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WAPA Calendar Archives 2006-07
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WAPA Calendar Archives 2006-07
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(calendars of previous WAPA years, most recent first)
NOTE: There will be only one regular meeting program this fall, and only four for the entire program year. Be sure to be there!
Sunday, September 17: Fall Party, 4-8 p.m.
Join us for a special Welcome Back Jazz Party. The WAPA 30th year opening event of the year!
Wapa invites all of it's members, as well as their friends and family members to join us in a celebration to begin the 30th year of the oldest professional organization of anthropologists in the United States!
Location: U-topia Restaurant (http://www.utopiaindc.com/)
1418 U Street, NW DC 20009
Side Room
Green Line Metro, U Street stop, 13th street exit, walk straight down U Street. U-topia is located between 14th and 15th on U, directly across the street from the Reeve's Center.
Because WAPA is a leader within the professional anthropological community nationally, but born within the Beltway, we thought it best to celebrate this at a truly DC neighborhood! Once referred to as "Black Broadway", U Street a quintessential DC neighborhood is the home of some of the best jazz music ever to be created in America! This event is FREE to all WAPA member, their family and friends, but donations will be accepted at the door to help defray the costs.
A light buffet will be served (mostly hors d'oeurves, finger foods, etc.) as well as some specialty drinks! There is, of course, a wonderful menu to choose from, and an excellent bar selection at their two cash bars (with some of the best mojitos you'll ever find in DC! YUM!). There will be jazz played throughout the affair, including a live jazz band! Hey, what would a U Street party be without Jazz!
For those of you who are not familiar with the U Street neighborhood, here is a short description from "Cultural Tourism" dotcom: http://www.culturaltourismdc.org/information2550/information.htm?area=2529
Experience the renaissance of Duke Ellington's neighborhood, the historic heart of the city's African-American community, where name entertainers, black-owned businesses, and grand movie theaters made U Street the place to be. This neighborhood predates New York's Harlem as a mecca for African Americans. Civil War encampments in the area sheltered freedom seekers in the 1860s, and the mission churches they founded live on today. Howard University just north of this neighborhood began to attract the nation's black intellectual and artistic leadership in the 1870s. By the early 20th century, the area was the nerve center of the city's black community, home to businesses and places of entertainment, and the major social institutions of black Washington. Until 1920, when Harlem surpassed it, it was the largest urban African American community in the nation. All the great entertainers played at its lively theaters and clubs. The old timers say that U Street was so grand that to go there, "you had to wear a tie." Duke Ellington is one of many national figures to call this neighborhood home.
Today, with a new subway stop, a resurgence of nightclubs, and the renovation of many of its historic buildings underway, the neighborhood is seeing a renaissance. There are many ways to experience the U St./Shaw Neighborhood. The best way to get an insider's view during the tourist season is to check Tours & Trails for information about walking tours. Year round you can walk the new City Within a City: Greater U Street Heritage Trail. Also, explore our expanded African American Heritage Trail that extends the fascinating history of this neighborhood to the rest of the city.
You should also visit the site below for even more info about U Street!
http://www.cr.nps.gov/nr/travel/wash/dc63.htm.
Tuesday, October 3 Subject: Violence & HIV Risk
Speaker: Todd Pierce, Medical Anthropologist
"Research on drug abuse and other HIV risk behaviors conducted by anthropologists and other disciplines has provided insight into a variety of social, cultural, and psychological factors which contribute to our understanding of the nature of the spread of HIV, as well as the means for creating new and innovative intervention models for reducing HIV transmission. During the course of previous research conducted in Washington, D.C. with African American women using heroin and crack cocaine, I collected data which suggests that women who have experienced consistent sexual or physical abuse from childhood into adulthood are at greater risk of non-compliance with HIV risk reduction techniques when engaged in sexual activity, especially when this activity is combined with actual drug use or the sex-for-drug trade. This is a direct result of psychological trauma resulting from childhood sexual molestation and other forms of physical and emotional abuse that they experienced. My current research seeks to investigate the effects sexual, psychological and physical trauma brought on by experiences of violence and abuse, and how said traumas impact individual sexual practices among drug abusing African American women in Washington, D.C. who are also sex workers. My research is specifically conducted amongst women who abuse crack cocaine, heroin, and methamphetamine and addresses how cyclical violence and abuse influence human agency and decision-making abilities, action, and harm reduction of HIV risk behaviors.
"This research focuses upon personal, family, social, and drug-using histories of violence and abuse from the perspective of the participating women involved in the research, as well as current cultural behaviors involving these same cycles. Cultural and psychological dynamics will be identified in regard to sexual activity practices within drug use contexts. More specifically, my current studies investigate the interplay between the self and social networks in relation to drug addiction and violence, in an effort to better understand how violence affects the self and limits human agency, especially in regard to HIV prevention behaviors and sexual practices.
"To study the self in relation to violence, an understanding of the individual's habitus and behavioral practices is of utmost importance. Histories of violence on the personal, family, community, social and drug using network levels must be understood within a framework of network relations in order to fully contextualize their impact on the individual and the self. My research is specifically aimed at understanding the interplay between violence, drug abuse and HIV prevention among African American women in Washington, D.C. who have had a lifelong history as victims of violence and sexual abuse - as well as drug addiction."
Sumner School, 6:45 - 9 p.m.
Tuesday, November No Meeting Scheduled
Due to several scheduling conflicts, including elections and AAA, WAPA is currently not scheduling a meeting in November.
Tuesday, December 5 Special WAPA 30th Annniversary Celebration
Be sure to join us for the gala 30th anniversary party. Festivities at the Sumner School get underway at 6 p.m. with a reception in the downstairs gallery area. There will be beverages and light dinner fare served, along with anniversary cake! We will then move upstairs by 7:30 to the Great Hall for a special program. The program will recognize the contributions of long time members and look towards WAPA's future. Past president John Mason is slated as the Master of Ceremonies.
WAPA hats and membership information will be available. A small donation will be requested at the door for non-students to help offset costs. WAPA members, friends, the anthropological community and especially students and newly arrived professionals are welcome to attend.
If you would like to help with some aspect of the celebration send a note to the email address below.
This special event will also serve as WAPA's holiday party; If you have not sent an RSVP, please do so in a message to wapamail@yahoo.com.
Sumner School, 6-8:45 p.m.
Tuesday, January 9 Special "Meet the Authors" Book Event
WAPA presents a Meet the Author event and reception, featuring presentations and book signings by six WAPA members and their colleagues who have published books in the last year: Judith Freidenberg (Memorias de Villa Clara), Judith Hanna (Dancing for Health), Jo Anne Schneider (Social Capital and Welfare Reform), Laurel Schwede, Rae Blumberg and Anna Chan (Complex Ethnic Households in America), Michael Margolis (Wake Me Up When the Data is Over, Lori Silverman editor), and three books authored or co-authored by Emily Vargas-Barón (Planning Policies for Early Childhood Development, From Bullets to Blackboards, Strategic Foreign Assistance). The event celebrates the breadth of new work by applied social scientists living in the Washington, DC, metropolitan area. Books will be available for purchase.
Book descriptions:
Memorias de Villa Clara ("Memories of Villa Clara"): Judith Freidenberg (Buenos Aires, Argentina: Antropofagia, 2005). The book synthesizes the oral, material, and written histories of Villa Clara to depict the village's unique heritage. Situated in northeastern Argentina , Villa Clara was founded by Jewish colonists brought to the country by the Baron de Hirsch at the end of the 19th century. Freidenberg's ethnographic and ethno-historic studies which form the basis of "Memorias" consider the strong history of other European immigration to Villa Clara later in history, as well as the experiences of the native gauchos. The book is directed towards a general public audience in order to encourage members of the Villa Clara community to reconstruct the village's past. "Memorias," written in Spanish, is available for purchase on Amazon.com; all proceeds from book sales benefit the local Villa Clara Museum.
Dancing for Health: Conquering and Preventing Stress: Judith Lynne Hanna (Lanham, MD: AltaMira Press, a division of Rowman & Littlefield Publishers, 2006). Anthropologist Judith Lynne Hanna demonstrates the extraordinary role of dance as a healing art for all kinds of stress. Indeed, to dance in order to resist, reduce, and escape stress is human. Using examples from many different cultures and throughout history, she explains how dance is exercise plus aesthetic communication. While science has shown the mind/body integration and benefits of exercise, Western and non-Western cultures have danced to come to terms with life crises, resolve conflict, revitalize the past, and face the future. Hanna reveals how individuals expel spider venom or shake off death, sin or evil by using the power of dance to cope with stress. She shows how dance-stress connections are played out on theater stages, in the professional dance career, and in amateur dance. Her cases, including her own personal experiences in dance, reveal the potential of dance as a key strategy in the arsenal against stress. This broader cultural perspective is an innovative approach to understanding stress and meaning in dance. Hanna's book will be of great interest to anthropologists, dancers, health researchers, therapists, and others interested in coping with stress and improving their quality of life through dance.
