Interviews with German anthropologists - Video Portal for the History of German Anthropology post 1945

Dr. Werner Petermann was born in 1946. He comes from a family with a working-class background and grew up in Passau. At early age Petermann developed an interest in cinema and literature as well as in other cultures. He finished school in 1967.

In 1970 Petermann took up his studies at the university in Munich, where Anthropology, Linguistics and Egyptology were his subjects. Being a politically aware person Petermann and some of his fellow students eventually formed a group which was concerned not only with a critical approach to german anthropology but also took an interest in the issues of the "Third World" and ecology.

Moreover Petermann was one of founders and editors of the magazine »Trickster« that was first published in 1977 and cast a light on previously unusual aspects or approaches within the academic field, i.e. Action Anthropology.

1979/80 Petermann did a journey to West Africa and after his return he graduated in 1982. By then »Trickster« was not only a magazine but also a publishing house that released books on yet less established topics, i.e. Visual Anthropology. Petermann mainly worked as an editor and translator but also as an author.

In 1995 »Trickster«-publishing became an independent edition of Peter-Hammer-Verlag, where Petermann continued his tasks. Due to his grown interest not only in Philosophy but also in the history of Anthropology, he subsequently worked on a book about that subject and published »Die Geschichte der Ethnologie« (»The History of Anthropology») in 2004.