AAA's Decision to Hold the 2010 Annual Meetings in New Orleans

Many of our readers received an email detailing the rationale behind the decision to hold the 2010 AAA annual meeting in New Orleans. Excerpts from this memo can be found below. We encourage readers to express their opinions regarding this decision in the comments section at the end of this post.
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In 2005, when the AAA membership was asked to vote to establish AAA policies on meeting sites, in regard to unionized facilities, a minority of AAA members voted to make this a requirement for all meetings. We thus understand that some AAA members would themselves have not acted as the Executive Board did in June 2007, in selecting New Orleans as a meeting site for 2010. But the decision to select New Orleans was in accord with the policy established by the majority of the membership, was judged to be very attractive in terms of the goals we have for our annual meeting, and was judged to fulfill the Association’s goal of being a socially responsible non-profit organization, in the context of post-Katrina America.

AAA’s contracts with all annual meeting hotels have penalty clauses if they are broken by the AAA without cause, as that is defined in the contracts. Were the AAA to change its mind about the 2010 meeting site, because of the relative lack of union facilities, this would be the case and the AAA would be required to pay penalties of $449,908. Costs for the 2010 Annual Meeting would then rise greatly. Projecting 2010 meeting registration at 5,100 (the number of paid registrations at 2002 New Orleans Annual Meeting), individual meeting registration fees will rise by $88 for each attendee at the 2010 Annual Meeting. In our judgment, such an additional amount added on the top of regular registration fees would likely disenfranchise a large segment of AAA’s membership (especially students and recently hired faculty) from the possibility of attending the 2010 Annual Meeting.

Because of its concern about this issue, the Executive Board has initiated an effort to develop contracts for additional sleeping rooms with hotels in New Orleans that are located within walking distance of our meeting location and whose employees are represented by a union. We are pleased to report that this effort has achieved modest success. As a supplement to the original proposal for the 2010 meeting in New Orleans, the choices of hotels in New Orleans will now include a block of rooms at Loews New Orleans Hotel, which is represented by a union (specifically by UNITE HERE and which is on UNITE HERE’s “recommended list.”). There is one other unionized hotel that is within walking distance of our meeting site in New Orleans (the Fairmont), but because it is undergoing a change in management, that hotel is not accepting any contracts for our 2010 dates at this time.

MSNBC Borrows AAA's RACE Timeline

MSNBC has taken an interest in AAA’s award-winning RACE Project. The project’s timeline of race in U.S. history is currently featured on MSNBC’s website as part of a series on race and ethnicity called “Gut Check America: The Colors of Change.”

The series explores the growing number of multiracial individuals, couples and families living in America and the issues they face. The series includes stories, a video gallery, a discussion platform, and an interactive state-by-state map, in addition to the RACE Project’s historical timeline.

The RACE Project’s timeline charts the history of race relations over the past four hundred years, from the establishment of the first slave codes in colonial Virginia to recent debates on affirmative action and racial profiling. The timeline was prepared for the RACE Project’s interactive website and is viewable at www.understandingrace.com

To view the MSNBC series, “Gut Check America: The Colors of Change,” go to www.gutcheck.msnbc.com.

Culture Matters Responds to Coverage of 'Uncontacted Tribe'

Culture Matters is leading an interesting discussion on the media's reporting of an 'uncontacted tribe' that was recently photographed in the Amazon.

Feel free to chime in at the end of their post.

Call for Applications: Sustainability Education Fellows

AAA is a participating member of the Disciplinary Associations’ Network for Sustainability. This network catalyzes education for sustainable development. From the famous 1987 Brundtland Commission, the most common definition of sustainable development is “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Education for sustainable development was defined at the sustainable development world summit as “enabling people to develop the knowledge, values and skills to participate in decisions…, that will improve the quality of life now without damaging the planet for the future.” Sustainability is about creating healthy ecosystems, healthy communities and healthy economies.

Contribute to a sustainable future at the national level! Apply to be a DANS Sustainability Education Fellow. As a Fellow, you will be an important part of the national trend toward sustainability in higher education. You will spend 4-5 hours each week working with your professional association and other related disciplinary and higher education associations, helping them collect and share quality sustainability information with their members. Fellows will serve as mentors to others doing sustainability work on college campuses. Their role is to nurture, connect, assist and inspire the very important but often challenging work being done by disconnected individuals across the country. The vital role played by the Fellows is crucial to continuing the momentum for education for a sustainable future.

If you are interested in serving as a DANS Sustainability Education Fellow, please consider submitting an application. Application review will begin August 1 for the 2008-2009 academic year.

Fellows will be encouraged to:
•Improve the collection and dissemination of sustainability related information,
•Promote collaborations on sustainability education and practices, and
•Develop training and pedagogical support for future fellows.

You can apply to be a Sustainability Education Fellow by sending an email to Steve Muzzy (smuzzy@secondnature.org). Steve will send you an application with more information. [DANS (www.aashe.org/dans)] is helping coordinate the fellows program and will be connecting the fellows across associations to create a collaborative higher education effort across academic disciplines.]

http://www.aashe.org/dans/EducationFellowsProgram.php

AAA Responds to Proposed Minerva Consortium

In a recent letter (below) to the White House’s Office of Management of Budget, the AAA has called for a redirection of funding and management of the "Minerva Consortia," a Defense Department program which aims to support social science research in critical security areas such as Iraqi and terrorist perspectives and Chinese military and technology studies.