Social Capital and Welfare Reform: Organizations, Congregations and Communities: Jo Anne Schneider (Columbia University Press, 2006). In this groundbreaking study, Jo Anne Schneider considers the reasons behind the limited success of most welfare reform initiatives and offers evidence-based recommendations for enhancing the effectiveness of welfare policy. Schneider draws on her rich and nuanced ethnographic studies of Philadelphia, Milwaukee, and Kenosha, Wisconsin to clarify the role of social capital for both individuals and institutions. She shows that the social relationships and patterns of trust that enable people to gain access to resources like government services,organization funding, and jobs are crucial in helping families achieve their goals. Schneider examines the complex ways in which social capital functions in conjunction with economic, human, and cultural capital, and explores social capital dynamics among government, nonprofits, and congregations that together provide the welfare support system.
Complex Ethnic Households in America: Laurel Schwede, Rae Lesser Blumberg, Anna Y. Chan. (Rowman & Littlefield Publishers) This lively interdisciplinary book on "complex households" within six U.S. ethnic groups uniquely combines rich ethnographic description conveying the "sights and smells" of fieldwork with theory-linked overviews and Census 2000 data. It explores the interactions of household structure, ethnicity and gender, also illuminating factors affecting formation and dissolution of household types of increasing importance in an America of growing family and ethnic diversity. It is valuable for student and professional anthropologists, sociologists, demographers, research methodologists, policymakers and the general public.
Wake Me Up When the Data Is Over: How Organizations Use Stories to Drive Results: www.wakeupyourcompany.com: Lori L. Silverman, editor, WAPA member Michael Margolis participating author presenting (Jossey_Bass, 2006) Read about real-life examples from over 70 respected organizations small and large, representing a multitude of industries using stories to drive results. Drawing on interviews with 171 public and private sector leaders, this book goes beyond storytelling to reveal five keys to making stories work for you: how to find existing stories, dig into them to uncover hidden patterns and themes, select those stories that need to be reinforced, craft memorable stories, and embody stories to positively impact people's attitudes, thoughts and behaviors. Leaders from organizations such as Microsoft, Lands End, Verizon, U.S. Air Force, and World Vision demonstrate the strong positive influence stories can have. No abstract theories or platitudes are conveyed here. It spells out how Kevin Roberts, CEO worldwide of Saatchi and Saatchi, achieved sustained sales growth after several mergers and downsizings caused the organization to fall on hard times. And how Erik Shaw, president and CEO of FivePoint Federal Credit Union, overcame resistance to an organizational name change, resulting in membership growth exceeding the national average.
Emily Vargas-Barón: She will talk about three books have come out in the last year:
Planning Policies for Early Childhood Development: Guidelines for Action: (UNESCO, UNICEF, Association for the Development of Education in Africa (ADEA), 2005 and 2006) These Guidelines provide a Toolkit for planning culturally appropriate early childhood development (ECD) policies or policy frameworks. They represent a unique contribution to the field of ECD policy planning. The Guidelines demonstrate how government planners and institutions of civil society in the fields of health, nutrition, sanitation, education and legal protection can apply an integrated and participatory approach to child survival and development. The book is available in English, French, Spanish, and soon in Russian.The book can be obtained electronically from Emily Vargas-Barón: vargasbaron@hotmail.com. It is being distributed without cost in hard copy by UNICEF and Association for the Development of Education in Africa, International Institute for Educational Planning, 7 - 9 rue Eugene-Delacroix, 75116, Paris, France,adea@iiep.unesco.org, http://www.adeanet.org.
From Bullets to Blackboards: Education for Peace in Latin America and Asia: Editors: Emily Vargas-Barón and Hernando Bernal Alarcón (The Inter-American Development Bank, 2005): For countries torn by war or violence, the stakes for developing education policies and quality programs are high. Effective education is essential to prepare the next generation for a productive life, heal psychological wounds, prevent cyclical violence, and achieve reconstruction and peace. If educational needs are ignored during and after war, prior education systems may be retained and perpetuate conditions leading to more conflict. From Bullets to Blackboards features lessons and case studies learned from 10 exemplary education policies and programs developed in nine Latin American and Asian nations: Cambodia, Colombia, El Salvador, Guatemala, Indonesia, Lao PDR, Peru, the Philippines, and Viet Nam. The book can be obtained from the Inter-American Development Bank or from The RISE Institute for a donation of US$25.00 plus $5.00 for postage and handling. Please send donation checks payable to: The RISE Institute, 3012 Porter Street, N.W., Washington, DC. 20008.
Strategic Foreign Assistance: Civil Society in International Security: Lawrence Chickering, Isobel Coleman, P. Edward Haley and Emily Vargas-Barón (Hoover Institution Press, 2006). The emergence of significant numbers of violent non-state actors has created a new reality in national and international security. To respond to this new reality, the authors recommend that governments and peoples come together to encourage economic, political, legal, and social development within weak societies in which terrorists take refuge and to assist deadlocked governments to overcome the explosive legacies of religious and ethnic conflict. In Strategic Foreign Assistance the authors show that, to do this, the United States must develop a strategic international cooperation and assistance policy that fosters strong civil societies. The book can be obtained from the Hoover Institution Press or at a discount from Amazon.com.
Sumner School, 6-8:45 p.m.
Tuesday, February 6 Subject: "Ethnographic Thoughts on the Invisibility of the Chronically Ill"
The first-hand experience of longtime WAPA member Connie Ojile is shared widely throughout the US; coping and battling with the American health care system that is fragmented, unresponsive, impersonal, and downright dysfunction much of the time. Connie has the perspective of an anthropologist, but remains the subject of this presentation as well. In this interactive session she shares her experiences in the system, her long-time strategies for making the best of it, and gives WAPA members a glimpse of her struggle against invisibility in the process.
Connie Ojile got her degrees in cultural anthropology and women's studies from the University of Michigan. She taught anthropology for the University of Maryland overseas and in College Park. Her work in professional anthropology has centered on the effects of change in small organizations. She developed intercultural training workshops from an anthropologist's perspective, and was among the first to promote this connection to fellow anthropologist and potential clients. She worked extensively in government and private sector organizations using ethnographic skills to facilitate team building, strategic planning, and problem solving sessions. Her latest strategic planning project was with the staff and executive board of Signature Theater in Arlington, VA.
Sumner School, 7 p.m.
Note: Connie's bibliography from this presentation is available as a PDF document: Bibliography
Thursday, February 8 Special Salon. Subject: "Women Creating Careers as Practicing Anthropologists"
This is a special salon/potluck slated for 7:30 at the home of Ruth and Michael Cernea.
Meet some of the authors who contributed to the 2006 NAPA Bulletin, "Making History at the Frontier: Women Creating Careers as Practicing Anthropologists." We are fortunate that Jean (Jay) Schensul is in Washington , D.C. for a grant review process, and has agreed to participate in the event. Other WAPista authors for this bulletin--Mari Clarke (World Bank Consultant, with extensive experience with USAID and other donor organizations), Shirley Fiske (academic; federal executive & legislative branches), Mari Odell Butler (Battelle Centers for Public Health Research & Evaluation), and Susan Racine Passmore (Consultant -public health & child welfare)--invite you to share an evening of reflection and learning about each other in the context of women's career paths and global trends in the workplace. Jay Schensul is Senior Scientist and Founding Director of the Center for Community Research in Connecticut and currently a visiting professor at the University of California/Los Angeles.
The authors will describe the origin and the participatory process used to develop the volume by editor Christina Wasson (U. of N. Texas) and share a few digital photos documenting their career pathways. The process of writing and collaborating on the edited volume was reflexive and participatory, in the vein of autoethnography. Discussion will follow on the themes that emerged or did not, in the hopes of identifying similar themes among participants as practitioner anthropologists. Discussion will follow on the potential demand for expanding this type of publication for practicing anthropologists and others.
This is to be a "light-fare" potluck. In the WAPA tradition, please bring an appetizer if you have a last name in the A-F; a main course/finger food if you are in the G-M range; and a vegetable or fruit offering if you are in the N-Z range. Chocolate desserts are particularly discouraged...
Ruth and Michael's home is at 6113 Robinwood Road , Bethesda MD. Please RSVP to Ruth Cernea: rcernea (at) comcast.net. The home is just off River Road , a few miles north of the District, near Walt Whitman High School . You can reach River Road from Wisconsin Ave, Western Ave , Massachusetts Ave, or several other ways.
By Metro: Bethesda station. Plenty of cabs at the Hyatt Hotel, just above the Metro station (about $7). Tell the driver to take Bradley Blvd to Durbin; Left on Durbin to Plainview ( 2nd Street ); Right on Plainview to Robinwood; left on Robinwood (3rd house on right).
From DC: North on Massachusetts until it dead ends at Goldsboro Road . Right on Goldsboro, to River Road (first light). Left on River Road (get in right lane) to Whittier Blvd (first light: one long block). Right on Whittier Blvd to Robinwood Road ( 6th street on the right, at Walt Whitman High School ). White house on left, up hill.
From the Beltway: River Road exit, south, toward Washington . For further directions or details call 301-320-5579.
Note: An inspiring summary from this meeting is available as a PDF document: Salon Summary
Tuesday, March 6: Subject: A Strange Place to Practice Anthropology
Speaker: Marilyn Hoskins
Some people practice anthropology among tribal groups in the Amazon. Others practice in Burkina Faso or Nepal. In fact, Marilyn Hoskins had some experience in all these places. But one of her most amazing and rewarding experiences was trying to integrate the holistic and inclusive nature of anthropology and participatory methods into programs of really rigid technocratic and bureaucratic agencies.
