A ssoc iation Busin ess January 2012 |

W O R L D A N T HrOPOLO G I E S
A A A 2012 E X ECUTI V E BOA R D
Conversations about World President
Leith P Mullings (201113)
Anthropologies lmullings@gc.cuny.edu
President-Elect/ Vice President
Ten Years Later Monica Heller (201113)
monica.heller@utoronto.ca
Secretary
Eduardo Restrepo systems of power, Berg, 2006). In these publications the
U Javeriana, Bogot-Colombia authors deal with various aspects of the debate that was Debra L Martin (200912)
born from WAN. Also, it is worth noting that participants debra.martin@unlv.edu
Ten years after its birth, we could say that the most of the project offered undergraduate and graduate courses Archaeology Seat
outstanding contribution of the World Anthropologies that were based on the projects research at their respec- Sandra Lopez Varella (201114)
Network (see www.ram-wan.net/html/home.htm) has tive institutions in various parts of the world (some of the slvarela@uaem.mx
been its work to produce a collective conceptualization syllabi and other published material may be found on the
of the way in which visibilization and silencing mecha- WAN website mentioned above). Biological Seat
nisms operate both in the transnational field of anthro- From the beginning, the World Anthropologies project David Himmelgreen (201114)
pology and within national anthropological establish- sought to create a network that could contribute to the dhimmelg@usf.edu
ments. Within this context, we have given meaning to transformation of the terms and conditions of exchange Cultural Seat
concepts such as hegemonic anthropologies, subaltern within and among the different anthropologies and Florence E Babb (200912)
anthropologies, and the world system in anthropology. anthropologists of the world. The creation of such a
fbabb@ufl.edu
This conceptualization has centered on three main network was thought to be more a strategy that embodied
aspects: (1) Thinking about anthropologies in the plural a style of intervention in the field of anthropology than as Linguistic Seat
rather than in the singular; (2) Focusing on anthropolo- a simple instrument. This is why we defined ourselves as Niko Besnier (201114)
gists concrete and situated practices rather than on the the World Anthropologies Network. ln.besnier@uva.nl
normative and abstract definition of anthropology; (3) The WAN created a webpage and carried out various Minority Seat
Understanding that the differences between anthropolo- joint projects, such as research on the teaching of anthro-
Ana L Aparicio (201013)
gies is rooted in relations of power that operate at different pology in Argentina, Brazil and Colombia, and support
scales (global, regional, national, local) and in various ways to a newly created doctoral program at the University of a-aparicio@northwestern.edu
that range from the predominance of certain languages Cauca, Colombia. Unfortunately, the network has been Practicing/Professional Seat
and modes of argumentation to the configuration of unable to consolidate and has been practically inactive for Alisse Waterston (201013)
particular subjectivities. some years. For this reason, we must acknowledge that awaterston@jjay.cuny.edu
Overall, this conceptualization interrupts the essen- the main objectiveto transform the terms and condi-
Student Seat
tialist and normative conceptions of anthropologyin tions of exchange within and among the worlds anthro-
the singularwhich establishes a diffusionist narrative pologiesis far from having been reached. Aside from Jason E Miller (200912)
that erases the bulk of the anthropological work under- bringing attention to this problem in a few sectors close jemille3@mail.usf.edu
taken in peripheral regions (as well as that which is at the to the networks participants, little has been accomplished Undesignated #1
margins of the disciplines canon). This conceptualization in this field. Hugh Gusterson (200912)
has resulted from the in-depth analysis of the relationships Given that technological possibilities for communica- hgusters@gmu.edu
between existent anthropologies in different parts of the tion continue to mushroom, and at the same time, anthro-
Undesignated #2
world that has been taking place at least since the 1980s. pological establishments are becoming ever more provin-
Its worth noting that the World Anthropologies cial, it is imperative to take up this work. More than ever Susan D Gillespie (201013)
Network (WAN) emerged after several years of intense before, we must contribute towards the multiple knowl- sgillesp@anthro.ufl.edu
debate among a group of anthropologists located in edges of anthropologies and anthropologists across the Undesignated #3
Europe, the United States, and Latin America. Although world. Fran Mascia-Lees (201114)
a good deal of this debate was done through email, frmascialees@anthropology.rutgers.edu
we also held a number of meetings in various places Eduardo Restrepo is a founding member of the World
(Argentina, Colombia, the US and Italy) that were of crit- Anthropologies Network and one of the leading figures of Undesignated #4
ical importance. this debate. Jean J Schensul (200912)
A number of collective and individual publications have jschensu@aol.com
been produced, which include an electronic journal and a Setha Low and Gustavo Lins Ribeiro are contributing Section Assembly Convenor
book edited by Gustavo Lins Ribeiro and Arturo Escobar editors of World Anthropologies, the AN column of the Vilma Santiago-Irizarry (201012)
(World Anthropologies. Disciplinary transformations within AAA Committee on World Anthropologies.
vs23@cornell.edu
Section Assembly EB #1
Gabriela Vargas-Cetina (201012)
gvcetina@uady.mx
Read about the Section Assembly EB #2
2 0 1 1 A n n u a l M e e ti n g Ida Susser (201013)
in the next issue of Anthropology News isusser@hunter.cuny.edu
AAA Treasurer-Ex Officio
Edward Liebow (200812)
liebowe@battelle.org

www.anthropology-news.org 15