Renowned, nonconformist anthropologist pens poignant memoir

A remarkable account of public health advocacy in developing nations interwoven with vivid details of a rich, adventurous life

WASHINGTON, DC – Medical anthropologist, former Harvard AIDS Prevention Project director, and former member of the Presidential Advisory Council on HIV/AIDS bares his personal and professional adventures as a rebel researcher and intrepid traveler in his stunning memoir, “On the Fringe: Confessions of a Maverick Anthropologist” (Black Rose Writing, October 19th, 2023).  Click here for more information.

FREE ADMISSION

NYU Washington, DC -1307 L Street Northwest

Thursday, November 30, 2017 from 8:00 PM to 9:30 PM (EST)

This public event is in conjunction with the 116th Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association (AAA) held in Washington DC, November 29 – December 3.  World on the Move: 100,000 Years of Human Migration is an AAA initiative designed to change the public conversation about migration, immigration, and displacement. The special event will include the screening of El mar la mar, a documentary on undocumented immigration.

Still taken from film, El mar la mar (2017)

 Over the last 20 years, the US border patrol is alleged to have retrieved 6,029 human remains from the arid terrain of the Sonoran desert that stretches across the US-Mexico border. The bodies of thousands of others who have tried to enter the US through this treacherous stretch of desert may have been obliterated by the sun before they were found.

 El mar la mar shares the harrowing stories of individuals who attempt this journey. Filmmakers Joshua Bonnetta and JP Sniadecki spent almost three years documenting this hostile environment, filming the landscape, recording wildlife, and talking to border rangers, aid workers and people-smugglers to put together a film that speaks to the devastating reality that many who set out to find a better life in the US never make it through.

Trailer: https://vimeo.com/205561041

We have several open positions on the WAPA Board. These can be a great way to help out and learn more about the organization while meeting active members. Open positions and responsibilities follow. Please contact Erik Kjeldgaard with questions, nominations, or to volunteer.

Secretary – Take notes during WAPA board meetings, draft notes for board review, and post final notes on website.

Membership/Communications Liaison –update information for events in the events tab, schedule events emails, field requests to send things out to the membership/contacts list, assist with any issues related to updating membership, edit all automatic communications with membership to reflect accurate information, serve as the point of contact for prospective members or members and send those individuals to the appropriate contact, collaborate with the social media team on a social media strategy and protocol

The deadline for the biennial Praxis Award, the premier anthropological practitioner award, is July 1. See the Praxis section of this website for details and instructions. Good luck to all applicants around the world!

SAVE THE DATE for the WAPA Summer Party, June 3-4, 2017.  Bill Roberts, chair of the Department of Anthropology at St. Mary’s College of Maryland will be hosting WAPA’s 2017 end of season party.  We will car pool down to St. Mary’s in southern Maryland for a day of sun, sailing, kayaking, good food, and good conversation.  Bill will also lead us through a visioning exercise to help us think about what we want WAPA to be over the next 5-10 years. For those who are interested you can also stay overnight for a nominal fee.  If you have questions, you can contact Frances Norwood at fnorwood@gwu.edu.  Otherwise, we will post more information about the event as we get closer.

Welcome to our new Careers Coordinator, Julia Klima.

Julia has had a lifelong interest in history, archeology, and human behavior that has led to earn a Bachelor of Arts in Anthropology from Drew University with a concentration in archeology. She later completed a Masters’ in Public Anthropology from American University with a concentration on historic archeology and cultural heritage tourism. Since graduating in 2014 Julia has pursued museum experience, serving as a Museum Management Intern for the National Park Service and a Collections Education and Outreach Intern for the National Woman’s Party. Her work is informed by an orientation toward the public; specifically the belief that institutions have a responsibility to increase access to collections materials and the knowledge produced by their study. Through increased access and dialogue she believes that institutions can work with their audiences to increase the diversity of populations and perspectives represented in cultural heritage spaces such as museums, parks, and historic sites. Julia is currently seeking collections management positions and welcome opportunities to hone my skills in any aspect of museum operations. 

1. Website editor -- we use a really easy to operate webpage.  The website editor is responsible for updating and sprucing the website and for posting membership announcements.  This position is open now.  You can check it out here:

http://wapa.cloverpad.org/

2. Communications and Social Media Coordinator -- This position opens in June and is responsible for all communications to the membership via emails from the website, LinkedIn, Twitter, and Facebook.  

3. Student representative(s) -- These are revolving positions and we are always recruiting for students from each of the local schools to serve as liaisons with your department and to help us plan and schedule WAPA Meetups (happy hours, book clubs, salons on special topics, etc.) around the area.

4. Career Coordinator(s)-- Are you currently job hunting?  You can help yourself and other anthropologists by posting anything remotely anthropology-friendly to the jobs listserv, including job opportunities here and abroad (we love to travel), internships, grants and other opportunities.  You can also help coordinate the speaker event that we do at least once a year focusing on supporting job and career skills training. This is usually good for 1-2 people.

5. Bloggers -- Do you love to blog?  What better than to combine your love of blogging with our new blog, WAPA Features.  I'll be taking over as editor and I'm looking for those who can blog about anything anthropology-related.  It could be research you're thinking about or a random event you witnessed.  It will be about WAPA events, speakers and books.  It can be about current events with an anthropological eye.  Anything goes.

If you're curious and want to know more about any of these positions, contact Fannie Norwood by email or by phone.  

Fannie

571-235-5417 cell

We are excited to share the results of an informal survey conducted by WAPA Board Member Laurie Krieger and Alicia ReCruz. Please direct all questions and comments to: lekrieger@aol.com

Click here to see the file in PDF or PPT form. 

The Washington Association of Professional Anthropologists (WAPA) represents anthropologists living and working across the greater D.C. region.  WAPA is one of the oldest and largest regional associations of professional anthropologists in the United States.  In the wake of the 2016 national U.S. elections, we resolve the following:

We condemn and will actively work against policies, programs, and inflammatory rhetoric that support racist, anti-immigrant, sexist, gender-biased, religious or otherwise discriminatory or divisive views;

We recognize the US. is a country of immigrants and we value and support diversity and the unique differences that we share, be it dimensions of race, ethnicity, gender, sexual orientation, socio-economic status, age, physical abilities, religious beliefs, political beliefs, or other ideologies; and

We condemn the use of inflammatory rhetoric and false information from the new administration and others to incite hate crimes, discrimination,  or violence towards any community, including but not limited to African Americans, LGBTQ, refugees and asylum seekers, new immigrants, women, persons with disabilities, and seniors;

We condemn and will actively work against unconstitutional policies and programs that may suppress freedom of speech, freedom of the press, and the right to assemble and peacefully protest;

We resolve to stand in on-going support of the pursuit of scientific inquiry into the human condition for the betterment of the communities in which we conduct our research.  We value the use of social science, empirical evidence and scholarly inquiry as the basis for illuminating, supporting, and valuing diversity.

We resolve that the Washington Association of Professional Anthropologists will stand in solidarity with anyone who feels unfairly threatened or attacked because of their beliefs, orientation, racial or ethnic background.

Washington Association of Professional Anthropologists

April 17, 2017

Feeling left out of AAA? Have something you'd like to tell the AAA Board?

This highly participatory roundtable will give you the opportunity. Sponsored by AAA's Committee for Practicing, Applied, and Public Interest Anthropology (CoPAPIA), a summary of the discussion will be sent to CoPAPIA and the AAA leadership.

Time: Saturday, 11/19/16 from 12:15-1:30 pm