"My presentation will focus on the creation of a Community Forestry Program from inside the Food and Agricultural Organization of the United Nations (FAO). It will describe how anthropological approaches and tools colored the way both the program and the activities developed. FAO, a highly bureaucratic organization, gives technical assistance to programs funded by various donor country agencies with their own sets of rules and in recipient country and national services. It is not easy to imagine a more rigid set of bureaucratic systems or technically focused professionals than those in forestry services of these agencies. I was the first social scientist to be hired in the FAO Forestry Department and my task was to introduce forestry with the goal to manage trees and forests in a way to improve livelihoods of local people.
"My talk will focus on the development of activities and understanding and at the same time the management of the program itself: how both became more participatory. As I tried to integrate new approaches into these fixed and seemingly intractable agencies the meaning of concepts such as participation, local ownership and decentralization evolved. I will discuss how the program expanded to other sectors as it became increasingly evident that foresters cannot successfully focus on trees alone but need to be aware of many aspects of local reality."
Marilyn Hoskins, an anthropologist with a communications background, has dedicated her professional life to local governance and community development with equity. She has focused on the interface between the local men and women and the natural resources upon which many directly depend. She lived and worked five years each in Southeast Asia and West Africa and has worked in over 50 countries as well as in the United States. In 1978-79 she helped design and initiate the community forestry program of the United Nations and then joined the Food and Agriculture Organization in Rome to further develop and manage that multi-donor global program. She served as a senior forestry officer within the Policy and Planning Division of the Forestry Department. Previously she was the Title XII International Development Chair at Virginia Tech and initiated and coordinated their Participatory Development Program. She was awarded the Distinguished Service to Rural Life award from the Rural Sociological Society, Doctor of Humane Letters for outstanding contributions to wise use of natural resources and maintenance of a high quality natural environment by State University of New York, and Doctor of Humane Letters by the Maxwell School of Syracuse University for outstanding contributions to the field of international rural development. Most recently she served several years as a Scholar in Residence at Indiana University, Workshop in Political Theory and Policy Analysis, and continues as a Research Associate. She serves on the Board of Directors and the program committee of the Coalition for Economic Empowerment which has programs in a HUD housing project community in Washington, DC.
Sumner School, 7 p.m.
April 10 (second Tuesday): Students and Careers in Applied Anthropology
This will be the annual WAPA student-led meeting. A panel of anthropologists will discuss career possibilities and how those interested in professional anthropology can transition into the job market. Scheduled speakers are Shelley Elbert, Senior Program Evaluator, Office of Inspector General, Peace Corps; Phil Herr, Government Accountability Office; Cheryl Levine, Urban Anthropologist, Department of Housing and Urban Development; Sher Plunkett, formally with USAID; Ruth Sando, President of Sando and Associates; and Rachel Watkins, physical anthropologist, American University.
All area students and professionals are welcome to attend. As usual, members and some panelists will be meeting for dinner beforehand at Cafe Luna, 1633 P St. NW, just three blocks from the Sumner School. Contact Student Board Member Alex Antram at alex.antram (at) gmail -dot- com for details, or review the special panel flyer.
Sumner School, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, May 1: Subject: Contributions of Applied Anthropology to the Design and Evaluation of the Origins Program (Programa Orígenes) in Chile
Speaker Carmiña Albertos will give a brief summary of the political and social context for indigenous peoples in Chile and will describe the main characteristics of the Origins Program, a government initiative for indigenous peoples. She will explain how anthropological knowledge has been applied and contributed to the design and evaluation of the program, modifying the initial objective from "poverty alleviation" to "development with identity" for the Aymara, Atacameño, Quechua and Mapuche peoples. The culture broker role of the anthropologists involved in the preparation and evaluation of the program will be examined, as well as the innovative participatory planning methodology based on cultural categories developed during the design phase.
Carmiña Albertos is an anthropologist from Spain with extensive experience in design, monitoring and evaluation of social projects and multi-sectorial projects with a participatory approach and involving indigenous peoples. She started her development work in Spain (1986) working as a volunteer in rural areas, marginalized urban gypsy communities, and in a drug rehabilitation program for the youth. After that, she lived in a rural community in Equatorial Guinea (1987 and 1989), implementing an integrated development project with focus on education, health and capacity building. She has collaborated with a number of NGOs in Spain, the U.S., Guatemala, Belize, and El Salvador. In Guatemala (1995) she worked as human rights observer in the first Mayan community that returned from exile in Mexico, and provided technical support in their resettlement process. Mrs. Albertos joined the Inter American Development Bank in 1997 and since then has developed and led numerous projects in different sectors (indigenous peoples, integrated social inclusion for children, youth and families at risk, education, culture) in Argentina, Bolivia, Brasil, Chile, Colombia, Guatemala, Honduras, Paraguay, Uruguay, and Venezuela. She holds a M.A. in Applied Anthropology (1996, The American University, Washington, DC), and two B.A.s in Philosophy and Education (1992, Universidad Complutense and 1987, Universidad Autónoma, Madrid, Spain).
This will be the last regular meeting of the program year.
Sumner School, 7 p.m.
Sunday, June 3: Summer Sunset Potomac Cruise
By popular demand WAPA will again charter the Admiral Tilp, this time for a Sunday sunset cruise up the Potomac. This will be the last event of the program year; be sure to reserve quickly, for this event always sells out well in advance. For photos and information about the boat and the Potomac River Boat Company, visit their website at http://www.potomacriverboatco.com/admiraltilp.php.
Time: Important: Be ready to begin boarding at 5:45 p.m.; departure is 6 p.m. and will not wait, so do not be late. We will return to the pier at about 9 p.m.
What to Bring: WAPA will provide beverages and snacks, cups, plates, ice, etc. Those who wish something more substantial are welcome to bring their own picnic dinner or even something to share! A rain jacket has come in handy in the past.
Directions: The boat departs from the docks behind the Torpedo Factory, 105 N. Union Street, between Cameron and King streets in Old Town Alexandria. The boat is a double-decker, usually parked in the first slip in the pier, near the Chart House Restaurant. You can't miss it.
Parking: There is limited street parking in the area. See the Torpedo Factory parking map for lots in the area: http://www.torpedofactory.org/Parking.html.
Reservations: The Admiral Tilp is limited to 50 passengers, so act soon. Sorry, phone or email reservations cannot hold a seat. Send $15 by mail for each passenger to:
Viviana Christian
13227 Stravinsky Terrace
Silver Spring, MD 20904
Make checks payable to WAPA.
See you onboard!
Sunday, September 25: Fall Party
Join us for the WAPA Fall Party this Sunday, September 25, 2005 from 3 to 7 p.m. at the home of Laurie Kreiger, 12710 Saddlebrook Drive, Silver Spring, Maryland. RSVP ASAP to WAPA president John Mullen at wapapresident@yahoo.com. This will be a traditional WAPA potluck. A board meeting will be held one hour before the meeting. The party is open to WAPA members, potential members, and friends.
FOOD
WAPA will provide some beverages, hot dogs and buns, paper plates, napkins, utensils, ice, charcoal, etc. Participants please provide…
•Appetizers: Those with last names beginning A-F
Salad: Those with last names S-Z
Main Dish: Those fortunate few with last names M-R
Dessert: Those with last names G-L
Note: PLEASE DO NOT BRING SHELLFISH OR PORK PRODUCTS
DIRECTIONS
From northern Bethesda/Rockville:
•If going south on Rockville Pike (toward Bethesda) turn left on Randolph Road. ȂTake Randolph Road to Georgia Avenue. (Georgia Avenue is a major intersection with a traffic light. There is a fire station on the SE corner and a McDonalds on the SW corner). ȂTurn left onto Georgia Ave. and stay in your right hand lane. •Layhill Road will be a right fork almost immediately (as soon as you pass the shopping center. Layhill runs along the side of the shopping center near the “Supper Buffet”). •At the second traffic light on Layhill, turn right onto Briggs Road. ȂTurn right at the third street to the right (immediately after the second traffic bump onto Saddlebrook Drive. ȂLaurie's House is the last house on the right. Street parking is available.
From Connecticut Avenue out of DC:
Take Connecticut Avenue and turn right onto Randolph Road. Follow directions as above. Ȃ(If you are coming from Chevy Chase or DC, Connecticut Ave veers to the left at University Blvd so please be sure to take the left-hand as Connecticut and University Blvd split.)
From Virginia:
•Take the Beltway toward Silver Spring and exit onto Georgia Avenue. Go NORTH on Georgia Ave. for about 2-½ to 3 miles, watch for Randolph Road. ȂThere is a traffic light and a fire station on your right. •ontinue on Georgia Ave as it crosses Randolph. •After you pass Randolph Rd., you will go past the shopping center. Take the right fork, Layhill Road, and continue as above.
Tuesday, October 11 Subject: The Discovery of George Washington's Whiskey Distillery
In honor of Virginia Archaeology Month, Esther White, director of archeology at historic Mount Vernon, George and Martha Washington's Potomac River plantation, will speak. Title: “A Business with Which I am Entirely Unacquainted: Discovering George Washington's Whiskey Distillery.” This illustrated lecture will explore the discovery of Washington’s successful distillery and detail Mount Vernon’s reconstruction scheduled to open to the public in October 2006.
