[Discussion] CONF./CFP- Anthropology Panels Needed, 2005 AAASS Convention, Salt Lake City

[Sule Tarakcioglu]

CONF./CFP- Anthropology Panels Needed, 2005 AAASS Convention, Salt Lake City

From: Katherine M Verdery
E-mail: verdery@rsage.org

Anthropologists of the former Soviet bloc:
Panels needed for the December 2005 AAASS meetings

Since 1989, opportunities have greatly increased for fieldwork in the
countries of Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.  Indeed, as
other areas of the world have been shutting down, this region is the
main "growth area" for anthropology.  The resulting work has been of
excellent quality -so much so that three past presidents of the American
Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies (AAASS), considering
our research in the region to be the most interesting of that in any
field, have changed the dates of the  AAASS meetings so they no longer
conflict with the AAA convention.  They also nominated an anthropologist
(me) to run for the AAASS presidency; my election a year ago makes me
the first anthropologist to hold this office.

In December 2005, the AAASS convention will feature anthropology,
starting with the presidential address.  I am very eager to have a
program full of anthropology panels, covering a wide spectrum of topics.
  My goal is to show people in other fields the benefits an
anthropological perspective can bring to the study of this region: how
it enriches our understanding of the "sacred trinity" of research topics
that have emerged so far (privatization, democratization, marketization)
and broadens people's sense of the potentially interesting phenomena
available for investigation.  It would be wonderful to have sessions
ranging from Central Asia eastward to the new EU member states (Hungary,
Poland, etc.), on topics ranging from the "sacred trinity" to
consumption, religion and ritual, governmentality, personhood,
transformations of time and space, EU accession, the forms neoliberalism
is taking in this region, or whatever else anyone is working on.

The convention will be held in Salt Lake City, an unusually beautiful
setting.  The standard format for AAASS panels is a chair, 3 papers, and
1-2 discussants; the paper-giving slot is 20 minutes.  Ordinarily the
program committee considers only pre-formed panels, not single
submissions (we are working on changing that, but the change might not
be in place for 2005).

Panel submissions are due in early January. I would request that anyone
thinking of submitting a panel let me know ahead of time at
verdery@rsage.org (please put "AAASS panel" in the subject line) so I
can be sure something will be happening and perhaps coordinate.

Here is an opportunity to have real substantive exchange with other
anthropologists working in our area, while engaging fellow area
specialists in dialogue as well (something we can't do at Soyuz
meetings).  Please grasp it!

Katherine Verdery
President, American Association for the Advancement of Slavic Studies
(AAASS)
E-mail: verdery@rsage.org



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