We write to invite you to
organise a session for the 2014 Annual
Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology, to be held March 18-22, in
Albuquerque, New Mexico. The theme of the meeting is “Destinations” and the Program Chair and Committee want to highlight
the innovative work that museums are doing to engage audiences, deepen
collaboration, and move beyond exhibition to new forms of outreach and
education.
The meeting theme description states:
We are a world on the
move. We are increasingly drawn to issues of transience and mobility. The
leading question of our time might no longer be who we are but rather where are
we going? Where will we live as storms imperil our lives and as sea levels
rise, or as fresh water becomes a scarce commodity in many parts of the world?
How do we imagine a fair and just world in those places where immigrants face
discrimination and hostility and political refugees wait impatiently for
someone to respond to their plight? Where do we find safe harbour when some of
our most constant fellow travellers are disease and epidemics and where health
care professionals struggle to respond to the needs of a diverse and highly
transient population? Where do we locate the past and people’s heritage in such
a great furor of instability and mobility? How far must our food and goods
travel to satisfy modern consumer demand? How do our cities and communities
respond to the needs of the homeless, the undocumented, the multiple other
visitors? How are the diasporas of the past reflected in the contingencies of
the present, and how might we anticipate the movements of people in the future?
Museums have long been
“destinations” where people go to seek knowledge, insight, solace and escape
from the entanglements of the mobile world described above. Museum
professionals have embraced the transformation of their practice, but much of
the new work is not familiar to applied anthropologists. The 2014 meeting
offers an opportunity to dialogue with anthropologists and other social
scientists actively committed to applying research insights in a wide variety
of contexts.
We hope you will join us
by organising a session or roundtable that illustrates new directions,
dilemmas, methods and practice raised by your work and that of your colleagues.
The program for the
meeting will foreground the “museum cluster” of programs so that they will be
easily visible to meeting participants. Local stakeholders and community
members will be invited to the meetings as well.
We are happy to discuss
any ideas you might have for sessions, roundtables, or other activities, and
answer any questions. You can find full meeting details here.
With thanks, Alaka and
Christina
Associate Professor of
Anthropology
Director of Museum and
Heritage Studies
Museum of Anthropology,
University of Denver
Denver, Colorado USA
1.303.871.2688
Curator of North American
Anthropology and Applied Cultural Research Director,
Environment, Culture and
Conservation
The Field Museum
Chicago, IL
(312) 922-9410
