLeod and Margaret nee Hewat m 1928 a farming family near Feilding 1 5 McLeod had an older brother named Ian and a younger brother named Bruce 10 In May 1955 he married Margaret Wylie whom he had met during his university days 1 They have four children Rory Michael Shaun and Ruth half Punjabi adopted during his PhD days 1 On 2 February 1987 during the ACLS lecture series he suffered a stroke this significantly affected his ability to lecture and argue orally 1 McLeod recovered within a year and half 5 Published works and reception editMonographs edit Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion edit In his PhD thesis later published by OUP McLeod introduced the tools of higher criticism and philology to Sikh janamsakhis and concluded them to have little reliable information 1 2 a The janamsakhis were apparently written by Nanak s followers after about a century of his death to reflect their perceptions of him McLeod s objective account of Nanak s life had only three paragraphs 3 Simon Digby for the Indian Economic and Social History Review noted the work to be an important rich and rigorous study 11 A review in Archiv Orientalni found his work to be the product of painstaking research and responsible approach supplying a wealth of information on Nanak 12 Khushwant Singh reviewing for The Journal of Asian Studies admired McLeod s dispassionate objectivity in producing an exceptional scholarship his exhaustive reading of primary sources and methodology of source criticism was lauded in particular 13 Christopher Shackle notes that McLeod s questioning the historicity of previously unchallenged facts created a predictable ruffle among orthodox Sikhs 14 b However the work had exhibited a naive reductionist understanding of the links between hagiography and historical biography and created a dead end for scholars not willing to align with the Khalsa centric school 14 16 c S C R Weightman had a mixed opinion 17 18 J S Grewal took a critical view of the book 2 While considering Guru Nanak to consider both Hindu and Muslim beliefs as wrong and Sikhism to be distinct from both as opposed to a synthesis he categorized the faith as a reworking of the sant synthesis despite the explicit statements of Nanak delineating the start of a new panth with new traditions and leaving this unaccounted 2 Tony Ballantyne commends the study for introducing rigorous professionalism into discourse on Sikh history 3 Published a year before Guru Nanak s fifth birth centenary McLeod ran contrary to the reverential and even hagiographical tone of volumes that had flooded the market and his textualist methodology transformed the field 3 Harjot Oberoi opines that the entire field of Sikh Studies should remain indebted to McLeod s pioneering book A 2009 editorial of Sikh Formations noted the work to be a seminal and highly influential contribution to the field 19 Pashaura Singh along with Michael Hawley and Susan Prill note that McLeod s work remains the best in expounding Nanak s teachings 20 Early Sikh Tradition A Study of the Janamsakhis edit This was written in 1971 but first published in 1980 by The Clarendon Press 5 16 Christopher Shackle in a review for Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society found the work to be formidable in its pioneer borrowing of higher criticism from Biblical studies it was far more sophisticated than his 1968 volume and was among the rare examples of major scholarship arising out of traditionally neglected areas 14 Surjit Hans noted that McLeod s knowledge of the Janamsakhis as exhibited in the work was unrivaled 21 So did Christine Moliner 22 Shackle later noted that the political turbulence in Punjab since the 80s meant that McLeod s best work failed to receive its deserved attention among scholars 16 Pashaura Singh along with Michael Hawley and Susan Prill note it to provide a comprehensive analysis of the hagiographical cannon of janamsakhis 20 Sikhs of the Khalsa A History of the Khalsa Rahit edit His last significant work it was noted by Christopher Shackle to be the last word on the question of development of Sikh Identity 16 Essay Volumes edit The Evolution of the Sikh Community edit In 1975 McLeod published The