Esther White has been an archaeological staff member at Mount Vernon since 1989, and has overseen the archaeological research since 1994. Ms. White directed the excavation of Mount Vernon’s Distillery, which Washington constructed in 1797 to make corn and rye whiskey. The distillery was located on Mount Vernon, adjacent to Washington’s large gristmill and cooperage. One of the largest in early America, the distillery produced over 11,000 gallons of whiskey a year, which was sold by several Alexandria merchants, as well as directly to neighbors and local farmers. Washington’s mill was reconstructed in 1932 and reopened in 2002 as a fully operating gristmill. George Washington’s whiskey distillery is being studied as part of a reconstruction of the distillery where the process of creating spirits in the 18th-century manner will be interpreted for visitors to the plantation. This long-term research project is the focus of numerous educational and special programs including an Advanced Internship in Historical Archaeology for young professionals.
A native of Greensboro, North Carolina, Ms. White holds an MA in Historical Archaeology from the College of William and Mary and a BA in history and anthropology from the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She lives in Alexandria with her husband and two boys.
Tuesday, November 1 "The 'Culture' of an American Disaster Response"
Longtime WAPA member Adam Koons is the scheduled speaker for Tuesday's meeting. The director of relief for International Relief and Development, Koons will present his recent work, "The 'Culture' of an American Disaster Response."
Koons spent three weeks on the Mississippi coast assessing emergency program opportunities and developing program strategies. For the first time, IRG will be initiating programs in the U.S. in response to Hurricane Katrina, as a result of its extensive experience providing Asian tsunami assistance. There are many similarities and also many differences between the two disasters. Among the most interesting aspects in the Mississippi have been the sociocultural and socioeconomic characteristics there.
Koons has been a member of WAPA since 1978 and is a past president. He has worked in development and relief for 20 years, mostly as a resident in Africa, for such organizations as USAID, the UN , Peace Corps, CARE, and Save the Children, and for various consulting companies.
IRD is a private voluntary organization that works in the implementation of targeted, cost-effective relief and development programs. For more information visit www.ird-dc.org.
Tuesday, November 28, 6 pm Special Reception addressing Corporate Responsibility
A special reception welcoming our guest speaker, Carolyn McCommon and other applied/practicing anthropologist friends who will be attending the American Anthropological Association meetings. Light fare and beverages will be provided, to be followed by a panel on Corporate Responsibility in Extractive Industry: What Can Anthropologists Offer?
Carolyn McCommon, a former WAPA member, will describe her role as corporate anthropologist in Rio Tinto, a global mining company that extracts gold, diamonds, other metals and minerals, including borax. After introducing the concept of corporate social responsibility, she will describe her work in corporate assurance, risk assessment, policy design and implementation and technical support, and offer concrete examples to illustrate the range of that work and some of the key issues she addresses. Based in London, she plays the role of a facilitator in the development of policies, strategies, processes and tools which are directed at placing corporate social responsibility alongside business success. Her work guides and supports sustainable, community-based development that comprises a part of Rio Tinto's 20 year plan for entry in and exit from each mining venture. Some of the questions that she will address: "What does the field of anthropology offer to an application in corporate social responsibility in extractive industry such as mining?" "What other skills are needed?" "What are the advantages?" "What are the dilemmas?"
Prior to her work in corporate social responsibility, Carolyn worked for over 20 years with U.S. NGOs, USAID, the World Bank and the United Nations on development program. She is prepared to discuss the challenges she has faced in making the transition from working with NGOs to the private sector.
Discussants: Deirdre La Pin, Former senior adviser to the Sustainable Development Division of Shell Oil Nigeria, and Bennett Freeman, Managing Director of the Washington DC Office of Burson-Marsteller and leader of their corporate responsibility practice.
This special event constitutes the regular December meeting. Note the early start time.
Sunday, January 8, 2006, 4-7pm HOLIDAY PARTY
WAPA invites you to the Annual Winter Party at the home of Jonnie Marks and Bob Wallis
From 4 to 7 pm
1213 N Street NW, Apartment A
Washington, DC 20005
Please RSVP to 202-360-4784 or jonnie2192@peoplepc.com
Musical instruments and party hats are welcome but not required. Jonnie and Bob have a guitar and an accordion should anyone feel the need. (Jonnie encourages the former and discourages the latter!)
Directions
The Logan Circle area of Washington, on N Street between 12th and 14th Streets. There is street parking and pay parking at the Washington Plaza Hotel at Thomas Circle, two blocks away on Vermont Ave NW, on the northeast side of the circle (which is currently under construction).
What to Bring (no lamb, please):
Main dish: Last names beginning with A-G
Side dish: Last names beginning with H-O
Dessert: Last names beginning with P-Z
WAPA will supply the hot cider and beverages. Don't forget to RSVP, and we'll look for you there! The event is open to all WAPA members and friends.
Tuesday, February 7: Building Community Research Organizations
SPEAKER: Jean J. Schensul, Ph.D.
This presentation will situate community based research and research organizations (CBROs) in applied anthropology. It will discuss different types of CBROs in which anthropologists play a major and/or leading role. Innovative anthropologically based approaches to Community-based research that bridge research and action, organizing and art will constitute the heart of the presentation. The presentation will conclude with the challenges faced by CBROs and the anthropologists that contribute to their welfare.
Jean J. Schensul, Ph.D. is the founding director of The Institute for Community Research (since 1987) and a co-founder and former Deputy Director of the Hispanic Health Council (1978-87). She is an educational / medical anthropologist with expertise in ethnography, prevention research methods, research partnerships and participatory action research. Dr. Schensul is the recipient of a number of NIH, and other federal and foundation research and intervention grants on drug and alcohol use, HIV, mental health, and social problem solving that cover the developmental spectrum for work in the United States and internationally. Her international work includes research on sexuality and HIV risk in Mauritius and Sri Lanka, and research on alcohol use and HIV in Mumbai, India. She has consulted to U.S. federal agencies, the World Health Organization, the United States Agency for International Development, UNICEF, and other international organizations on public health and research methodology.
Dr. Schensul is on the editorial board of Medical Anthropology Quarterly, and is one of two consulting editors for the Journal of HIV / AIDS Prevention in Children & Youth. She is past president of the Council on Anthropology and Education, and the Society for Applied Anthropology and a member of the joint AAA / SFAA Commission on Applied and Practicing Anthropology. She is the recipient with Stephen Schensul of the Solon T. Kimball award from the American Anthropological Association for application of anthropology to policy in Hispanic communities. Her academic affiliation is with Yale University, Department of Psychology and she plays an active role in the Yale Center for Interdisciplinary Research on AIDS in the areas of research methodology and international research
Sumner School, 7 p.m.
Tuesday, March 7: No Meeting on this date
Tuesday, April 4: Tammy Bryant and Wally Owens are to speak on Civil War archeology in Alexandria
"Crimean Oven" Discovered in VA
Senior archaeologist Tammy Bryant of Thunderbird Archeology and Walton H. Owen II, Assistant Director and Curator of the Fort Ward Museum and Historic Site, will present on a rare Civil War feature at the WAPA meeting 7 PM, Apr. 4 at the Sumner School. Through historical documentation, an interpretive drawing, and the trial and tribulations of uncovering this feature during the archaeological excavations, Bryant and Owen will give life to this "Crimean Oven."
During a Phase I Archeological Survey in Alexandria, Thunderbird Archeological Associates (a division of Wetland Studies and Solutions) uncovered the "Crimean Oven," as it is referred to in period documents. The archaeologists discovered the remains of a large heating device that consisted of an external brick firebox and a long subterranean brick-lined flue that was once covered with sheet metal and terminated in a chimney.
This brick feature was probably used to heat a hospital tent during the winter of 1861-1862. Documents and regimental accounts dating to the winter of 1861 testify to the use of similar devices by the Eighth Brigade, which was positioned in the general area at that time. This feature seems to be the most complete known archeological example of such a system, giving the site particular significance and making a substantial contribution to our knowledge of Civil War technologies.
Bryant has over 15 years of archaeological experience in the Middle Atlantic region, and has worked in Virginia, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, and West Virginia. She has served as a senior archaeologist with Thunderbird Archeology for over 11 years and has supervised and worked on hundreds of sites from Native American villages along the floodplain of the Potomac River to field slave sites in the Northern Virginia Piedmont. She currently manages the Archaeology Lab for the new archaeology division of Wetland Studies and Solutions, and is adding artifact processing, cataloging, analysis, and computer skills to her repertoire.
For over 20 years, Owens has been a specialist on the Civil War Defenses of Washington and is the co-author, along with B.F. Cooling, III, of Mr. Lincoln's Forts: A Guide to the Civil War Defenses of Washington. He currently works as a consulting historian researching and writing historical narratives that are published as part of professional papers for archaeological and historical assessments.
Sumner School, 7 p.m.
Sunday, April 9: Special WAPA Spring Fling Book Party
Join WAPA in Welcoming the Return of Spring and to announce new publications by Jo Anne Schneider, Judith Freidenberg, and Ruth Cernea. This special gathering will indclude an authors' discussion about their new publications.
