The SfAA Podcast Archive

Without Footnotes: Writing Creative Ethnography

CHAIR: EMMETT, Ayala (U Rochester)DISCUSSANT: SIMONELLI, Jeanne (Wake Forest U)
ABSTRACT: Anthropologists come home from the field with amazing stories brimming with passion, excitement, pathos, humor, and drama. Academic publication requirements,however, often flatten out the stories, strip the ethnography of the excitement, and fail to convey the rich texture of everyday life. The papers in this session invite you to share inan infusion of anthropology with life, half as exciting as fieldwork. Alongside academic ethnography and its requirements there are other ways to write about justice, ethics andthe practice of anthropology in genres that are informed by our fieldwork and anchored in ethnographic concerns. The papers in this session, which include SHA Fiction Awardwinners, open up an exhilarating and stirring humanistic anthropology to a wider audience
Session Participants:EMMETT, Ayala (Rochester)ANGROSINO, Michael V. (U S Florida)TRACHTENBERG, Barbara (Boston University)CHIERICI, Rose-Marie (SUNY-Geneseo)CHIN, Nancy (U Rochester)
Session took place in Santa Fe, NM at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in March 2009.

Creating Sustainability in Culture: Real-Time Applied Anthropology

CHAIR: BABER, Willie L. (U Florida)DISCUSSANT: DOWNING, Theodore (U Arizona)
ABSTRACT: One measure of effectiveness in applied anthropology can be found in the "stories" of those who have used anthropological knowledge to assist people in "creatingculture" through the discovery of new ways to better sustain ourselves. Unsustainable behaviors reduce the effectiveness of a culture as a continually adaptive process.Sustainability requires a vision and practice not to consume beyond the renewal capacity of the landscapes upon which they are dependent. If culture is dynamic and purposeful,then sustainability requires continuous "culture change" into the future. Another level of sustainable behaviors is illustrated by the perceived need to intervene, or not, in the"culture" of subordinated peoples. wbaber@anthro.ufl.edu
Session Participants:BABER, Willie L.NIGH, Ronald (CIESAS)IDRIS, Mussa (U Florida)MOLES, Jerry
Session took place in Santa Fe, NM at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in March 2009.

Public Anthropology, Applied Anthropology, and Ethnically Engaged Ethnographic Writing

CHAIR: STRAIGHT, Bilinda (W Mich U)
ABSTRACT: Anthropological historians may variously trace applied anthropology to a fraught status in nineteenth century colonialism, to a more explicit, "politically correct"status, or to points in between. Since the 1990s, the neologism of "public anthropology" coined by Renato Rosaldo and Rob Borofsky has occupied an ambiguous space obliquelyor alongside applied anthropology. While applied anthropology has long focused on action that may or may not include forms of ethnographic writing, public anthropologyexplicitly demands anthropological action through writing. This session will consider the intersection between applied anthropology and public anthropology that intentionallyengaged forms of ethnographic writing can create.DISCUSSANT: KRATZ, Corinne (Emory U)
Session Participants:JOHNSON, Amanda Walker (U Mass-Amherst)METZO, Katherine (UNC-Charlotte)LANGFORD, Jean M. (U Minn)GOUGH, Meagan (U Sask)MCKENNA, Brian (U Mich-Dearborn)
Session took place in Santa Fe, NM at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in March 2009.

Different Fields, Common Challenge: Lessons for and from Military Anthropology

CHAIRS: FOSHER, Kerry (MCIA, Syracuse U) and SELMESKI, Brian (Air U)ABSTRACT: Anthropologists' work on, for and with the military has received much attention recently. The resulting debates have helped identify various important questionsregarding opportunities, dangers and ethical challenges in such engagements. However, many of these apply not only to work with the military, but also to anthropologistsengaged in development, health care, business and other professions. Applying, practicing and advocating place anthropologists in complex relationships with employers, clientsand research subjects. This roundtable brings together experienced practicing anthropologists to reflect on how the current focus on anthropological engagement with themilitary can inform a robust disciplinary discussion of common issues. kbfosher@gmail.comList of Panelists:BABA, Marietta (Mich State U)NOLAN, Riall W. (Purdue U)RUBINSTEIN, Robert A. (Syracuse U)TURNLEY, Jessica Glicken (Galisteo Consulting Group Inc)
Session took place in Santa Fe, NM at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in March 2009.

Studies of HIV and STIs in the Western Hemisphere (Part 2)

CHAIR: KOESTER, Kimberly (Cr for AIDS Prev Studies, UC-San Francisco)
LUNDGREN, Rebecka (U Maryland)DOLWICK GRIEB, Suzanne (U Florida)YODER, P. Stanley (Macro Int'l) and LUGALLA, Joe (U New Hampshire)
Session took place in Santa Fe, NM at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in March 2009.

