The theme of this year’s meeting is “Ghosts” and the Association of Senior Anthropologists is planning a full and rich array of in-person activities. Looking forward to seeing many of you there…

If you have any questions or suggestions, please contact Program Chair (and ASA President Elect) Rick Feinberg

Check the AAA website for further details about the meeting

SCHOLARLY SESSIONS, SOCIAL ACTIVITIES & SPECIAL EVENTS

Oral Presentation Session: Moving Beyond Ghosting and Gaslighting: Anthropological Histories That Matter
Chair: Rick Feinberg
Date: Thursday, 11/20
Time: 8:30 AM – 10:00 AM
Location: Sheraton, Edgewood AB (4th Floor)

Boas and his followers envisioned anthropology as a holistic discipline, drawing from the natural and social sciences as well as from the humanities. Their objective was to forge a comprehensive understanding of humanity in the hope that such an understanding would help solve a host of deadly problems that had grown out of racism, colonialism, exploitation, xenophobia, and warfare. Anthropology has faced enormous challenges, both from within and outside of the discipline. Many 20th century anthropologists perceived themselves as leaders in the battle against racism and imperialism. By the end of the century, however, “post-modernist” critics often dismissed “science” as an ethnocentric construct, while “scientific anthropologists” condemned their humanistically-inclined colleagues as subjective and devoid of methodological rigor. In the 21st century, these divides have widened, sometimes mapping across generational and cultural lines. One critique, coming from oppressed and disenfranchised groups as well as their activist-inspired allies, accuses our intellectual ancestors of complicity with the very evils against which they believed themselves to have been fighting. Colleagues responding to these critiques often express alarm at what they view as radical presentism. The critics, they contend, are blind to the historical trajectory of a field that centered upon social justice but whose objective was differently realized in different global and temporal contexts. External challenges are still more extreme, as politicians accuse social scientists of being “radical” or “woke” for their commitment to diversity and equity. Several US states have outlawed “DEI,” and President Trump has ordered the dismantling of all such federal initiatives. In addition,
social sciences face opposition owing to their purported irrelevance in preparing students for employment opportunities. One consequence of these attacks has been to scale back–and sometimes eliminate–anthropology programs throughout the US.
This raises the question of what our discipline will look like, or if it will exist at all, in coming decades. Our session will present a critical examination of anthropology’s history, both long-term and recent. It will, furthermore, draw lessons from that history in an attempt to visu