Happy Hours
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Program Schedule
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To research past WAPA events back to 2002, see the calendar archives
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Happy Hours
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Program Schedule
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To research past WAPA events back to 2002, see the calendar archives
Topics and speakers are subject to change.
WAPA 2009-2010
Sunday, September 13: Welcome Back Fall Party, 2-5 p.m.
Location: Home of Rob and Kate Winthrop
130 10th St. NE, Capitol Hill
Washington, DC 20002
202-544-2977
Every Fall WAPA gathers and gets reaquainted with old members and new friends. Join us for the annual WAPA Welcome Back Fall Party on Sunday, September 13, 2009 from 2 to 5 p.m. at the home of Kate and Rob Winthrop, 130 10th St NE, on Capitol Hill just off Mass. Ave.
This will be a traditional WAPA potluck, open to WAPA members, potential members, and friends.
FOOD:
Rob and Kate will provide some beverages, paper plates, napkins, utensils, ice, etc. Participants please provide:
Appetizers: Those with last names beginning G-L
Salad: Those with last names A - F
Main Dish: Those fortunate few with last names S-Z
Dessert: Those with last names M - R
DIRECTIONS:
Go to Mapquest or another direction finder for specific directions, or click here to see a neighborhood map.
From Virginia, follow 395 into the city, exit at 6th St. SE, go north and then veer right onto North Carolina Avenue, then go left (north) onto 10th St for a couple of blocks. The house is just past Massachusetts Ave.
From Maryland, in the simplest but longest route, you can take Central Avenue towards DC off the Beltway past RFK Stadium and onto East Capitol St. SE. As you go around Lincoln Park, head off onto Mass Ave. for a block, then right (north) on 10th St. Better still, devise your own route from your location.
From DC, head to Capitol Hill, go past Union Station on Mass Ave. NE, then left on 10th St.
Metro: The nearest Metro stations are Eastern Market (about 6 blocks) and Union Station (about 10 blocks).
We look forward to seeing you there and kicking off another great WAPA year!
Tuesday, October 6 Subject: Revitalizing and Preserving Endangered Indigenous Languages
Sumner School, 7 pm. Dinner at 5:30
Speaker: Susan D. Penfield, Program Director, Documenting Endangered Languages Program
By some estimates, at the present rate the world is losing a language roughly every two weeks. The Documenting Endangered Languages Program at the National Science Foundation was, "Made urgent by the imminent death of an estimated half of the 6000-7000 currently used human languages..." Speaking communities are making efforts, through a variety of means, to revitalize and bring back into use these mostly indigenous and unwritten languages. A level of activism is called for to raise awareness both locally and in broader contexts about the high cost of language loss, not just to communities individually but to all humanity.
At present, the efforts to ensure linguistic diversity are heavily divided between documenting and revitalizing endangered languages: Linguists have responded by carefully documenting, using new audio and video digital recording technology, rigorous analysis and the appropriate archiving of language data. Communities have responded by seeking ways to revitalize--actually teach and use--the languages again. Ideally, the documented language data provided by scientists form the basis for strong revitalization activities called for by the speaking communities. Documenting endangered languages invites participation from not only linguistics per se, but computational and theoretical linguistics, field and applied linguistics, but also applied anthropology, education, and policy (language rights).
This interaction between researchers and communities has led to a shift in power, in many cases, where communities of speakers are taking charge of the language-based activities and getting the training needed to work on their own languages. This talk addresses how speaking communities can be better served by the scientific community through training, materials development, and funding support. Susan believes building community capacity to work on their own heritage languages is the only way to fully restore the vitality of endangered languages. Team efforts are needed and team building is a serious consideration for most projects involving research in community contexts.
What works in revitalizing languages continues to be a bit of a mystery – there are some success stories to be told but in most cases, it is still unclear what counts as real success. For example, is success marked when one new fluent speaker is created? Or is it considered success when a new immersion school is created and thirty first graders begin to learn the language? Issues arise as to what version of the language should be taught and what is most important to save (legends, stories or simple conversation)? The process of making decisions related to documenting language is often guided by scientists, but ultimately rests with the community of speakers who are responsible for the sustainability of the language.
Susan D. Penfield is currently the Program Director for the Documenting Endangered Languages Program, which is an interagency partnership between the National Science Foundation, the National Endowment for the Humanities and the Smithsonian Institution. Dr. Penfield received her Ph.D. at the University of Arizona in linguistics (1980), where she continues as a researcher affiliated with the Department of English, the Second Language Acquisition and Teaching Ph.D. Program, the Department of Linguistics, the Department of Language, Reading and Culture, and the Southwest Center. She is also a frequent instructor for the American Indian Language Development Institute, a summer training program for Native Americans who are involved in language documentation and revitalization of their heritage languages. For over thirty years, Dr. Penfield has been a consultant working with the Colorado River Indian Tribes (Parker, Arizona) in language teaching, research and preservation related to the indigenous languages of that area, Mohave and Chemehuevi.