Sunday, April 9, 4 to 8 PM
at the home of Adam Koons and Yukari Horiba
47 Old Bonifant Road, Silver Spring, Maryland
RSVP to wapapresident@yahoo.com
WAPA will provide sodas, hot dogs and buns, paper plates, napkins, utensils, ice, charcoal, etc. Participants please provide:
MAIN DISH: those fortunate few with last names A- I
Salad/Side Dish: those will last names beginning J-R
Dessert: those with last names S-Z
DIRECTIONS
From Rockville Pike or Georgia Ave, turn East onto Randolph Road. Follow Randolph until New Hampshire Ave (huge intersection) and turn left (North) on New Hampshire. Continue three lights and turn left onto Bonifant Road. Then first real left onto Old Bonifant Road. Continue 1/3 mile to #47. Yellow house on left.
From Beltway: exit New Hampshire Ave North. On NH Ave you will pass White Oak Center and later cross Randolph Road. Continue north. See above.
From downtown. Follow New Hampshire Ave. Northeast out of town. See above.
Tuesday, May 9: Adventures of an Applied Anthropologist in The Gambia, 1979 to present
With former WAPA president Bill Roberts
Join us for a slide illustrated talk when applied anthropologist Bill Roberts talks about his long-term experiences in the tiny West African country of The Gambia. Convinced that anthropology made a positive difference in his Peace Corps service as a public health volunteer in The Gambia, Bill pursued graduate work in applied anthropology at American University. He continued to intermittently work and gain valuable applied experience in The Gambia after beginning graduate studies. His work in Gambia began to take its present shape after he initiated a field study program in Gambia for St. Mary's College students in 1996. Today, St. Mary's College has a strong exchange program with the new University of The Gambia, and Bill is working to expand and strengthen mutually beneficial relationships between individuals and institutions in the US and Gambia. If you are interested, visit the Gambia website that documents previous work carried out in Gambia, www.smcm.edu/gambia.
Sumner School, 7 p.m.
A premeeting dinner is slated from 5:30 to 7 at the Café Luna, 1633 P St NW, a couple of blocks up from the Sumner School.
June: Spring/Summer Picnic Event:
This event has been canceled.
2004-2005 Calendar
Tuesday, September 7: "Forensic Anthropology and the Disappeared of Argentina"
Mercedes Doretti, President of the Society of Forensic Anthropology, was the representative in the U.S. of the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team. This was the first forensic team to investigate the “disappeared” in Argentina. By now, the SFA has trained all forensic teams in Latin America and has worked in more than 30 countries in Latin America, Africa, Asia and Europe. This year, 2004, marks the 20th anniversary of the foundation of the Argentine Forensic Anthropology Team (EAAF).
She will show a video produced by the SFA and discuss the field of forensic anthropology today. Based on EAAF experiences working as forensic anthropologists for Truth Commissions, Special Commissions of Inquiry, and national and international tribunals, the discussion will include a number of recommendations involving the investigation of human rights abuses.
7 p.m., Sumner School
Sunday, September 12: Welcome Back Party
Incoming WAPA president Judith Freidenberg will host a traditional WAPA potluck to start the year for members and friends.
Sunday, September 12, 4 to 7
p.m.
9A Ridge Road, Greenbelt, MD 20770
WAPA members will please help out with the afternoon potluck by bringing the following items:
Last Name:
A to M: Main or side dish-type items
N to R: Desserts or appetizers
S to Z: Breads or salads
Drinks, utensils, and related items will be provided. Bottles of wine or containers of beer (full, preferably) are welcome.
Directions: This is a bit complicated. The home is in Greenbelt, just a couple of miles outside of the Beltway. We advise using an online guide such as Mapquest.com or an actual roadmap for guidance, at there are some tricky twists and turns. It's not difficult; it just varies by your angle of approach. If you get lost the day of the party, call (301) 486-1941. If coming by Metro (Greenbelt Station, Green Line Metro), you should be able to catch a cab from the station without much difficulty.
Please RSVP by September 9 by calling (301) 405-1420, or send an e-mail message to: wapapresident@yahoo.com.
October 5: The Anthropology of
Architecture: JAZZSPACE: A Provisional Report on the Production of
Existential Place Identity
Architect William Wesley Taylor, AIA, Associate Professor, School of Architecture & Design, Howard University, Washington, DC will lead the discussion.
The critique of Modernism has resulted in an expansion of the way we think regarding with whom and what architecture should be concerned. However, to date there has been relatively little of what might be called original architectural research that might establish some collective agreement within architectural culture regarding these issues. Architectural theory, in fact, expands primarily through the appropriation of bits and pieces of other outside disciplines. It borrows particularly from anthropology, because anthropology confronts certain issues that are crucial in architectural discourse. One: what do human groups report as their perceived reality? Two: how do these perceptions condition individual and collective behavior? And, three: how do you find out about one and two?
Anthropology's response to the third issue, qualitative inquiry, has guided my own inquires into the three questions, particularly with regard to congruencies between constructs of identity and patterns of behavior. This perspective proceeds from the belief that there is much that can be learned from critical scrutinies of informal, organic processes of place production in the ways that urban populations construct spatially located identity.
The call and response rituals in jazz club performances are believed to locate particularly powerful generators of existential place identity. JAZZSPACE comprises dense transfers of spatial symbolization through ritual processes synergistically constructed by patrons and players alike. JAZZSPACE insiders are the exclusive residents of these symbolically rich spatial forms, which they construct almost entirely through the deployment of their own social-cultural resources. It is within these processes that existential place identification is established and preserved.
7 p.m., Sumner School
November 9: Commemorating the Underground Railroad:
The Network to Freedom
Program
Change
Speaker: Dr. Jenny Masur, Underground Railroad Coordinator, National Capital Region, National Park Service
Jenny Masur will speak about an innovative program, the National Park Service's National Underground Railroad Network to Freedom, a program that focuses on local history in many areas of the United States where there was resistance to slavery through flight. The goal of the project is to empower local groups and draw attention to their "untold stories." That is, Frederick Douglass and Harriet Tubman are icons, but what about all the other resourceful and courageous freedom seekers who played significant parts in realizing the Underground Railroad?
The Network to Freedom was mandated by the US Congress in 1998, and reaches out to new constituencies for the National Park Service (NPS). Today, almost 200 sites, museums, interpretive programs, archives, etc., are members of the Network. The staff consists of coordinators from each NPS region except Alaska, plus a national coordinator, and the program is largely run by consensus.
In addition to a description of the program, Jenny will discuss the incorporation of oral traditions, standards of documentation for a so-called "secret", and methods of networking.
Jenny Masur is the Underground Railroad Coordinator, National Capital Region, based at National Capital Parks-East. She served as Fulbright Professor, Seminar on Current Cultural Anthropology, Instituto Nacional de Antropología, Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1990 and 2003-4.
7 p.m., Sumner School
December 14: Subject: (DC Urban Anthropology) Racial Inequalities in DC: Anthropologists Respond
Panel Chair: Dr. Brett Williams, Professor of Anthropology, American University
In this diverse panel, Dr. Rachel Watkins will explore the struggles of Dr. Montague Cobb at Howard University to redirect anthropologists' conceptualizations of race; Dr. Sabiyha Prince will discuss her research on police violence in DC as an urban issue; and Ph.D. student Damien Thompson will speak about his research on gentrification, displacement, and resistance in Columbia Heights. Dr. Brett Williams will examine the changing ecologies of the urban Anacostia watershed and how poor people over the last century have embodied shifting ecologies and inequalities through diseases such as malaria and tuberculosis.
Brett Williams has been living and working in Washington, DC for almost thirty years. She collaborated with students, community ethnographers, and activists on projects for the Department of Housing and Urban Development, the National Park Service, and the Smithsonian Office of Folklore. Her research has explored gentrification and displacement, racism and poverty, the loss of affordable housing, the importance of public space, and the vibrant cultural traditions of DC. Her latest book, Debt for Sale, traces the development of the profitable business of credit and debt, from credit cards through student loans to predatory lending in poor communities.
7 p.m., Sumner School
January 16, 2005: Sunday HOLIDAY PARTY
This will take place at the Capital Hill home of past president Rob Winthrop, and will combine a presentation with the holiday party. A discussion of psychiatry and anthropology with Mauricio Cortina is planned.
Details to come.
February 1:
"Institutional Review Boards, Legal Requirements, and Ethical Issues"
(pre-SFAA
program)
Speakers: Cathleen Crain and Niel Tashima, LTG Associates, Inc.
LTG Associates, Inc., works with clients large and small, public and private, for-profit and not-for-profit, to ensure they meet not only the legal requirements for protecting the people they serve but also adhere to high ethical standards. A panel from LTG will discuss responding effectively and ethically to the issues posed for practicing anthropologists by federal and other regulations governing research involving human subjects.
7 p.m., Sumner School
March 1: Subject: Race, Anthropology, and Public Policy
Meeting Organizer: Gretchen Schafft
Anthropologists have been the professional group which has been most involved with the discussion of race over the years, beginning as advocates of the concept and its application in society. Most recently, anthropology has advocated for the total dismissal of race as a biological concept. A panel composed of academic and professional anthropologists, a member of the AAA, and a non-anthropologist will discuss how the biological concept has changed over time, the anthropological responsibility for clarity in this area, and the continuing problems of racism in our social and political life.
7 p.m., Sumner
School.
Pre-meeting networking reception from 5:30 on, at the Sumner
School.
April 12: Subject: Gender Mainstreaming in Africa: Lessons from the Field.
