In Focus: Reflections on Anthropology News

US Election Series: Proposal Deadline Extended

2008-07-21T16:55:00.010-04:00

Anthropology News has extended the proposal submission deadline for our upcoming issue on the US presidential election. The new deadline is July 28, 2008. Potential issues that articles can address include:

policy positions
campaign rhetoric
polling and public opinion data analysis
traditional and new media election coverage
the role of race and gender in the primary and general elections
comparisons with previous US or international elections

Reflections on the challenges and opportunities awaiting the incoming president are also welcome. Additionally, AN will consider proposal topics addressing the election and voting more broadly, including voter rights and (dis)enfranchisement, voter fraud, the Electoral College, partisanship and the present relationship between the legislature, executive and judiciary.

To participate in this thematic issue, email a 300 word proposal and 50-100 word author bio to AN editor Dinah Winnick. Proposals for photo essays should also include five high resolution photographs, each with a photo caption and credit. For additional details see our website.

Call for Proposals: US Presidential Election Series

2008-06-25T09:23:00.003-04:00

Anthropology News is seeking contributions for a Nov 2008 series on the US presidential election. Potential issues that articles can address include traditional and new media coverage of the election, policy positions, campaign rhetoric, polling and analysis of public opinion data, the role of race and gender in the primary and general elections, or comparisons with previous US or international elections. Reflections on the upcoming transition from the Bush administration to a new administration, or on the challenges and opportunities awaiting the incoming president, are also welcome.

To participate in this series, email a 300 word proposal and 50-100 word author bio to AN editor Dinah Winnick. Proposals for photo essays should also include five high resolution photographs, each with a photo caption and credit. We also welcome contributions in non-traditional formats and articles for other sections of AN. Early submissions are encouraged.

Proposal submission deadline: July 22, 2008
For additional details and info on other opportunities, see our website.

Food Security Proposal Deadline Extended

2008-06-18T10:29:00.002-04:00

The proposal deadline for the food security issue of Anthropology News has been extended to June 23, 2008. We welcome proposals for commentaries addressing current disaster and climate-change related food crises throughout the world, and responses to those crises. Additionally, we welcome articles that address a wide variety of other issues, including food safety and regulation; the relation between food security, economic security, disease and nutrition; the stability, loss and transformation of food traditions; agribusiness and food production; genetic engineering; and biofuels.

To participate in this thematic issue email a 300 word proposal and 50-100 word author bio to Anthropology News Associate Managing Editor Dinah Winnick. For additional information and guidelines see our website.

Food Security Proposals Due June 19

2008-06-06T11:49:00.003-04:00

AN is seeking contributions for a thematic issue on food security to be published in October 2008. As the concept of food security is multifaceted, articles can address a wide variety of issues, including food safety and regulation; the stability, loss and transformation of food traditions; food shortages and international aid; agribusiness and food production; genetic engineering; biofuels and many other topics.

In Focus commentaries will be grouped into series based on the foci of proposals received. Additional proposals on this topic are encouraged for articles in other sections of AN―including Teaching Strategies and Field Notes―and for general news features. We welcome proposals in non-traditional formats such as photo essays, infographics, op-ed cartoons, interviews and multi-authored discussions. Contributors interested in proposing article series or contributing cover photos should also contact the AN Editorial Office.

Guidelines
To participate in this thematic issue email a 300 word proposal and 50-100 word author bio to editor Dinah Winnick. Proposals for photo essays should also include five high resolution photographs, each with a photo caption and credit. Early submissions are encouraged.
Proposal submission deadline: June 19, 2008

Proposal Deadline Extended

2008-05-19T14:21:00.002-04:00

The deadline for proposals on the "anthropology student experience" Anthropology News theme has been extended to Tuesday, May 27, 9:00 am EST, due to the holiday weekend. The AAA editorial office will be closed on Monday, and all notes confirming that submissions from the holiday weekend have been received will be sent out after Memorial Day. For more information on the theme or how to submit a proposal, please see the AAA website or contact our office.

New Flickr Photo Essay Online

2008-05-15T14:14:00.005-04:00

On May 7 we introduced the Anthropology News Flickr gallery with a photo essay by Stephanie C Kane. Today we are happy to announce the posting of another photo essay, "The Virgin of Guadalupe in My Backyard," with text by Rebecca Read and photos by Jayson Ming Triplett. We welcome you to view the online gallery and read the original essay from May AN (49[5]:20). Feel free to post your comments here or on the Flickr page.

Now Available: We've Come a Long Way, Maybe

2008-05-14T11:45:00.003-04:00

The COSWA Academic Climate Report 2008 is now available for download on the AAA website. This report presents findings on topics such as work environment and work–family issues as they relate to gender equity and the experiences of faculty in US anthropology departments. For additional information see the COSWA webpage and the May AN article “Gender Disparities Remain: COSWA’s Academic Climate Report” (49[5]:22). If you have questions please send an email to Christina Wasson. We also encourage you to post comments regarding the report or your own work experiences here.

Fieldwork Photo Contest

2008-05-09T09:34:00.004-04:00

Anthropology News welcomes submissions for the first annual AAA Fieldwork Photo Contest. Winning photographs will be printed in a fall 2008 issue of AN and displayed online. Additionally, AAA will invite selected photographers to exhibit their work at the AAA office in Arlington, VA.