Evolution of the Sikh Community a collection of five essays 5 23 Clive Dewey was effusive in his praise of the work even if McLeod had written nothing else this bravura performance was sufficient to establish his unprecedented caliber in the field of Sikh Studies 23 J S Grewal was again critical of his approach 2 24 The Sikhs History Religion and Society edit There were seven essays five of which were reprints of the ACLS lectures 25 The compilation was published by Columbia University Press in 1989 5 Christopher Shackle in a review for Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society found the volume to be a must read for all students of Sikh History 25 McLeod s willingness to critique his earlier stances and his fluency in recent scholarship were admired 25 Shackle found the second essay to be the most stimulating where McLeod used newer evidence to convincingly reject the popularly ascribed roles of Islam in development of Sikhism 25 26 27 Who is a Sikh The Problems of the Sikh Identity edit Published in 1990 by the Oxford University Press this collated ten essays delivered during the 1986 87 Radhakrishnan Lecture at Oxford University 28 16 29 Christopher Shackle in a review for Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society found the work to be quite good but poorer to his The Sikhs History Religion and Society 25 Both W Owen Cole reviewing for Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society and Surjit Hans reviewing for Studies in History found the book to be a mandatory read for anyone having an interest in Sikh identity 29 21 Bruce La Brack reviewing for Journal of Asian Studies noted that the volume re proved why McLeod was the leading scholar of Sikh Studies in the West 28 Translation edit The Chaupa Singh Rahit nama edit Christopher Shackle in a review for Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society found the work to cement McLeod s reputation as the preeminent scholar of Sikh Studies 30 The detailed notes accompanying the text and McLeod s introduction detailing the historical development of the text were particularly praised 30 31 Bibliography edit Textual Sources for the Study of Sikhism edit Christopher Shackle found the work to ably present the fundamental texts of Sikh tradition 25 Pashaura Singh along with Michael Hawley and Susan Prill found it to be a good selection of texts 20 References edit Historical Dictionary of Sikhism edit It was first published in 1995 under the editorship of McLeod 32 A second edition appeared in 2002 by Oxford University Press 32 A third edition was published in 2014 by Scarecrow Press alone Louis Fenech was roped in as co editor In 2006 Simon Barrett reviewed the second edition 33 In 2009 Michael Hawley reviewed the same edition to be a useful and reliable reference for Sikh scholars containing clearly written and informative definitions 32 However certain expected entries were skipped or were too short and the cross referencing was poor the dictionary was also in the need of an update to accommodate diaspora Sikhs 32 Collections edit Exploring Sikhism Aspects of Sikh Identity Culture and Thought edit Published by Oxford University Press in 2007 it contains sixteen previously published essays 34 In a review for Nova Religio George Adams noted an exhaustive examination of all important aspects of the Sikh tradition in a lucid and convincing manner 34 Daniel Gold reviewing for The Indian Economic amp Social History Review praised McLeod as the foremost Western historian of Sikhism whose careful scholarship and thoughtful analytic temper were visible across all essays the volume was authoritative and remained accessible to scholars as well as laymen 35 Sikhs and Sikhism edit An omnibus volume it was published by Oxford University Press as hardback in 1999 and reissued in 2004 16 It comprises four works Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion Early Sikh Tradition A Study of the Janamsakhis The Evolution of the Sikh Community and Who is a Sikh The Problems of the Sikh Identity 36 Frederick M Smith remarked in a review that despite methodological advances in the field the omnibus was a must read for all scholars of religion 36 Christopher