Studies of HIV and STIs in the Western Hemisphere (Part 1)

CHAIR: KOESTER, Kimberly (Ctr for AIDS Prev Studies, UC-San Francisco)
ABSTRACT: Patient Narratives on What Constitutes Meaningful HIV Prevention Counseling. Talking about sexual practices, preferences and problems during a routineclinical encounter is not common. In fact, many patients and healthcare providers report feeling uncomfortable managing even a cursory discussion of sex. Moreover, for peopleliving with HIV, frank discussions about sexual expression with a healthcare provider are complicated by legal issues, concerns about feeling judged, and the underlying belief thatsuch discussions are incongruent within the medical setting. Through ethnographic interviews with HIV specialty care providers and their patients we explored the "black box" ofmeaningful prevention discussions.GOMEZ, Angela (St. George's U)AMAYA-BURNS, Alba (U Florida)SIBLEY, Candace (U S Florida)
 
Session took place in Santa Fe, NM at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in March 2009.

Professional and Academic Collaboration: Strengthing the Preperation of New Professional Anthropologists

CHAIR: TASHIMA, Nathaniel (LTG Assoc)DISCUSSANT: CRAIN, Cathleen (LTG Assoc Inc)
ABSTRACT: Professional and Academic Collaboration: Strengthening the Preparation of New Professional Anthropologists. In this session professional anthropologists,academics, and young anthropologists will discuss ways in which to strengthen the development of new professional anthropologists. The role that mentoring can play and howto structure and coordinate support will be explored. Participants will discuss the desired and needed aspects in mentoring as well as the challenges in preparing studentsfor internship experiences and new professionals entering the workplace. The session will focus on creating a conversation among presenters and audience to explore issuesidentified by the presenters.
List of Panelists:BUTLER, Mary Odell (U Maryland)DAVENPORT, Beverly (U N Texas)DELINE, Marisa (U Maryland)HORA. Matthew (U Wisc-Madison)
Session took place in Santa Fe, NM at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in March 2009.

The Engaged University: What Does it Mean for Applied Anthropology?

CHAIRS: BENNETT, Linda (U Memphis) and WHITEFORD, Linda (U S Florida)
ABSTRACT: Panelists address the question, What would an "engaged university" look like, and how would one become one? Engagement - be it global or regional - bridges thevoid between the university and its surroundings. "Engagement implies strenuous, thoughtful, argumentative interaction with the non-university world in at least four spheres:setting universities' aims, purposes, and priorities; relating teaching and learning to the wider world; back and forth dialogue between researchers and practitioners; and taking onwider responsibilities as neighbours and citizens." How are the universities represented by the panelists becoming engaged and what is the place of anthropology in that vision?
List of Panelists:CHRISMAN, Noel (U Wash)HYLAND, Stan (U Memphis)GREENBAUM, Susan (U S Florida)KOZAITIS, Kathryn (Georgia State U)SHACKEL, Paul (U Maryland)THU, Kendall (N Illinois U)VASQUEZ, Miguel (N Arizona U)
Session took place in Santa Fe, NM at the 69th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in March 2009.

Presidential Plenary Session in Honor of John van Willigen: The Art and Science of Applied Anthropology in the 21st Century

CHAIR: KEDIA, Satish (U Memphis)
ABSTRACT: Anthropology has historically represented a bridge between the arts and sciences in explorations of human cultures. Anthropologists' seamless blending of humanityand scientific rigor to address contemporary public issues to meet the needs of the larger community, both globally and locally, pushes us to the forefronts of engagedscholarship. As our discipline evolves and adapts to continual changes in the cultures and institutions around the world, the work of applied anthropologists becomes even morecritical in transforming their knowledge into meaningful practices. This session will respond to some of these issues and provide frameworks for the future direction of appliedanthropology and its practitioners in the 21st century.
Session Participants:ANDREATTA, Susan (U NC-Greensboro)BABA, Marietta L. (Michigan State U)CHAMBERS, Erve (U Maryland)
Session took place in Memphis, TN at the 68th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in March 2008.

The Scholar-Practitioner in Organizational Settings

CHAIR: METCALF, Crysta (Motorola Labs)
ABSTRACT: In this session we introduce and model the concept of the "scholar-practitioner," practicing anthropologists who explicitly draw on theory in their work and contributeto theory development. Although such an integration of theory and practice has long existed, it has been gaining greater recognition in recent years, especially as more and moreanthropologists are applying our discipline in organizational settings. The members of this panel draw on their experiences in both academic and organizational settings,presenting case studies and examples in order to explore the challenges and opportunities inherent in working toward the advancement of anthropological theory in appliedpractice.
Session Participants:CARDEW, Jen and WASSON, Christina (U N Texas)BRONDO, Keri Vacanti (U Memphis)BARTLO, Wendy, Tracy L. MEERWARTH, and Elizabeth K. BRIODY (General Motors), and Robert T. TROTTER II (N Arizona U)COPELAND-CARSON, Jacqueline (Copeland Carson & Assoc)METCALF, Crysta (Motorola Labs)
Session took place in Memphis, TN at the 68th Annual Meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology in March 2008.