Relevant Links:
DEL/NSF website: http://www.nsf.gov/funding/pgm_summ.jsp?pims_id=12816
Press Releases (funded projects) http://www.nsf.gov/news/news_summ.jsp?cntn_id=104138&org=SBE&from=news
NEH / DEL website (sample proposals) http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/del.html
Nkwusm School Website: http://salishworld.com/ (an example of one community's response)
Teaching Indigenous Languages: http://jan.ucc.nau.edu/~jar/TIL.html
Endangered Language Documentation Program: http://www.hrelp.org/
Sunday, November 1 Subject: Ruth Cernea Memorial Lecture: "The Anthropology of Jews and the Jews in Anthropology"
Katzen Arts Center, American University, 3 p.m. SHARP! PLEASE BE SEATED BY 2:45 p.m.! (Remember that clocks fall back 1 hour on Nov. 1)
Speaker: Jonathan Boyarin, Leonard and Tobee Kaplan Distinguished Professor of Religious Studies at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill
Jonathan Boyarin, PhD, JD, is the slated speaker for the special Ruth F. Cernea Memorial Lecture at the Katzen Arts Center's Recital Hall. A reception will follow. The lecture also serves as the November gathering for WAPA.
The Memorial Lecture honors the late Ruth Fredman Cernea, PhD, a cultural anthropologist and scholar of the Jewish Diaspora, and the author of several books on Jewish culture, symbols and history. She was also a past president and long-time active member of WAPA. More than 20 years of research and interviews went into her most recent book, "Almost Englishmen: Baghdadi Jews in British Burma" (2007). Her other books include "The Great Latke-Hamantash Debate" (2006), "The Passover Seder: Afikoman in Exile" (1995; original 1981), and she was the long-time editor of the "Hillel Guide to Jewish Life on Campus," an annual guide for the national Hillel Foundation.
An anthropologist and lawyer, Boyarin's research and writing combine both specialties in the exploration of new pathways in the study of Jewish, including Yiddish, culture. He is the author or editor of 13 books and numerous articles on such various topics as Jewish culture and identity, communities of the Diaspora, the relation between Jewish history and Jewish cultural studies, Yiddish language and culture, critical theory, and medieval and early modern Christianity. His books include "Thinking in Jewish," "Palestine and Jewish History," and "Powers of Diaspora."
This is the first time WAPA has honored the memory and research of a departed member by organizing a public memorial lecture and it speaks to the place that Ruth holds in our hearts. The lecture is being supported through donations by WAPA members and also a number of co-sponsors. They include the American University Department of Anthropology as well as the University of Maryland Anthropology Department, the University of Maryland Hillel Center, the Hillel Foundation for Campus Jewish Life, and the US ASEAN Business Council's Project for Musmeah Yeshua Synagogue. Additional support is provided by the University of Chicago Press.
Should you wish to join us in contributing, please see the information page about the lecture.
The Katzen Arts Center is located at 4400 Massachusetts Ave. NW, off Ward Circle at the corner of Nebraska Avenue NW, on the campus of American University.
Tuesday, December 1 Subject: Freedmens Cemetery, Alexandria, VA
Sumner School, 7 pm. Dinner at 5:30, Beacon Hotel
Speaker: Dr. Eric Larsen
The Contrabands and Freedmen's Cemetery, located on the southern edge of the City of Alexandria, Virginia, was established out of necessity during the years of the Civil War. A new burial ground was needed to accommodate the growing population of escapees from slavery that came to Alexandria during the War. During the years of its operation (from the start of 1864 until early 1869), some 1,800 individuals were buried in this cemetery. After the War, the government abandoned the cemetery and the grounds stood largely neglected through the end of the 19th century. The cemeteries boundaries met encroachments by the city's development during the late 19th and early 20th century. Over subsequent years the cemetery came to be "forgotten." Some forty years later, the cemetery found its way back into public memory and is currently in the process of being redeveloped by the City of Alexandria as the "Contrabands and Freedmen's Cemetery Memorial."