The letter, authored by AAA President Setha M. Low on behalf of the AAA, supports the overall mission of the Minerva program—to use humanities and social science research to promote a reduction in armed conflict. Yet Low argues that organizations such as the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health and the National Endowment for the Humanities would be more effective in funding and managing the project and in reaching out to key scholars.

“Rigorous, balanced and objective peer review is the bedrock of successful and productive programs that sponsor academic research. Agencies such as NSF, NIH and NEH have decades of experience in building an infrastructure of respected peer-reviewers who referee individual grant proposals and give their time on selected panels,” wrote Low.

Low also warned that a program funded by the Defense Department might accept scholars who are not familiar with disciplinary standards, and might fail to attract some key experts that are unfamiliar with Defense Department funding processes.

Readers are encouraged to voice their thoughts on Project Minerva and our response to the proposed program in the comments section below.

Related Links:
AAA Minerva Letter [pdf]
Chronicle of Higher Ed Blog Posting
Inside Higher Ed Article
Wired Magazine's Danger Room Blog Posting
Savage Minds Blog Posting

Open Source Conference

The Director of National Intelligence 2008 Open Source Conference will be held September 11-12, 2008 in Washington, DC. Last year’s conference featured panels on the social sciences and human terrain, academic outreach, and academic-open source connections. The conference should prove interesting to those who are seeking a better understanding of the intelligence community and how some segments of this community view and employ the social sciences. Registration is free, but all attendees must register in advance.

SfAA Passes Motion Regarding HTS

The Society for Applied Anthropology approved the following motion regarding the Human Terrain System:

"The board of the SFAA expresses grave concerns about the potential harmful use of social science knowledge and skills in the HTS project. The SFAA believes that social scientists can be helpful to the military by offering training, analysis, and evaluation so long as these activities are compatible with this organization's code of ethics."

The vote on this motion was:

Yes: 13
No: 0
Abstain: 0

The AAA has also expressed concern about the potential ethical implications of HTS, and our Executive Board, Committee on Ethics, and Ad Hoc Commission on the Engagement of Anthropology with US Security and Intelligence Communities continue to discuss this issue in great detail.

Links:
AAA Statement on HTS
Ad Hoc Commission on the Engagement of Anthropology with US Security and Intelligence Communities

Harrison Ford Becomes an Archaeologist

Well, not quite. He has, however, been elected to the board of directors of the Archaeological Institute of America. We hope his celebrity will increase the visibility of archaeology and the importance of preserving our cultural heritage.* Now, if we could only get him to join the AAA.

*We recommend using proper excavation techniques, as opposed to running through archaeological sites and taking off with the most aesthetically pleasing artifacts you happen to see.

Links:
AP Story
NPR - Indiana Jones: Saving History or Stealing It?

New Import Restrictions on Iraqi Artifacts

The Department of State announced that it is imposing import restrictions on Iraqi cultural heritage material under the Emergency Protection for Iraqi Cultural Antiquities Act of 2004. The import restrictions apply to cultural property that has been illegally removed from Iraq since 1990. The restrictions will hopefully stem the trade of an estimated 32,000 artifacts looted from Iraqi archaeological sites and 15,000 items stolen from the Baghdad National Museum. Illegal trade continues throughout the US, Europe, and other parts of the world, and additional action is needed to prevent further looting and protect the culture and history of past civilizations.

Links:
Dept. Homeland Security Announcement

IUAES Conference Postponed

Members of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences were disappointed to hear that the upcoming conference in Kunming was postponed by Chinese authorities. The Chronicle for Higher Education reported that the People's Republic is concerned about a conference that addresses sensitive topics, such as ethnic diversity and conflict, so close to the start of the Olympics.

Related Articles
The Chronicle for Higher Education

Sign on San Diego

Minorities and Anthropology: Reflecting on 35 Years

In 1969, the AAA passed a resolution calling for the recruitment of under-represented groups into anthropology and encouraging efforts to hire and facilitate their careers within the discipline. This year, the AAA Executive Board has established the Commission on Race and Racism in Anthropology and the AAA in order to re-evaluate how the discipline’s minority issues have changed over the past 35 years.

The AAA encourages members of the anthropology community or others interested in this subject to reflect on issues of race and racism in professional structures and practices of anthropology. We invite all members of the anthropology community to read the 1973 report and to reflect on what has and has not changed during the past thirty-five years.

Links:
1973 Minority Report

Minorities in Anthropology: 1973 versus 2008, Progress or Illusion *As printed in the April 2008 issue of Anthropology News

Commission on Race and Racism in Anthropology and the AAA

Improving Intellectual Property Law

The House Judiciary Committee approved the ‘Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act’ (H.R. 4279) to strengthen the enforcement of laws against intellectual property piracy and counterfeiting. The bill will increase penalties for copyright infringement, improve agencies tasked with enforcing intellectual property, and increase efforts to combat infringement at both the national and international level.