Shackle noted that the omnibus has already established itself as the standard reference work 16 Essays in Sikh History Tradition and Society edit A collation of his most significant essays the collection was published by Oxford University Press in 2007 37 Notes edit He counts 87 of 124 sakhis as variously discounted improbable or only possible 3 John C B Webster found the responses to evidence the effect of religious orthodoxy and popular sentiment even among scholars and the fact of few Indian scholars having proper training in religious studies 15 Read alongside Shackle s review of Early Sikh Tradition A Study of the Janamsakhis 1980 References edit a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r Ballantyne Tony 3 September 2009 WH McLeod The Guardian Retrieved 26 August 2013 a b c d e f g J S Grewal 2010 W H McLeod and Sikh Studies Journal of Punjab Studies 17 2010 1 2 pages 115 142 a b c d e f Ballantyne Tony 2006 Between Colonialism and Diaspora Sikh Cultural Formations in an Imperial World Duke University Press pp 10 15 ISBN 0 8223 3824 6 Oberoi Harjot 15 December 1994 The Construction of Religious Boundaries Culture Identity and Diversity in the Sikh Tradition University of Chicago Press ISBN 978 0 226 61593 6 a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p Pashaura Singh 2004 Introduction I The Contribution of Professor W H McLeod in the Field of Sikh Studies In Singh Pashaura Barrier N Gerald eds Sikhism and History Oxford University Press ISBN 9780195667080 Singh Pashaura 18 April 2019 McLeod W H A Dictionary of Sikh Studies Oxford University Press doi 10 1093 acref 9780191831874 001 0001 ISBN 978 0 19 183187 4 NZ university graduates 1870 1961 Mc Retrieved 9 December 2014 Grewal Jagtar Singh 2010 W H McLeod and Sikh studies PDF Journal of Punjab Studies 17 1 and 2 116 Retrieved 5 November 2020 Professor McLeod had started teaching History at the University of Otago in 1971 Olssen Erik 19 November 2010 William Hewat McLeod Royal Society of New Zealand Retrieved 9 December 2014 McLeod Hew 2004 Discovering the Sikhs Autobiography of a Historian Permanent Black ISBN 81 7824 068 8 Digby Simon 1 June 1970 Book Reviews Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion by W H Mcleod pp xii 259 Oxford University Press 1968 50 shillings The Indian Economic amp Social History Review 7 2 301 313 doi 10 1177 001946467000700206 ISSN 0019 4646 S2CID 144482715 Marek J January 1972 Book Review Archiv Orientalni 40 277 Singh Khushwant November 1969 Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion By W H McLeod Oxford Clarendon Press 1968 ix 259 pp Indexes 7 00 The Journal of Asian Studies 29 1 192 193 doi 10 2307 2942570 ISSN 1752 0401 JSTOR 2942570 S2CID 170724858 a b c Shackle C 1983 Early Sikh tradition a study of the Janam Sakhis Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society of Great Britain amp Ireland 115 2 Cambridge University Press 323 324 doi 10 1017 S0035869X00137888 S2CID 162551465 Webster John C B Fall 2018 Review Article Brill s Encyclopedia of Sikhism Volume I History Literature Society Beyond Punjab Journal of Sikh amp Punjab Studies 25 2 315 324 a b c d e f g Shackle Christopher May 2006 W H MCLEOD Sikhs and Sikhism New Delhi Oxford University Press 2004 Pp 890 Rs 635 00 paper International Journal of Middle East Studies 38 2 338 339 doi 10 1017 S0020743806422364 ISSN 1471 6380 S2CID 162840917 Weightman S C R June 1970 W H McLeod Guru Nanak and the Sikh religion xii 259 pp Oxford Clarendon Press 1968 50s Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 33 2 412 413 doi 10 1017 S0041977X0010374X ISSN 1474 0699 S2CID 161056149 Besprechungen Orientalistische Literaturzeitung in German 68 1 6 167 207 1 December 1973 doi 10 1524 olzg 1973 68 16 167 ISSN 2196 6877 The subject of Sikh Studies Sikh Formations 1 1 1 11 1 June 2005 doi 10 1080 17448720500215345 ISSN 1744 8727 S2CID 185568701 a b c Sikhism and Hinduism obo Retrieved 21 July 2021 a b Hans Surjit 1 February 1992 Book Reviews W H McLEOD Who Is a Sikh The Problem of Sikh Identity Oxford University Press Delhi 140 pp Rs 70 Studies in History 8 1 157 159 doi 10 1177 025764309200800107 ISSN 0257 6430 S2CID 163141134 Moliner Christine 16 October 