Profiles in Practice Podcast: Anthropology & Consulting

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Brian

(click to listen)

Our ongoing Profiles in Practice podcast series continues with Judy Tso, a practicing anthropologist and owner of Aha Solutions in Maryland. After acquiring her bachelors at UPenn’s Wharton School and working for eight years, Judy acquired a masters in Applied Anthropology at the University of Maryland. She describes what led her to study anthropology and how she was able to marry her interests in social justice and culture with her business background by transitioning into diversity consulting and training. Her interview provides insights into networking at conferences, shifting careers, becoming a consultant, and the importance of being creative and versatile in today’s marketplace.  Tso also describes the skills that anthropologists have (or don’t know they have) and how students can articulate and market them. Read more »

Filed under: Career/Funding/Awards, Commentary, Resources | Leave a Comment »

The Meaning of Water: February AN Now Online

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Dinah

February Anthropology News In Focus commentaries on “The Meaning of Water” are now posted on our Current Featured News page, free to the public throughout February. Full issue content is available via AnthroSource, including the commentaries, annual meeting coverage, and Knowledge Exchange features examining perceptions of and responses to climate change.

Be sure to also check our our Flickr page this month, which includes annual meeting photos. We welcome your views and comments. Submit your thoughts on the February issue here, on the Flickr page, or through a letter to the editor to dwinnick [at] aaanet.org. Read more »

Filed under: Publications | 1 Comment »

Herskovits Film Now Airing on PBS Independent Lens

Posted on February 3, 2010 by Dinah

Did you miss the AAA Annual Meeting screening of Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness? Want to share the film with your colleagues and students? This week, the documentary is airing nationally on the PBS series Independent Lens, hosted by Maggie Gyllenhaal. Check your local TV listings.

The film examines the life and career of Melville J. Herskovits (1895-1963), the controversial anthropologist who established the African Studies Center at Northwestern and wrote the groundbreaking The Myth of the Negro Past. It asks, “Who has the authority to define a culture, especially when people from that culture are denied the opportunity to engage in the scholarly discourse of defining themselves?” Read more »

Filed under: Anthro in the Media, Events and Exhibits, Resources | Leave a Comment »

ABA Launches Focus on Haiti Web Page

Posted on February 2, 2010 by Brian

The Association of Black Anthropologists (ABA) has launched a “Focus on Haiti” page on their newly designed website that features links to articles, charities, and other materials to help guide those seeking information about the humanitarian crisis in Haiti and ways to help. The new page also includes a list of anthropologists who have spoken about the ongoing relief efforts in the media. Readers can submit additional information to ABA by emailing Bertin Louis at abahaitiATgmailDOTcom.

Please send: Read more »

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Free Tote Bag Giveaway!

Posted on February 1, 2010 by Sean

Is your club or student organization currently recruiting members or planning an event?  AAA  has a limited stock of tote bags you could use!  For the cost of shipping you can receive Tote Bags from the 2009 AAA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia free of charge.  Heck, we’ll even throw in some free mini-hand sanitizer bottles!

Order the totes in groups of 5, 10 or 20 and just pay the cost of shipping.  (International groups should inquire about international shipping rates.) Click Here for the order form.  For more information, visit the AAA Membership page or contact Richard Thomas at rthomas [at] aaanet [dot] org.

Filed under: Annual Meeting, Uncategorized | 1 Comment »

Deadline for AAA Minority Dissertation is February 15

Posted on January 29, 2010 by Jona

The fellowship is in its 11th year.  We are happy to have supported young anthropologists completing their doctoral degrees across all subfields in anthropology.

“The AAA Minority Dissertation Fellowship has been invaluable in allowing me to focus on completing my dissertation during this academic year.  I am grateful to the AAA and the Committee on Minority Issues in Anthropology for organizing and providing this fellowship, which provides important and much needed support in the critical final stages of the doctoral process.”

Sherina Feliciano-Santos
AAA Minority Dissertation Fellow 2010-11

Read their stories and download the application material

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Around the Anthro Blogosphere: Pecha Kucha and Anthro Journalism

Posted on January 29, 2010 by Dinah

On Tuesday, antropologi.info posted about a Dec 2009 AAA session in the innovative Pecha Kucha format, featuring interviews with organizer Marcy Hessling and Aleksandra Bartoszko. In the Pecha Kucha format, participants each present their work in 6 min and 40 seconds through 20 images displayed for 20 seconds each. Bartoszko notes that this presentation style can help transcend language barriers, promote discussion, and maintain audience engagement. The blog post includes Powerpoint samples and additional session details (pdf).

