Meet the Dataverse: An Annual Meeting Data Scavenger Hunt!

 
Meet the Dataverse: An Annual Meeting Data Scavenger Hunt!  
Special Event on Data in Anthropological Research at 2018 Annual Meeting
Organized by Dena Plemmons and Rob Albro
(5-0960)– Saturday, 4-6pm
 
Join us to enliven serious conversations in a fun way within and across the discipline of anthropology about our relationships to data, diverse sorts of data, how these data are encountered and circulate, and the ethical dimensions of all of this!
 
Our Scavenger Hunt includes five distinct categories in which to scavenge “data”. We anticipate that the challenges of data collection for each category will be different in illuminating ways. You’re free to “choose” your own data for each category, so long as they fit the designated criteria, which are:
 
1) The material (or empirical): provide material artifact that is significant to the culture in which you’re working/to which you belong.
2) The non-material: something non- material that is significant to the culture in which you’re working/to which you belong (e.g. a story, myth, or symbol).
3) Archival: a type of archival data which documents something otherwise contested in the culture in which you are working/to which you belong.
4) Event analysis/performance/social drama/epitomizing moment: an example of a meaningful event, explain why it is indeed an event, and what makes it significant. This needs to be drawn from the AAA meeting itself.
5) Bricolage: an example of data generated in order to address a topic or answer a question about the culture in which you are working/to which you belong. This can mix data sources but also needs to be drawn from the AAA meeting itself.
6) Wild card: collecting data about the culture in which you are working/to which you belong that might not otherwise be covered by the first five categories. You must explain why this is the case.
 
The hunt will conclude with a sponsored reception on Saturday, November 17th, 4-6pm, during which the winner will be announced and different stories, and challenges, of data collection discussed and explored.
 
Check it out at:
 
The hunt begins now!

2015 CoGEA Award Nominations

Nominations due: May 1 to Suzanne Mattingly, CoGEA Liaison at smattingly@aaanet.org

The CoGEA Award (formerly known as the Squeaky Wheel Award), sponsored by the AAA Committee on Gender Equity in Anthropology (CoGEA), recognizes individuals whose service to the discipline, and collective spirit of whose research, teaching and mentoring, demonstrates the courage to bring to light and investigate practices in anthropology that are potentially sexist and discriminatory based on gender presentation.

Historically this award has honored those who have acted to raise awareness of women’s contributions to anthropology, worked to identify barriers to full participation by women in anthropology, or helped to bring about significant shifts in intellectual paradigms through their anthropological research on women’s lives.

The CoGEA Award now has an even broader scope.  In addition to honoring scholars who work against discrimination against women in anthropology the committee is interested in honoring feminist scholars who work to raise awareness of discrimination in anthropology on grounds of gender presentation of any kind. Recent past winners include Barbara Voorhies, Mary Ann Levine, Elizabeth Brumfiel, Laura Nader, and Constance Sutton.

The committee seeks nominations for scholars and practitioners from all subfields of anthropology, at stages ranging anywhere from promising mid-career to proven late-career, who have acted to improve the status of those discriminated against on the basis of sex or gender identity in anthropology through:

  • Mentorship of colleagues and students
  • Research that directly addresses gender roles, situations of gender bias, and experiences of gender discrimination in anthropology
  • Scholarship on women or gender that has influenced shifts in anthropological theory
  • The development of policies, procedures, or other professional standards that alleviate gender inequalities in the field of anthropology

Nominations should include the name, affiliation and title of the individual being nominated, a one-or two-paragraph description of the reason for the nomination, a statement on the nature of the person’s contribution to the improvement of the status of women and/or any persons discriminated again on grounds of gender presentation or gender identity in anthropology, and a copy of the nominee’s CV.  Please include the name, address, phone number and email address of the nominator. Check the AAA website to see if the person has already won the award.

Nominators may be contacted for additional material concerning finalists.  Self nominations are not accepted.  Nominators may be AAA members, non-AAA members, and those working outside the discipline of anthropology. Proposed candidates must be a current AAA member and registered to attend the 2015 AAA Meetings in Denver, CO. The award will be presented during the AAA Awards Ceremony, and it is critical that the selected recipient of the award be present for the honor.

Nominations should be sent by May 1 to Suzanne Mattingly, CoGEA Liaison at smattingly@aaanet.org.  Awardees and nominators will be notified by July 1.