Speaker: Meryl James-Sebro, Managing Director, FirstWorks International
This lecture shares experiences and field work strategies from gender research in Ghana, Kenya, Niger and Zambia between May and July 2004. The anthropologist held focus groups in 16 rural communities in these four countries, with over 900 women, men and young people.
The study, which adds to the growing body of knowledge on the positive impact of gender equality on development effectiveness, was commissioned by the Washington-based InterAction, the nation's largest alliance of international development and humanitarian nongovernmental organizations. It was directed by Susan Kindervatter, InterAction's Director of the Commission on the Advancement of Women.
Meryl James-Sebro is a development anthropologist and writer. She is the Managing Director of FirstWorks International, a consulting firm that focuses on poverty eradication, gender and empowerment, and youth development. A native of Trinidad and Tobago, she holds a bachelor's degree in journalism and a master's degree in Latin American and Caribbean Studies from New York University, and a doctorate in Anthropology from American University.
7 p.m., Sumner School
May 3: Subject: THE WASHINGTON JOB SEARCH FROM ALL ANGLES
Panel Organizer: Sher Plunkett
Spring is the time of year when our thoughts often turn to – eating regularly, and sleeping indoors next winter. The job market for practicing anthropologists in the Washington area is always exciting, and often volatile. The May WAPA meeting will feature the insights and experience of several WAPA members in searching for and finding jobs, and career planning and management, in our local environment. Topics will include thoughts on the current state of the market, advice for experienced as well as new job-seekers, some “do” and “don’t” tips, and perhaps some leads on where to look.
The WAPA job search panel will include members from all sides of the employment issue. Please come and share your own experiences and aspirations. Panelists include Linda Knispel (UMD MAA student and WAPA Student Board Member), John Grayzel (USAID), Connie McCorkle, (independent ) , and Terry Redding (LTG Associates, Inc.).
7 p.m., Sumner School
5:30 p.m., Pre-meeting networking reception with refreshments at the Sumner School; no dinner is slated.
June 4, Saturday: WAPA Spring Picnic
The final event of the program year, the annual WAPA Spring Picnic, will be held at the home of Jo Anne Schneider. This will be a traditional WAPA potluck to kick off the summer. Children are welcome: there is a large yard for outdoor activities.
Saturday, June 4th, 4 to 7
p.m.
1505 Baylor Avenue, Rockville, MD, 20850
Phone: 301-279-2328
WAPA members can help by bringing the following items:
Last Name:
A to G: Breads or salads
H to R: Main or side dishes
S to Z: Desserts or appetizers
Guests are also requested to bring beverages of their choice, if feasible. WAPA will provide some drinks as well as utensils, cups and related items.
Directions: There are variable directions, depending on your vector of approach. As ever, using an online map service as well for directions does not hurt.
BY METRO: Take Metro to Rockville station. There are lots of cabs to the house (it's less than $5) and city buses that run up Rockville Pike about four blocks from the house. If you take the city bus, get off at College Parkway (College Plaza across the street) and cross Rockville Pike. Walk down College Parkway for about 3 blocks. You'll pass a park, and the easiest thing may be to cut through the park diagonally to Princeton. Turn right and walk to Baylor (second right).
BY BELTWAY/270 FROM ANY DIRECTION: Get on 270 from either direction and head towards Rockville. Go to exit 6A in Rockville, Montgomery Ave./Rt 28. Coming from DC and Virginia, when you get to the top of the exit, go straight across to Nelson street. From Gaithersburg and points West, take the exit toward Rockville city center and turn left onto Nelson. Take Nelson to the third stop sign at College Parkway. Turn left on College Parkway. Turn left at the next stop sign at Princeton. Baylor is the second right.
FROM SILVER SPRING, COLLEGE PARK, WHEATON, ABOVE BELTWAY: Take Viers Mill Road to Rockville Pike. Turn right on Rockville Pike and go to College Parkway. Turn left on College Parkway (College Plaza is at the corner). Turn right on Princeton (stop sign at the bottom of the park). Baylor is the second right.
Sunday, September 14:
President's
Welcome Party
The Fall
President's Party is scheduled for Sunday, September 14, from 4 to 7 p.m., at the home of Rob and Kate
Winthrop, 130 10th Street, NE, Washington DC. This will be an
informal potluck party for members, potential members and friends.
Bring any sort of dish or edibles you think might be appealing.
Drinks, utensils, and related items will be provided.
October 7:
"Genetically
Modified Organisms, Globalization, and the Human Right to Food:
Anthropologists' Contributions"
Ellen
Messer, a
Visiting Professor of Anthropology and International Affairs at
George Washington University, will open a discussion that draws on
some of her recent experiences working in interdisciplinary contexts
that include molecular biologists, nutritionists, economists,
political scientists, human-rights lawyers, and others. Dr. Messner
will engage WAPA members in a discussion of what anthropological
perspectives add to the study of human rights and the transformation
of food systems, and how these activities contribute to what we call
variously "engaged" or "public" anthropology.
Ellen Messner has been on the anthropology faculty at Yale University, Wheaton College, Rhode Island College, and Brown University, with interdisciplinary faculty appointments at Tufts University and Brandeis University. She was also the director of the World Hunger Program at Brown University (1993-1996). Her crrent research, writing, advocacy, and teaching concerns food and human rights and U.S. hunger organizations.
Location: Sumner School
November 5 (Wednesday): Subject: The Return of the US to
UNESCO
Speakers:
Beverly Zweiben, US Department of State, and Hillary Wiesner, office of the UNESCO Director
General.
Please note the change in date due to the election day.
Join WAPA in welcoming Beverly Zweiben, historian and officer in the Bureau of International Organization Affairs, U.S. Department of State, and Hillary Wiesner, executive officer and liaison to the US government from the office of the UNESCO Director General.
The programs of the United Nations Educational, Scientific, and Cultural Organization (UNESCO) should be of interest to all anthropologists. In 2002 Ms. Zweiben headed the US delegation to UNESCO's Executive Board meeting that marked America's decision to return to membership, after an absence of nearly twenty years. She will discuss the issues that led to America's withdrawal from UNESCO in the Reagan administration, and the opportunities raised by our readmission last month. She will also discuss some recent UNESCO accomplishments, including the International Declaration on Human Genetic Data and the Convention on the Preservation of Intangible Heritage, as well as the proposed International Declaration on Cultural Diversity.
Dr. Wiesner will present background and history on the withdrawal and reentry of the US into UNESCO, and put the conversation into its current context.
Location: Sumner School
December 2:
Subject: Cultural and Historical Perspectives on
the Crisis in Iraq
Meeting co-sponsor:
GWU Culture in Global
Affairs (CIGA) program
Please note change in venue for this meeting
Panel Speakers: Stephen Epstein, Office
of Transistion Initiatives, US Agency for International
Development
Dina
Khoury, Department of
History, George Washington University
Graham
Leonard, Global
Education Specialist, Cultural Strategies Institute
An anthropologist, an historian, and an educator will offer perspectives on Iraqi society and the American occupation. Presentations will be brief to allow extensive discussion. Refreshments will be served during a break between the presentations and discussion.
Location: GWU Elliott School building, 1957 E Street NW, 6th floor, Lindner Family Commons
Please note the change in venue for this meeting.
January 4: Holiday Party
WAPA'S WINTER HOLIDAY PARTY. Sunday, January 4, 4 to 7 p.m., at the home of Ruth and Michael Cernea, Bethesda. This is a traditional WAPA potluck enterprise and RSVPs as soon as possible would be helpful to Ruth Cernea at rcernea@comcast.net. Dishes with enough for eight persons are requested; members can team up on dishes.
Last Name A to G: Bring salads
Last Name H to R: Bring desserts
Last Name S to Z: Bring appetizers or breads
The hosts will contribute the main course. WAPA will supply drinks and supplies. The party is open to all current and potential members and friends.
Directions to the home of
Michael and Ruth Cernea, 6113 Robinwood Road, Bethesda, MD 20817. 301-320-5579
Our home is just off River Road, a few miles north of the District. You can reach River Road from Wisconsin Ave, Western Ave, Massachusetts Ave, or several other ways. The easiest directions are below:
From DC
North on Massachusetts until it dead ends at Goldsboro Road. Right on
Goldsboro, to River Road (first light). Left on River Road (be in
right lane) to Whittier Blvd (first light). Right on Whittier Blvd to
Robinwood Road (6th street on the right, at Walt Whitman High School)
White house on left, up hill
From the Beltway
River Road exit, south, toward Washington. Fourth traffic light is
Whittier Blvd. Left on Whittier, right on Robinwood (6th street on
the right)
From Rockville, etc./via
Bradley Boulevard
Old Georgetown Road to Huntingdon Parkway (church on corner). Right
on Huntingdon Parkway to Bradley Blvd. Left on Bradley to Durban
(white picket fence on corner). Right on Durbin to Plainview (second
street).
Or (from Chevy Chase area)-anywhere on Bradley to Durbin. Can only turn one way on Durbin. Right on Plainview to Robinwood Road (third street); Left on Robinwood to 6113.
By Metro
Bethesda station. Pick up cab at the Hyatt Hotel, just above the
Metro station (about $6). Tell the driver to take Bradley to Durbin,
Durbin to Plainview, Plainview to Robinwood, as above.
January 6, 2004: Conserving Place: Prince William Forest Park and the African American Experience, 1933-1945
Speaker: Sue Ann Perkins Taylor, Ph.D., R.N.