Eligible photographs include those taken August 15, 2007 through August 14, 2008 by current AAA members. We encourage the submission of both color and black and white photos featuring a variety of subjects, from landscapes and artifacts to community gatherings and ceremonies, among others. Portraits of individuals and groups as well as photographs that convey the researcher's personal fieldwork experience are also welcome. Members who are not conducting fieldwork may submit photos from related research or practitioner experiences, such as those documenting archival work or public engagement.

Each current AAA member may submit up to five photos, sent as tiff or jpg files to AN Production Editor Amy Goldenberg. Entrants are encouraged to submit high resolution photographs. All photos must be accompanied by a 50-100 word photographer bio, contact information and 100 word photograph description. Any IRB-required permissions from individuals appearing in photographs must be included at the time of submission. Entries will be accepted through August 15, 2008.

New Photo Gallery at Flickr

2008-05-07T10:52:00.001-04:00

Anthropology News is happy to introduce our new Flickr page with the inaugural photo essay "The Poisoned Waters of Conceiçãozinha," by Stephanie C Kane. We welcome you to view the online gallery and comment on it here. And be sure to also read the original essay in the May AN to understand the fuller context of the photos.

May Issue: Migration and Transnationality

2008-04-28T12:29:00.003-04:00

May AN features two related In Focus commentary series on contemporary migration and immigration issues. "Migration Policy" considers what anthropology can contribute to the study of public policy affecting the movement, rights and well-being of migrants, immigrants and refugees. Authors address how international bodies, national governments and local communities manage population dynamics, including how notions of personhood are articulated in discourse regarding public domains of care and the provision of public services. In "Transnationality," contributors examine transnational spaces and subjectivities, how they are built, disputed, crossed, imagined and remembered, how people make use of them and are affected by them.

Series contributors include Ulla D Berg, Caroline B Brettell and Faith Nibbs, Heide Castañeda, Laura DeLuca, Liesl Gambold, Kate Goldade, Edmund T Hamann and Victor Zúñiga, Lily Harmon-Gross, Josiah McC Heyman, Fethi Keles, Erin Kenny, Carolina Kobelinsky, Jason Pribilsky, Rebecca Read, Madeleine Reeves and Greta Uehling.

Related articles in other sections of the May issue include David Haines's "Anthropology and Immigration in the Classroom" (Teaching Strategies) and Stephanie C Kane's "The Poisoned Waters of Conceiçãozinha" (Knowledge Exchange).

Read In Focus series articles online at the AAA website and share your comments here.

Special Issue on Children and Childhood

2008-04-01T11:35:00.004-04:00

The April 2008 AN features two In Focus commentary series on Children and Childhood. "Transforming the Anthropology of Childhood" examines new ways of thinking about childhood and children's roles and experiences that move beyond the traditional limits of our discipline, and between subdisciplines. "Confronting Challenges in Research with Children" includes comments on the methodological challenges of anthropological work with and of children, and the opportunities and creative, productive approaches such challenges enable, focusing on both practical and ethical dilemmas.

Series contributors include Myra Bluebond-Langner, John Bock, Stacey Lynn Camp, Pamela Cushing, Marisa O Ensor, Suzanne Gaskins, Jill E Korbin, David F Lancy, Robert LeVine, Joylin Namie, David M Rosen, Patricia E Smith, Emily Vargas-Barón, Thomas Weisner and Rebecca Zarger. Additional articles on the theme of Children and Childhood appear throughout the issue, including Field Notes pieces by Flordeliz T Bugarin and Aviva Sinervo, and Academic Affairs articles by Miriam Forman-Brunell, Kelly Schrum and David Lancy.

What are your thoughts? Do you do research with children? What are challenges that you have encountered? Do you have recommendations for students or young researchers, or resources you would like to share?

Read In Focus series articles online at the AAA website.

Anthropology Student Experience CFP

2008-03-13T12:17:00.002-04:00

Anthropology News is seeking contributions for an upcoming thematic issue on the anthropology student experience to be published in fall 2008. Students, educators and practitioners are encouraged to participate. Thematic In Focus commentary series will address (1) university-community partnerships and interactions and (2) the diverse character of anthropology graduate programs. We also encourage proposals related to this general theme for articles in other sections of AN, such as Field Notes or Teaching Strategies articles or news features.

For the full call for proposals see:
Current AN CFP

For instructions on how to submit a proposal see:
Submission Guidelines

March 2008: Online Engagement

2008-02-29T17:16:00.004-05:00

The March 2008 issue of Anthropology News features an In Focus thematic commentary series titled "Online Engagement." Online forums for social engagement and information exchange have emerged as dynamic sites of anthropological research in recent years. Contributors to this In Focus commentary series examine, from diverse perspectives, how different populations initiate and manage relationships through everyday and emergent information and communication technologies, sharing business, scholarly and personal information.

Full-text series articles are available on the AAA website.

Are you doing research in an area related to online engagement? What role does the Internet play in your work? Are you a member of a professional or recreational online community? We welcome your comments!

February 2008: Open Access

2008-01-22T14:28:00.000-05:00

The current issue of Anthropology News features an In Focus series on Open Access. Recognizing that this topic is of great interest to AAA members and larger anthropological communities, we invite you to offer both your reactions to the series and your general thoughts on the Open Access issue. To facilitate this discussion, full-text series articles will be available on the AAA website Feb 1–March 1, after which all five articles will be archived at AnthroSource and AN Archives.