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<TITLE>FW: Spreading the Word</TITLE>
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<P><FONT SIZE=2>-----Original Message-----<BR>
From: Handelsman, Michael H<BR>
Sent: Sat 1/23/2010 13:38<BR>
To: ecuatorianistas@yachana.org<BR>
Subject: FW: Spreading the Word<BR>
<BR>
I thought this call for papers might be of interest to some of our colleagues in the Ecuatorianista Section of LASA. Michael<BR>
<BR>
Michael Handelsman, Ph.D.<BR>
Professor of Spanish;<BR>
Chair of Latin American Studies;<BR>
Distinguished Professor in the Humanities<BR>
Dept. of Modern Foreign Languages and Literatures<BR>
701 McClung Tower<BR>
University of Tennessee<BR>
Knoxville, TN 37996<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
Call for papers for a graduate student conference:<BR>
*Is Boas Dead?! Four-Field Anthropology in the 21st Century*<BR>
<BR>
March 27, 2010<BR>
Department of Anthropology<BR>
University of Michigan, Ann Arbor<BR>
<BR>
*Deadline for Abstract Submission: February 5, 2010*<BR>
<BR>
Franz Boas pioneered the first American school of anthropology and had an<BR>
enormous impact on the conceptualization of the discipline and the practice<BR>
of ethnography through most of the twentieth century. Among Boas'<BR>
contributions was the establishment of a 'four-field' approach to<BR>
anthropological inquiry, comprised of archaeological, biological,<BR>
linguistic, and (socio) cultural anthropology.<BR>
<BR>
Anthropology, as a holistic and comparative study of human biological and<BR>
cultural diversity, was engaged in interdisciplinary research before the<BR>
concept came into vogue in academia. However, as we enter an era of<BR>
progressive specialization in the social sciences, the legacy of<BR>
anthropology as a four-field discipline is increasingly fragmented;<BR>
conversations and collaborative projects across the sub-disciplines appear<BR>
to be on the wane. The purpose of this conference is to examine the vitality<BR>
of four-field anthropology from our own place in time. Is four-field<BR>
anthropology still viable and productive? Are conversations across the<BR>
sub-disciplines still possible and desirable? What is the future of<BR>
four-field anthropology as both a research methodology and pedagogy for<BR>
classroom instruction?<BR>
<BR>
To this end, the University of Michigan's Anthropology Graduate<BR>
Student Association (MAGA) invites abstracts for a graduate student<BR>
conference to be held on March 27, 2010 at the University of Michigan: Is<BR>
Boas Dead?! Four-Field Anthropology in the 21st Century. The conference aims<BR>
to generate substantive conversations about the place of four-field<BR>
anthropology by approaching several topics using methodological and<BR>
theoretical approaches from each of the sub-disciplines.<BR>
<BR>
Papers for this year's conference can either take an interdisciplinary<BR>
approach utilizing multiple sub-disciplines within anthropology<BR>
or, alternatively, use any one of the four fields. Papers that use the<BR>
approach of a single sub-discipline will be presented on panels with<BR>
graduate students working on the same or similar topic from different<BR>
sub-disciplines. While this list is not exhaustive and other innovative<BR>
topics are certainly welcome, some suggestions for topics include:<BR>
<BR>
· Kinship, Gender, and Genomes<BR>
<BR>
· Activism and Advocacy<BR>
<BR>
· Interaction, Ideology, and Material Culture<BR>
<BR>
· Technology and Media<BR>
<BR>
· Sentiment, Memory, and Knowledge Transmission<BR>
<BR>
· Poverty, Nutrition, and Environment<BR>
<BR>
· Sexuality and Race<BR>
<BR>
· Art, Performance, and the Body<BR>
<BR>
· Disease, Death, and Destruction<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
Works in progress and creative approaches are encouraged. This conference is an<BR>
ideal opportunity to workshop research ideas and exploratory methodologies.<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
Although travel stipends will not be available for this conference,<BR>
accommodations (with Michigan anthropology graduate students) for Friday<BR>
and/or Saturday night(s) will be arranged upon request. Breakfast, lunch,<BR>
and dinner will be provided on the day of the conference.<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
Abstracts of no longer than 300 words should be submitted by February 5,<BR>
2010. Please go to <A HREF="http://sitemaker.umich.edu/maga/is_boas_dead__">http://sitemaker.umich.edu/maga/is_boas_dead__</A> to<BR>
register for the conference, submit abstracts, and obtain further<BR>
information. All other inquiries can be directed to:*<BR>
BoasConference@umich.edu*.<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
Michigan Anthropology Graduate Student Association<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
--<BR>
Alysa Marķa Handelsman<BR>
Graduate Student<BR>
Department of Anthropology<BR>
University of Michigan<BR>
<BR>
101 West Hall, 1085 S. University Ave.<BR>
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
--<BR>
Alysa Marķa Handelsman<BR>
Graduate Student<BR>
Department of Anthropology<BR>
University of Michigan<BR>
<BR>
101 West Hall, 1085 S. University Ave.<BR>
Ann Arbor, MI 48109-1107<BR>
<BR>
<BR>
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