In the absence of built form, the conservation of place depends on the memories of those who lived there. The goal of reconstructing the experiences of African Americans entails creating a microhistory of ordinary people's lives by exploring the circumstances of daily living within the context of the larger society. It includes the examination of political and personal accounts of what transpired in a particular place and at a particular time.
Oral histories were collected from families displaced for the construction of parklands by the Civilian Conservation Corps as part of FDR's New Deal programs and again when the site became training grounds for the Office of Strategic Services (OSS) during WWII. Through stories and public and private documents, the conservation of this place is possible. Recommendations are made to the National Park Service for acknowledging the rich cultural history that is at risk of being lost.
Sue Taylor is a research and training consultant in urban and applied medical anthropology and gerontology. Dr. Taylor received her Ph.D. in anthropology from the University of Massachusetts, Amherst, MA. She holds M.A. and B.A. degrees in anthropology from the University of Cincinnati, Cincinnati, OH and is a registered nurse. Dr. Taylor was Director of the Master's Degree Program in Applied Medical Anthropology at Wayne State University, Detroit, MI. While there she also served as the Director of the Minority Aging Program and Faculty Associate for the Institute of Gerontology. She also taught at Miami University, Oxford, OH and Howard University, Washington, DC.
She was appointed to the Michigan Commission for Services to the Aged, 1981-84, and was a delegate to the 1995 White House Conference on Aging. She served as a Research Fellow for the Ohio Department of Mental Health. She has had experience as a Director of Nursing in Long-term Care facilities in Michigan and Ohio. Currently, she serves on the Board of Directors of the National Caucus and Center on Black Aged in Washington, DC.
Dr. Taylor's research interests include the collection of oral histories of older African Americans. Previous work included the coping strategies of African American women. She continues to collect stories of the experiences of African Americans on the Home Front during World War II. Most recently her focus is on the concepts of place and memory. She lives in Washington, DC with her husband, William Wesley Taylor, architect. They have three grown children.
Location: Sumner School
February 3: Subject:
Flashpoints for Amazonian Native People Impacted by the Hydrocarbon
Industry: The Camisea Project in Peru; Texaco and Sarayacu in
Ecuador
Panel Chair: Leslie Brownrigg
A panel discussion will focus on the impacts of Amazonian petrochemical exploitation on Amazonian native peoples, their environment, and the structure of the native peoples' self-assertion and environmentalist advocacy. The discussion will compare recent (2000-2003) efforts to get "tribal people" /social impact/environmental considerations funding in front of international lending for the CAMISEA gas pipeline project (just beginning in Peru) with the Shushufindi (and other) gas, petroleum, refinery and pipeline complex in eastern Ecuador. Thirty years later, the dire predictions of human and environmental devastation can be observed. The situation the petroleros left behind is subject to ongoing litigation against Chevron-Texaco, to obtain funds for the clean-up and mitigation. (This foreign tort claims act case was referred from federal court to Ecuador and hearing opened there on October 13, 2003.)
Leslie Brownrigg will present a briefing on the Camisea natural gas project in Peru and current petroleum controversies in Ecuador, and profile the impacts on the various affected native Amazonian people. Leslie lived long term in both Peru and Ecuador, working on development projects, and continues to visit and follow issues in these Andean nations.
Amy Gray will discuss how Peruvian and international NGOs coordinated a campaign against IADB and Ex-Im public financing of the private Camisea Consortium in 2003. Amy spearheaded the Bank Information Center's participation in that and other campaigns as the BIC director for Latin America. Amy has worked on issues intersecting human rights and development finance for many years.
It is anticipated that there may be other panels members at the time of the meeting.
Web pages relating to this topic will remain active on the WAPA web site at http://www.smcm.edu/wapa/amazon/index.html. Contributions are welcomed.
March 2: Subject: Apprenticeship for the Professional Anthropologist
Panel Organizers: Judd Antin, Andrea Berardi, Stanley Herman, Tamar Johnson, and Maria Weir
Student Liaison: Judith Freidenberg, U Maryland
Practicing anthropologists, like all professionals, engage in an ongoing process of professional development through education and experience. During that process, anthropologists often find themselves acting as an apprentice under the direction of a supervisor or "mentor," learning the essential skills and knowledge which come only from experience. Because anthropologists' primary tools for analysis are sociocultural tools, experience is perhaps even more crucial to the development of an anthropologist. Experiences gained as an apprentice can have a profound impact on the progression of a novice anthropologist's career. This presentation will examine apprenticeship through the eyes of the student apprentice--from an "emic" perspective--by discussing the experiences of the presenters. Through an examination of several contexts in which apprenticeship exists--notably the context of the young anthropologist transitioning from theory to praxis--this presentation will attempt to foster thought and discussion which can be beneficial for new and experienced professionals alike.
Questions addressed:
Included also:
Format:
Each of 5 presenters will give a short, 5-8 minute presentation, followed by a 20-minute discussion period
April 13: Masiphumelele High School: Re-schooling the Social Movements in South Africa
Speaker: Dan Moshenberg, Acting Director, Spring 2004, Women's Studies Program, and Associate Professor of English, The George Washington University
In 2002, the Western Cape Anti-Eviction Campaign joined with other members of Mandela Park, in Khayelitsha, on the outskirts of Cape Town, to address a perceived crisis of violence, in particular street crimes, in their community. The AEC and community members felt a relationship existed between so-called criminal activities in their neighbourhoods and the presence of large numbers of youth on the streets during school hours. Under the aegis of the AEC's Right to Education Campaign, the community organised and conducted a survey and found that 400some youth had been excluded from school due to inability to pay fees or to age restrictions. Further, the students, their families, and the community at large emphatically indicated that they wanted a school. From this emerged the Masiphumelele/People's Power High School.
The community sought out teachers who were committed to the vision of a people's right to education and who were prepared to volunteer, for as long as necessary, their time, energy, and expertise. They found teachers, many of whom were retrenched or unemployed and all of whom were registered. They found space, however inadequate to their numbers and needs, at the Andile Nose Community Centre. Materials, again however inadequate, were donated by local supporters. An administrative structure was established to ensure a continuing relationship with the community. In response to the numbers of students and restricted circumstances, ie crowded time and space, additional systems were put in place. All of this occurred before the doors formally opened to learners in February 2003.
Within a week, Masiphumelele/People's Power High School had registered well over a thousand learners. Well over a thousand learners from Mandela Park and surrounds voted with their feet and their minds to demand an education. They wanted to learn, they deserved a future, and they believed it was the responsibility of all to work to ensure that.
By September 2003, Masiphumelele/People's Power High School was no more. Dramatic as that seems, this is not a tale of failure. This paper follows the high school's rise and dissolution through incorporation, and re-emergence across the Western Cape and beyond. By so doing, it attempts to read the lessons of Masiphumelele/People's Power High School.
Daniel Moshenberg is currently the Director of the Women's Studies Program at the George Washington University. He has worked with women's movements, youth movements, worker and trade union movements, anti-privatization and anti-eviction movements, and landless peoples' movements, in South Africa, where he has taught at the Centre for Adult and Continuing Education at the University of the Western Cape [1995] and at the Centre for Higher Education Development at the University of Cape Town [2003].
NOTE: This is a date change from the original calendar
May 4 Subject: Participatory Ethnomusicology
Organizer: Laurie Krieger
Bring your kazoos and dijeridoos! May will be a participatory ethnomusicology meeting.
Please bring instruments and music from your field site; dances also welcome, as are accompanying recordings. Please be prepared to tell us (in 5 minutes) something about the music and/or dance, its cultural context, and how you learned it. Not feeling musical? Either bring a recording or suggest a musically uninhibited anthropologist we may contact and invite to perform and speak. We'll start off the evening with Mark Edberg, performing and discussing narco-corridas from the U.S.-Mexican border, the subject of his highly acclaimed and soon-to-be-published dissertation. To volunteer yourself or another, please call Laurie Krieger at (301) 942-9718--you can also just show up with an instrument in hand and a song in your heart.
June 6: WAPA Spring Picnic Cruise
This is the final event of the WAPA calendar year. By popular demand, another boat trip on the Potomac is the activity.
Get out your sailor hats for Sunday, June 6, 6:30-8:30 pm. Our boat will sail from the waterfront docks at Alexandria. WAPA will supply various snack foods and some beverages.
The boat has a capacity of 50 people, so it's first come, first served. Tickets are $15 per person.
Interested sailors should make a reservation via to our captain, Ruth Cernea, via e-mail: rcernea@comcast.net. This should be accompanied by a check to her address:
6113 Robinwood
Road
Bethesda, MD 20817
2002-2003 Calendar
October 1:
"Conservation as Social Science"
James D.
Nations, Vice
President of Development Agency Relations at Conservation
International, will speak on the nature of anthropology in the
conservation movement. Given his experience a leading anthropologist
in the field of environmental conservation, this promises to be a
most informative evening.
During the past 20 years, Dr. Nations has worked for the conservation of tropical ecosystems in Mexico, Central America and South America. As a Lincoln-Juarez Scholar, he lived for three years among the Lacandon Maya, an indigenous group in the lowland tropical forest of Chiapas, Mexico. As a Tinker Foundation post-doctoral fellow with the University of California-Berkeley, he spent two years in Mexico, studying alternatives to deforestation. From 1987 to 1990, he lived in Guatemala as a Senior Fulbright Research Scholar. As technical advisor to Guatemala's National Council for Protected Areas (CONAP), he led the international team that established Guatemalaís three-million acre Maya Biosphere Reserve.