Are you interested in creating a session or special event in an innovative format for the 2010 AAA meeting? Do you want to organize a service activity, walking tour, or an unconference to complement the meeting? Email your ideas to aaaprogramchair [at] gmail.com or aaameetings [at] aaanet.org.

Also on Tuesday, Savage Minds posted a commentary on “anthropology journalism” that sparked lively discussion throughout the week. Interested in reading more on the topic? Anthropology News will be printing a series of commentaries on the relationship between anthropology and journalism in April (letters welcome).

Filed under: Annual Meeting, Anthro in the Media, Publications | Leave a Comment »

Annual Meeting Podcast: War and Counter-Counterinsurgency

Posted on January 28, 2010 by Brian

War and Counter-Counterinsurgency: Demilitarizing Anthropology and U.S. Society
(click to listen)

On December 5, 2009,  the Network of Concern Anthropologists (NCA) held a session at the AAA Annual Meeting in Philadelphia to discuss some of the issues they raised in their recently released Counter-Counterinsurgency Manual. The session was chaired and recorded by David Vine, assistant professor of anthropology at American University and a founding member of the NCA.

Panelists/Discussants: Roberto Gonzalez; David Price; Andrew Bickford; Gregory Feldman; Dylan Kerrigan; Catherine Besteman; Catherine Lutz; Nancy Scheper-Hughes

Session Abstract
Anthropology and “cultural knowledge” have become much trumpeted tools in the U.S. military’s wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition to the widely criticized Human Terrain Team program, the Pentagon drew on anthropology and anthropological concepts in the writing of its new Counterinsurgency Field Manual. Read more »

Filed under: Annual Meeting | 1 Comment »

CEAUSSIC: Ethics Casebook

Posted on January 27, 2010 by Brian

Dr. Laura McNamara

“The AAA’s Ad Hoc Commission on Anthropology’s Engagement with the Security and Intelligence Communities (CEAUSSIC) continues its work. Our main activities at present include: 1. the writing of a report to the AAA on the widely and hotly debated Human Terrain System of the U.S. Army, 2. The editing of a casebook illustrating the diversity of kinds of practicing anthropology, including associated ethical questions, with a primary emphasis upon the security sector broadly conceived, 3. And providing support for the AAA’s ongoing ethics process. In an effort to keep our work transparent and part of the public and disciplinary discussion of all of the above, CEAUSSIC is also going to be contributing a monthly entry to the AAA’s blog. Each entry, by different CEAUSSIC members, will address topics that have arisen or that we have been thinking about, which we will continue to discuss via the blog, a discussion in which we hope you will also participate.”

Moving Forward with the CEAUSSIC Ethics Casebook: What is the Casebook, and Why Now?
[January 27, 2010]
Laura A. McNamara
Sandia National Laboratories

Last month, George Marcus wrote a retrospective essay about the Commission on the Engagement of Anthropology with the United States Security and Intelligence Communities (CEAUSSIC).  In his essay, he pointed to the CEAUSSIC ethics casebook as a vehicle for carrying CEAUSSIC’s work forward and expanding its complex discussions across the wider AAA.  Following George’s lead, I reflect on anthropology’s conversations about itself and the importance of an Ethics Casebook in bringing forth hidden and important narratives. Read more »

Filed under: Commentary | 2 Comments »

NPR Continues Discussion on Military Engagement

Posted on January 26, 2010 by Dinah

NPR recently produced a story on anthropologist Paula Holmes-Eber’s work teaching operational culture at Marine Corps University in Quantico, VA. Listen to the interview or read the written summary, which also includes an active comment board. For additional coverage of this ongoing issue, see “Anthropology and US Militarization: At Odd, No End/s” and “Media Coverage of AAA’s Human Terrain Report” in the upcoming February issue of Anthropology News. To learn more about AAA’s positions on this topic, see the website of the Commission on the Engagement of Anthropology with the US Security and Intelligence Communities. Thanks to AAA member Guven Witteveen for these links.

Filed under: Anthro in the Media | Leave a Comment »

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