A video webcast of the hearing is available here

Congressional Subcommittees Discuss the Social Sciences and National Security

The Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee held a joint session with the Subcommittee on Research and Science Education to discuss the role of behavioral and social sciences in national security. The hearing—which came a week after Defense Secretary Robert Gates proposed a program (the Minerva Consortium) for Pentagon-funded, university-based social science research—included discussions about the potential contributions that the social sciences can make to national security, most notably in form of language instruction, cross-cultural communication, modeling of social networks, and the human terrain system. Several individuals at the hearing called for closer ties between the Pentagon and the National Science Foundation to support research relevant to national security issues. Col. Martin Schweitzer, a brigade commander in the US Army, received a number of questions regarding the Human Terrain System. Shweitzer admitted the teams were not constructed in the most ideal fashion, he maintained that they are instrumental in reducing violence and building relations with local communities.

Prepared statements and audio transcripts from this hearing are available at
http://armedservices.house.gov/hearing_information.shtml

Democrats Push for Additional Food Aid

Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Robert Casey (D-PA) held a news conference Monday afternoon to call for an additional $200 million in emergency food aid on top of the $350 million in aid that Bush is requesting for the Iraq supplemental spending bill. However, Bush has threatened to veto the bill if it exceeds the $108 billion Iraq package he proposed. Durbin is hoping that Secretary of State Condolleeza Rice will be able to generate support for additional aid in the White House and among congressional Republicans. Although Rice has expressed support for the increased funding of food programs, she has stopped short of saying she would support an increase of $200 million.

Genetic Nondiscrimination Bill

A genetic nondiscrimination bill that has been in Congress for over a decade is likely to find its way to the White House this week. The bill, originally stalled in the Senate by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), was passed by the Senate today after Coburn lifted his objections to the bill following negotiations. The bill makes it illegal to deny insurance or employment to people based on their genetic information. The bill is expected to pass both the House and the White House with little resistance.

Congress Daily Article

NY Times Article

UN Forum on Indigenous Issues

The Seventh Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is being held in New York from April 21 – May 2, 2008 with a special focus on “Climate change, bio-cultural diversity and livelihoods: the stewardship role of indigenous peoples and new challenges.” The forum will address human rights violations, environmental abuses, discrimination, and the negative political and economic impact that indigenous peoples have experienced over the years, and how these issues have been exacerbated by climate change.

7th Session

UN Press Release on Forum

Funding from the Pentagon?

As many of our members are aware, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates recently announced a plan to increase Pentagon support for research in the social sciences and humanities. Given the debate surrounding the HTS program, this new program--the Minerva Consortium--has many academics on edge. We expect to hear more on this issue when the Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee meets with the Subcommittee on Research and Science Education later this week for a hearing on the role of the social and behavioral sciences in national security.

For those interested in attending, the joint hearing will be held on April 24, 2008 at 9:00am in the 2118 Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC.

AAA Press Release

Inside Higher Ed Article on Minerva Consortium

Human Terrain Teams in the Media

The human terrain system made an appearance in the mainstream media this past week. Newsweek published an article entitled, “A Gun in One Hand, A Pen in the Other” that details the military’s efforts to recruit experts for HTS. The story is largely critical of the program, and is reinforced by comments from past HTT members. A major criticism of HTS is the recruitment of candidates who lack any regional or linguistic expertise in the Middle East.

One of the main architects of HTS, Montgomery McFate, has already written a response to Newsweek that has been included, in full, on Wired magazine’s Danger Room blog.

The AAA has also written a letter to Newsweek expressing two concerns it has with the article. First, the AAA is continuing to take a proactive approach in examining the full spectrum of issues associated with HTS and other related security and intelligence programs. The Ad Hoc Commission on the Engagement of Anthropology with the US Security and Intelligence Communities was formed to address the potential ethical implications of the military application of anthropology. Second, the association highlights the fact that anthropologists only represent a small percentage of HTS members, and that ethical considerations associated with the program bear relevance to the entire social science community.

As always, readers are encouraged to express their thoughts on the intersection of ethics, anthropology, and the military in the comments section below.

House Passes Student Loan Bill

"The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008" (H.R. 5715) easily passed through the House after receiving approval from both the House Education and Labor Committee and the House Rules Committee. However, the bill is expected to face some roadblocks in the Senate, and negotiations are likely to occur before it is finally passed. This legislation will increase limits on federally backed student loans by $2,000 per student, and will increase the total amount of federal loans students can borrow.

Additional information can be found below:

Copy of the bill [pdf]

Committee press release

Connecting Through Film

Documentary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim, whose prior work includes “Control Room,” is hoping that her new project, “Pangea Day,” will give people across the globe the opportunity to film life from their particular sociocultural perspectives. Amateur filmmakers made short videos highlighting their unique viewpoints, and underprivileged filmmakers did the same using donated cell phones equipped with video cameras. The videos were uploaded to YouTube, and have been compiled into a four-hour video that will be broadcast live on May 10, 2008 for free. Please inform your colleagues and students.

Pangea Day Website

AFP: Film event uses digital-age technology to unite cultures