2007 Freres ennemis Relations between Panjabi Sikhs and Muslims in the Diaspora South Asia Multidisciplinary Academic Journal 1 doi 10 4000 samaj 135 ISSN 1960 6060 S2CID 142758295 a b Dewey Clive October 1978 The Evolution of the Sikh Community Five Essays By W H McLeod Clarendon Press Oxford 1976 Pp viii 119 3 50 Modern Asian Studies 12 4 701 703 doi 10 1017 S0026749X00006405 ISSN 1469 8099 S2CID 145505591 Uberoi J P S May 1978 The Evolution of the Sikh Community Five Essays By W H McLeod Oxford Clarendon Press 1976 119 pp Glossary Bibliography Index 8 75 The Journal of Asian Studies 37 3 549 550 doi 10 2307 2053618 ISSN 1752 0401 JSTOR 2053618 S2CID 161969046 a b c d e f Shackle Christopher February 1991 W H McLeod The Sikhs history religion and society The American Council of Learned Societies Lectures on the History of Religions no 14 ix 161 pp New York Columbia University Press 1989 29 W H McLeod Who is a Sikh The problem of Sikh identity ix 140 pp Oxford Clarendon Press 1989 19 50 Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 54 1 184 186 doi 10 1017 S0041977X00010016 ISSN 1474 0699 Dusenbery Verne A May 1994 The Sikhs History Religion and Society By W H McLeod New York Columbia University Press 1989 ix 161 pp 12 50 The Journal of Asian Studies 53 2 600 602 doi 10 2307 2059906 ISSN 1752 0401 JSTOR 2059906 S2CID 204483560 Lochtefeld James G 1 December 1993 Book Reviews Journal of the American Academy of Religion LXI 4 839 841 doi 10 1093 jaarel LXI 4 839 ISSN 0002 7189 a b Brack Bruce La November 1990 Who is a Sikh The Problem of Sikh Identity By W H McLeod Oxford Oxford University Press 1989 viii 140 pp 29 95 The Journal of Asian Studies 49 4 976 977 doi 10 2307 2058315 ISSN 1752 0401 JSTOR 2058315 S2CID 161255786 a b Cole W Owen January 1990 Who is a Sikh The problem of Sikh identity By W H McLeod pp xi 140 Oxford Clarendon Press 1989 19 50 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 122 1 193 194 doi 10 1017 S0035869X00108299 ISSN 2051 2066 S2CID 162733191 a b Shackle C June 1989 W H McLeod ed The Chaupa Singh rahit nama 260 pp Dunedin University of Otago Press 1987 Bulletin of the School of Oriental and African Studies 52 2 371 doi 10 1017 S0041977X00035837 ISSN 1474 0699 S2CID 162232662 Cole W Owen January 1989 The Chaupa Singh Rahit Nama By W H McLeod pp 260 Dunedin University of Otago Press 1987 NZ 27 23 Journal of the Royal Asiatic Society 121 1 183 184 doi 10 1017 S0035869X00168303 ISSN 2051 2066 S2CID 163836344 a b c d Hawley Michael 1 January 2012 A Review of The A to Z of Sikhism Journal of Religious amp Theological Information 11 1 2 91 92 doi 10 1080 10477845 2012 673145 ISSN 1047 7845 S2CID 142793337 Barrett Simon 1 January 2006 Historical Dictionary of Sikhism 2nd edition Reference Reviews 20 5 13 14 doi 10 1108 09504120610672746 ISSN 0950 4125 a b Exploring Sikhism Aspects of Sikh Identity Culture and Thought Nova Religio 9 2 122 123 1 November 2005 doi 10 1525 nr 2005 9 2 122 ISSN 1092 6690 Gold Daniel 1 December 2002 Book Reviews VASUDHA DALMIA ANGELIKA MALINAR and MARTIN CHRISTOF eds Charisma and Canon Essays on the Religious History of the Indian Subcontinent Delhi Oxford University Press 2001 pp 461 ANTONY COPLEY ed Gurus and Their Followers New Religious Reform Movements in Colonial India Delhi Oxford University Press 2000 pp 235 W H McLEOD Exploring Sikhism Aspects of Sikh Identity Culture and Thought Delhi Oxford University Press 2000 pp 288 The Indian Economic amp Social History Review 39 4 454 458 doi 10 1177 001946460203900413 ISSN 0019 4646 a b Smith Frederick M 2006 Sikhs and Sikhism Comprising Guru Nanak and the Sikh Religion Early Sikh Tradition the Evolution of the Sikh Community and Who is a Sikh By W H McLeod Religious Studies Review 32 1 61 doi 10 1111 j 1748 0922 2006 00045 6 x ISSN 1748 0922 A Different Approach to History The Book Review Monthly Review of Important Books Retrieved 20 July 2021 External links editGrewal J S 2010 W H McLeod and Sikh studies PDF Journal of Punjab Studies 17 1 amp 2 115 144 Retrieved from https en wikipedia org w index php title W H McLeod amp oldid 1196669475, wikipedia, wiki, book, books, library,

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