Eric Larsen has worked as an archaeologist in the Mid-Atlantic region for over 20 years. He worked a number of years at Harpers Ferry National Historical Park, and then with the Archaeology in Annapolis Project on the Courthouse Site, an African-American neighborhood. Eric received his Ph.D. from SUNY at Buffalo while working on the Courthouse Site. Since that time he has been working on sites in and around the Washington DC area. Eric's work has focused around Landscapes of Identity and Landscapes of Memory. The Freedmen's Cemetery Site has provided an opportunity to examine the relationship between space and identity.
A report on the Freedmen's cemetery was published in 2008 in Alexandria Archaeology, Vol. XXV, No. 2. More information can be found at http://oha.alexandriava.gov/archaeology/ar-freedmens_briefhistory.html.
Sunday, January 10 Subject: Holiday Party
The annual WAPA Holiday Party is scheduled for January 10, 4 to 8 p.m., at the home of WAPA President Stan Yoder, 216 St. Lawrence Drive, in Silver Spring.
Roast turkey, vegetarian options, and a few other dishes will be provided. WAPA will also provide drinks and supplies. WAPA members can bring a guest, and visitors are welcome. Come see old friends and make new ones.
Members are invited to bring an appetizer, salad/side dish, or dessert as follows:
Appetizers: Those with last names that begin with A-H
Salad/side dish: Those with last names that begin with I- R
Dessert: Those with last names that begin with S-Z
Time: January 10, 2010, from 4:00 to 8:00 PM
Location: 216 St. Lawrence Dr., Silver Spring, MD 20901, in the Woodmoor neighborhood, near the intersection of University Blvd. and Colesville Rd, just a quarter-mile outside the Beltway.
You can click here to see a map; if that does not work, try a search engine.
For questions please send a message to wapapresident@yahoo.com. The party is the January event; regular meetings will start again in February.
Tuesday, February 2 Subject: Anthropology Masters Careers: What the Data Show
Sumner School: Meeting at 7, dinner at 5:30 p.m.
Speakers: Shirley Fiske, CoPAPIA Survey Team Leader;
Terry Redding, Survey Coordinator
Is anthropology really a viable career choice for Masters graduates? Do graduate schools prepare anthropology MA students with the education and skills they need to succeed in the real world? Are there typical careers or employers for Masters grads? Where do anthropologists work? Do PhDs make more than MAs?
So many questions, so little time. Join us for a presentation describing survey data gathered on careers and education in anthropology. During the summer of 2009, the AAA Committee on Practicing, Applied, and Public Interest Anthropology (CoPAPIA) conducted an online survey to determine career trajectories for anthropologists. Data based on 758 North American respondents will be presented, including these tidbits:
Join us for a sneak peek to see what other revelations are shown by the survey which has yet to be publicly released, and to discuss how these data should be interpreted.
Information about the survey can be found at http://www.aaanet.org/cmtes/copapia/MAalumnisurvey.cfm.
Tuesday, March 2 Subject: Teaching Evolution in Science Classrooms
Sumner School, 7 pm. Dinner at 5:30
This panel will examine the challenges of teaching evolution in collegiate and pre-collegiate classrooms within the current sociopolitical context of US culture. Of particular focus will be presenting the concepts of evolution in regions of the country where they may not be particularly well received for religious and other reasons.
Panelists:
Tuesday, April 6 Subject: A Special Exhibit Tour at the NMHN, "Written in Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th Century Chesapeake"
Meet at the Smithsonian Institution's Natural Museum of Natural History, inside by the elephant, at 6 p.m.
Guide: Kari Bruwelheide, Forensic Anthropologist and Co-Curator
A special event will constitute our April meeting; WAPA members and friends will meet at the Smithsonian's National Museum of Natural History for a special tour of the current exhibit, "Written in Bone: Forensic Files of the 17th Century Chesapeake."
In Written in Bone, human anatomy and forensic investigation provide intriguing information on people and events of America's past. This exhibition examines history through 17th-century bone biographies, including those of colonists teetering on the edge of survival at Jamestown, Virginia, and those of wealthy and well-established individuals of St. Mary's City, Maryland. At no other time in our history have we had the technological capability or opportunities that are now available to help us tell this tale.
Reservations are required; as you know the guards are quite strict. Please email Eleanor King to reserve your spot by Thursday, April 1, at emking@howard.edu.
6 to 8 p.m., NMHN
Sumner School, 7 pm. Dinner at 5:30
Speaker: TBA
WAPA Happy Hours, 2009-2010
(Tentative schedule)
Happy hours are from 6 to 8 p.m., usually on the third Tuesday of the month. To ensure we have enough tables on hand, please send an RSVP to wapapresident (at) yahoo dot com, or to happy hour coordinator Shirley Buzzard at [sbuzzard (at) verizon dot net].
To look into past WAPA events back to 2002, see the calendar archives