UK Anthropology Network

The Association of Social Anthropologists of the UK and Commonwealth 

UK ANTHROPOLOGY NETWORK (UKAN)

Following discussions at the ASA’s July AGM, its Executive Committee is taking forward efforts to forge closer collaborative links with other Anthropology/related organisations in the UK, with a view to (a) composing more strategic and effective liaison between our disciplinary areas and key policy and decision makers and (b) enabling a fuller exchange of ideas with our sister disciplines. Below is a list of organisations approached to date: the Committee would welcome suggested additions to these. It was agreed that the proposed network should be inclusive of all Anthropology-related areas, with all retaining their specific identities within it.

Correspondence and a meeting with representatives of a few organisations on July 5^th

suggested that an initial idea for Federation of Anthropologists in Britain was a step too far at present, but there was real enthusiasm for creating a strong collaborative network. This view was also reflected at the ASA’s 2016 HoDs meeting and at its AGM. A favoured name for the proposed network is UK Anthropology Network (UKAN).

*Associations contacted prior to ASA AGM 2016

Suggested additions

BioSocialSociety

*BritishAssociation for Biological Anthropology and Osteoarchaeology (BABAO)

*British Association for Forensic Anthropology (BAFA)

European HumanBehaviour and Evolution Association

*MuseumEthnographers Group (MEG) 

*Museums Association
*British Archaeology Association
PrimateSociety of Great Britain
*Royal Anthropological Institute (RAI)
*Royal Archaeological Institute 
*Chartered Institute for Archaeologists
*Council for British Archaeology 
*Society for Museum Archaeology

Society for theStudy of Human Biology

*European Association of SocialAnthropologists

At the ASA AGM, and at the joint meeting with other associations, there was consensus that the best way to initiate the proposed UK Anthropology Network would be to have a joint conference of all such organisations, which would enable discussion of the networking and collaborative possibilities, as well as an opportunity for exchanges of ideas. It was felt that, ideally, this should be hosted by a large interdisciplinary department (or one connecting a constellation of Anthropology related departments) in conjunction with a major museum. As the ASA is about to put a call out for bids for its 2018 conference, it is possible for a UK Anthropology department to propose hosting such a conference at that time.

A PAN-ANTHROPOLOGY CONFERENCE IN THE UK

What is envisaged is a joint conference bringing together all Anthropology associations in the UK. It will require a common intellectual theme. This could be ‘interdisciplinarity’, or any theme genuinely inclusive of all areas of Anthropology and Archaeology. The conference will bring a diverse range of sub-disciplinary perspectives to bear on this theme, thus enabling a fruitful intellectual exchange, taking theoretical debates forward, and generating new ideas and practices. It would also provide a forum in which the participating associations could consider the practical issues of establishing a UK-wide collaborative network that would strengthen Anthropology’s ‘voice’ in debates about policy, and enable mutually beneficial collaborations between different areas.

The conference committee will be composed of representatives from each of the participating Anthropology associations. Ideally the lead conveners will also represent diversity in this regard.

It has also been proposed that the joint conference should possibly entail some financial commitment from participating organisations, reflecting their membership numbers (pro rata), with the profits to be distributed according to the same formula. This would give support to a bid to the Wenner-Gren Foundation for funding to support the conference and to pay (perhaps with 50% FTE teaching buyout) for a project leader to bring the associations together in this event and – crucially – to prepare the ground for a longer-term network. There may be other sources of support, for example the British Academy.

The ASA Committee will undertake the following next steps:

·      It will put out a call for bids for the ASA 2018 conference, highlighting the possibility that this could be the proposed joint UKAN conference.

·      It will follow up with the Associations as conference plans emerge.

·      It will work with the conference host department(s) to compose a bid to the Wenner-Gren Foundation and potentially other sources for conference/project leader funding.

Veronica Strang, ASA Chair September 3rd, 2016

Stitch of a Symbol - Insights into the textile journeys of Sheila Paine

Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford
16 August 2016 - 12 February 2017

A showcase of textiles and embroideries from the collections of Sheila Paine. This display will feature material assembled by Sheila Paine during her fieldwork throughout East and Central Asia. Items on display will include yurt amulets from Turkmenistan, Uzbek hats and fine embroidery from Pakistan, as well as other examples of textile craft from East and Central Asia. There will also be a related exhibition of Sheila Paine’s photographs (opening in the Long Gallery November 1 2016 – April 30 – 2017). 