Dr. Nations' research
has focused on the interface between human communities and protected
areas, frontier agriculture, population dynamics, and the human
exploitation of tropical forests. Dr. Nations holds a Ph.D. in
anthropology from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. For
a more extensive look at Dr. Nations' rich CV, please go to the WAPA
web site or go directly to http://www.smcm.edu/wapa/nations.html.
Sumner School, 7 p.m.
October 29:
New Member
Wine and Welcome
The wine
& cheese reception for new WAPA members is scheduled for Tuesday,
October 29, 5:30-7:30 pm. Plan on attending this fun and informal
event. The reception allows newer and prospective members to get to
know each other and to meet long-time WAPA members as well. The
reception will be held in the international programs office of LTG
Associates, located at 1101 Vermont Ave NW, at the corner of L
Street, between 14th and 15th streets. The nearest Metros are
McPherson Square and Farragut North. Parking is nearby on 14th and L
streets. The building entry in next to an Au Bon Pain and has
"American Medical Association" over the front doors.
Take the elevator to the 9th floor and someone will meet you there. Please arrive before 6 pm. If you arrive after 6, tell the guard at the lobby desk who you are and where you are going. If needed, the guard should ring the office at 898-9040, ext 151. A WAPA person will escort you to the reception.
It is important that we know early how many plan to attend so we can plan refreshments. Further, we need to provide a list of attendees to the security guard. With this in mind, please RSVP no later than Thursday, October 24, 2002, either by e-mail to Susan.Abbott-Jamieson@noaa.gov or by phone to Susan Abbott-Jamieson at (301) 713-2328 x 101. You can leave a message on her voice mail.
1101 Vermont Ave., NW , Suite 900 5:30 p.m.
Wednesday, November 6:
"The Environment, Human Rights and Anthropology:
Lessons from the Trenches"
Jason
Clay, Ph.D.,
Senior Fellow at the World Wildlife Fund, will speak at WAPA's
November meeting on WEDNESDAY, November 6. Please make a note of this
date change, as the first Tuesday in November is an election day (get
out and vote!).
Dr. Jason Clay, an anthropologist by training, has taught at Harvard, worked in the USDA, and spent more than 20 years working with human rights and environmental NGOs. Clay spent more than a decade developing research methods to document and predict human rights abuses, genocide and ethnocide, social conflict, and man-made famines. In the 1980s, he was one of the inventors of green marketing and established a trading company within an NGO that developed markets for rainforest products with nearly 200 companies in the US and Europe (including such products as Rainforest Crunch with Ben & Jerry's ice cream). Retail sales of rainforest products amounted to more than $100 million per year by 1992.
More recently, Clay has been engaged in detailed examinations of the social and environmental impacts of commodity production. In 1996 he began to research ways to reduce the impacts of shrimp aquaculture, and in 1999, he created the Shrimp Aquaculture and the Environment Consortium (WWF, World Bank, FAO and NACA). He co-directed the work of the consortium to identify and analyze better management practices that address the environmental and social impacts of shrimp aquaculture. This work resulted in 35 cases in twenty countries. The cases range from pond level BMPs to ecosystem and national levels. The findings have been presented to more than 8,000 individuals from a wide range of groups in more than 150 meetings. The goal of the studies was to identify those practices that reduce the impacts of the industry, determine the cost of adoption and use of the practices, promote their dissemination, and develop investment and purchasing screens for shrimp from aquaculture.
Dr. Clay studied anthropology and Latin American studies at Harvard University, economics and geography at the London School of Economics, and anthropology and international agriculture at Cornell University, where he received his Ph.D. in 1979.
Clay was founder and editor (1980-1992) of the award-winning Cultural Survival Quarterly, the largest circulation anthropology and human rights publication in the world. He is the author or co-author of 12 books and more than 300 articles. He has given more than 600 invited lectures. His work has been the focus of more than 1,000 articles and documentaries and has been supported by more than 60 different funding sources. In addition, Clay has consulted with the World Bank, BID/I-ADB, US AID, UN FAO, UNCTAD, UNEP, UNDP, Ford Foundation, Rockefeller Foundation, Packard Foundation, and hundreds of international environmental, human rights, and community-based NGOs.
Dr. Clay is currently a Senior Fellow at World Wildlife Fund and Acting VP for WWF's Center for Conservation Innovation.
SUMNER SCHOOL, 7 p.m.
December 3:
"DILEMMAS OF
ANTHROPOLOGISTS WORKING ON AIDS RESEARCH WITH OR WITHIN USAID"
Panelists: Daniel Halperin, Ted Green, Stan Yoder. Anthropologists working professionally
outside academia may have great opportunities to shape policy and
formulate the research priorities of donors and institutions. Those
working on AIDS research with or within USAID have, from time to
time, had the opportunity to shape research questions and overall
strategies.
The evening will be devoted to a discussion of the experiences of anthropologists who have conducted research on AIDS in the past and who are each currently involved in USAID-sponsored AIDS research.
Ted Green, Daniel Halperin, and Stan Yoder will tell brief stories about their efforts to shape policy relating to one aspect of AIDS research and interventions within USAID. They will talk about how they have accepted, rejected, or sought to reshape the vision within USAID of AIDS research and intervention in the light of their own concerns and professional judgment. The audience will then be invited to share their experiences with AIDS research in the context of conflicting priorities.
Daniel Halperin is an anthropologist who has done extensive research on HIV/AIDS while based at the University of California in San Francisco. He is currently doing HIV/AIDS and HIV prevention research for USAID in Washington, D.C.
Stan Yoder is an anthropologist who designs and directs health-related research for Macro International, the company that conducts the Demographic and Health Surveys (DHS) around the world. His areas of expertise include ethnomedicine in African countries, the evaluation of health communication campaigns, research methodology, and HIV/AIDS. Stan has conducted research in a dozen countries in West and Central Africa.
Ted Green is an anthropologist currently based at Harvard University, where he is writing a book on behavior change and AIDS in Uganda while serving as Principal Investigator for a multi-country study of AIDS and behavior change financed by USAID. Ted has done consultancies in dozens of countries around the world, and has published widely, both books and articles, on the work of traditional healers in Africa and ideas of illness in Africa.
Also at Tuesday's meeting:
AAAS FELLOWSHIP PROGRAM
To encourage WAPA
anthropologists to apply for the AAAS Fellowship Program before the
January deadline, Dr. Deborah J. Cahalen, a former fellow, will
briefly describe how she came to apply, what she did during her
fellowship, and her transition out of the experience. There will be a
few minutes for questions.
In 2001, Deborah Cahalen joined the U.S. Department of State's Bureau for Democracy, Human Rights and Labor, where she is responsible for reviewing and recommending U.S. policy and programs on democracy and human rights in 21 nations in East Asia and the Pacific. She has also worked in the Department's Office of Indonesia and East Timor. Prior to her employment at the State Department, she was a faculty member at the State University of New York, Binghamton. Dr. Cahalen has consulted on international development programs and policy for USDA, has obtained grants for and directed development and research projects in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union, and has authored many articles and a book (in press) on the subject of democracy and globalization. She has also taught at NYU and at the University of California, Davis. In 2000 she was selected as a Diplomacy Fellow by the American Association for the Advancement of Science.
Sumner School, 7 p.m.
January 7, 2003: "Anthropology, Public Policy, and the Sustainability Transition: Reflections from the Field."
Speaker: Twig Johnson
Twig Johnson works in the Policy and Global Affairs Division of the National Academy of Science, leading efforts to build a "Science and Technology for Sustainability Program." He received his Ph.D. in ecological anthropology from Columbia University, taught at Queens College, CUNY and the University of Maine, and spent two years as a visiting scientist at MIT. He has worked for the US Agency for International Development as: Director of the Office of Environment and Natural Resources, Director of the Office of Regional Sustainable Development for Latin America; Chief of the Policy Studies Division and of the UN Division. Additional public service includes: Peace Corps/Brazil (Volunteer and later as Country Director); Chair of the Tropical Ecosystems Directorate of US Man and the Biosphere Program; and, at the United Nations, Chief of Evaluation and Planning for UNICEF. He has been a member of the International Advisory Group of the Pilot Program for the Amazon (Brazil, G-7, World Bank), Member of the US Delegation to the UNCED Earth Summit and the Summit of the Americas - Santa Cruz. Within the NGO community Twig Johnson has worked as Executive Director, Center for Field Research, Earthwatch, and most recently, as Regional Director and VP for Latin America of the World Wildlife Fund.
Sumner School, 7 p.m.
January 12: Holiday Party.
WAPA'S WINTER PARTY, Sunday January 12, 2003, 3-7 p.m.
At the home of Ruth and Michael
Cernea 6113 Robinwood Road, Bethesda, MD 20817
RSVP: rcernea@comcast.net or 301-320-5579
WAPA will provide the main dish, hot cider and beverages.
You are invited to bring:
A side dish: (those with
surnames beginning with A-G)
Desserts: (last names beginning with H-O)
Salad: (if your surname begins with P-Z)
DIRECTIONS:
From Washington DC: N