Meeting of the Pacific Arts Association – Europe

Pacific Arts Association – Europe

PAA-E Annual Meeting – Norwich

Sunday 16 October – Tuesday 18 October 2016

The annual Pacific Arts Association-Europe meeting will be held 16-18 October 2016 at the Sainsbury Centre for Visual Arts, University of East Anglia, Norwich, in partnership with the Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology, University ofCambridge (MAA). It is being held to coincide with the exhibition Fiji: Art and Life in the Pacific (15 October 2016 – 12 February 2017), for which MAA is an exhibition partner.

Cost: early bird registration (register before 7 September 2016): £45, concessions (students/unemployed): £35. After 7 September 2016: £55 (full price)/£45 (concessions).Your registration will cover: exhibition entrance, 2 lunches, teas/coffees, welcome reception with canapes, programme.

Conference dinner: £30 – this will be an informal hog roast (vegetarian option available) + dessert + 2 drinks (more drink available at bar).

Coach for return trip (18 October) to Saffron Walden and Cambridge: £15

To register and pay online, visit: http://store.uea.ac.uk/ (Please click the following sequence: Conference and Events/ Faculty of Arts and Humanities/ Pacific Arts Association-Europe conference). In case of questions, contact Lynne Crossland or Lisa Farrington: admin.sru@uea.ac.uk or +44(0)1603 592498.

Full programme available here.

Exhibition: Amazonia: The Shaman and the Mind of the Forest

Musée d'ethnographie de Genève (MEG)
20 May 2016 - 8 January 2017

Scénographie : MCBD Architectes, GenèvePhoto: © MEG, J. Watts

The Large (450 object) and beautifully designed exhibition 'AMAZONIA: The Shaman and the Mind of the Forest', is on until 8 January 2017. The rich MEG collection for the Amazon goes back to the 18th century, includes substantial 19th C collections made by traders, and then many anthropological expeditions from the 1960s onwards. There is lots of historical context, an emphasis on shamanism and hunting, and then detailed displays for ten or more individual cultures, such as the Tukano. There is a great deal of fine featherwork on display, but also barkcloth, psychoactive substances, baskets and other material culture. The exhibition emphasises that these are living peoples, with abundant use of films throughout. Not only is there a lot to see and learn, but there are also 13 subtle & engaging soundscapes throughout the exhibition space, reflecting the Museum's long-standing interest in ethnomusicology. 

Mark Nesbitt (Research Leader, Economic Botany, Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew).

Project Officer job vacancy

The Mobile Museum project is an ambitious three-year collaboration between the Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew and Royal Holloway, University of London, funded by the Arts and Humanities Research Council. The project traces the global redistribution of ethnobotanical specimens – and thus data about plant uses – via Kew in the 19^th and 20^thcenturies. As well as addressing major research questions in the history of science, empire and museums, the project will also reconnect thousands of ‘lost’ specimens in museums worldwide with provenance data held in Kew’s archives. 

The Project Officer will have a vital role in coordinating the wide range of national and institutional contacts required; handling data relating to objects and archives, and coordinating external communications via social media and project workshops. Data management will include the extraction, exchange and standardisation of collections data, creation and maintenance of the project database and image files, and analysis of project results. Support will be given by Kew’s IT specialists and other project staff for technical aspects of data management.

The Project Officer will be a core member of the team, alongside two post-doctoral researchers (Dr Caroline Cornish, and another to be appointed 2018), and the two project leaders, Prof. Felix Driver (Department of Geography, Royal Holloway) and Dr Mark Nesbitt (Collections Department, Kew). The post is based at Kew and runs for three years from January 2017. 

We are looking for applicants with experience of research, to Master’s level or beyond, but are open as to subject area – although situated in the humanities, this is a highly interdisciplinary project. More important is experience of data management and the ability to acquire new skills in this area. The project will have large numbers of contacts and large quantities of data, so good time management and a meticulous approach to data are essential. Good communication skills are required both within the project team and for external audiences. Experience or interest in collections is highly desirable.

This post offers the opportunity not only to build deep familiarity with Kew’s world-leading botanical collections and archives, but also to interact with many other museums worldwide. The Project Officer will gain transferable skills in handling a wide range of collection and archive data, and will also be able to develop skills in data analysis applied to historical research. Support will be given for training and career development throughout the project. 

The closing date is the 16th September 2016. See here for full details and to apply. 

Call for Papers - International Conference From Malacca to Manchester

From Malacca to Manchester: Curating Islamic Collections Worldwide
23-24th February, 2017
Proposal deadline: Sunday, 25th September 2016 

Proposals for papers are welcome for the two day conference From Malacca to Manchester: Curating Islamic Collections Worldwide, to be held at Manchester Museum on the 23rd and 24th February, 2017. The conference is part of a wider project to catalogue and research collections of Islamic art and material culture across the Manchester Museums and Galleries Partnership (MMGP), and is supported by the John Ellerman Foundation.
In the UK there is a need to better understand the rich and complex traditions of the Islamic world. A 2010 YouGov survey commissioned by the Exploring Islam Foundation revealed that the British public know relatively little about Islam and tend to problematise it as a consequence of exposure to negative media stereotypes. In an attempt to counteract this, UK museums and galleries are using collections of Islamic art and material culture to increase understanding and challenge misconceptions. In Manchester specifically, work on the Islamic collections will inform an exciting series of events and exhibitions in 2017 to mark UK-India Year of Culture, and a permanent South Asia gallery due to open at Manchester Museum in 2020.

Concurrently, across the UK and Europe high-profile museums such as the Louvre, the British Museum, and the Museum of Islamic Art, Berlin, have embarked upon or completed major re-installations of important Islamic art collections. At the same time, smaller and regional museums are developing new ways to work with existing collections. The role of the curator is changing, and previously underrepresented voices are increasingly given space to express personal responses to material cultures. All such projects represent critical opportunities to present the complexity of Islamic art in innovative new ways, reach out to new audiences and utilise the richness of Islamic material culture to promote social cohesion and understanding.

This conference will explore and appraise current and developing practices in the curating of museum collections of Islamic art and material culture around the world, in Europe and in the UK. A keynote address by Dr Stefan Weber, Director of the Museum of Islamic Art in Berlin, will be complemented by a series of presentations, panel discussions, practical workshops, and visits to collections in Manchester including the Whitworth Art Gallery, Manchester Museum, The John Rylands Library (Special Collections), and Manchester Art Gallery. The conference’s aim is to offer a vibrant and challenging perspective on the field, review ongoing projects and public and scholarly engagement, and explore professionals’ aspirations for the future developments of collections of Islamic art and material culture.
Original proposals are welcome from British, European, and international museum professionals, rising and established academic scholars, and graduate students. Submissions are invited on topics including, but not limited to:

- Recent and continuing developments in the organisation and display of museum collections of Islamic art and material culture.
- The conceptual understanding of these collections (both ‘Islamic’ and ‘art’ as concepts).
- The representation of faith in the museum.
- Presenting cultural complexity engagingly.
- Islam in Europe: in the museum.
- How museum education and volunteer programmes are engaging with this field.

- Outreach and education involving both Muslim and non-Muslim groups.

- Particular challenges faced by non-specialists working with these collections.

- Addressing the longstanding scholarly exclusion of certain regions from the traditional consideration of ‘Islamic world’ (i.e. parts of South and South-East Asia).

- Migration of artistic techniques and transregional interconnection between cultures.

- Approaches to the museum presentation of Islamic artistic traditions alongside those of non-Islamic cultures which are related temporally, geographically, or stylistically.

Guidelines for paper proposals:

Papers will be 20 minutes in length with an additional 10 minutes for questions. Proposals for presentations or panels of up to four participants should be emailed to Jenny Norton-Wright and Stephen Terence Welsh by 25th September 2016, using the following email address: malaccatomanchester@gmail.com.

Proposals should include the presenter’s name, position and institutional affiliation, the paper’s title, an abstract of up to 250 words, a biography of up to 200 words (written in the third person), and a contact email address. Panel proposals should include the above for each speaker, plus a paragraph of up to 250 words describing the panel’s rationale. Informal enquiries in advance of this deadline are welcome. 

Pacific Collections at Royal Museums Greenwich: MEG Collections Visit

Pacific Collections at Royal Museums Greenwich

9 September 2016 1 to 4pm

Royal Museums Greenwich has a small but significant World Cultures collection developed from British maritime exploration in the 18^th and 19^th centuries. Pacific artefacts come predominantly from two famous collecting endeavours: James Cook’s three voyages in the 1760s and 70s, and the activities of the London Missionary Society from the 1790s. 

 

Work on a new Pacific gallery for the National Maritime Museum, to open in May 2018, provides the opportunity to revisit these collections, increasing the Museum’s understanding of them, and, through collaboration with Pacific communities, adding much-needed indigenous voices. 

 

We invite MEG colleagues to join us for the afternoon examining our collections and sharing expertise. We would particularly welcome assistance from colleagues knowledgeable on tapa cloth and war clubs, in which our collections are particularly strong. Due to restrictions on store access, the visit will be capped at 15.

PLEASE EMAIL TONY ECCLES to book your place.