Anthropology News • April 2008

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A S S O C I A T I O N B U S I N E S S

Linda Bennett CoPaPia Chair

ShirLey FiSke CoPaPia MeMBer

The Committee on Practicing, Applied and Public Interest Anthropology (CoPAPIA) has been launched as a standing committee within the AAA. Its purpose is to explore and advance the range of issues emerging as a result of the increasing numbers of anthropologists working in and outside of the academy doing practicing, applied, and public interest anthropology. The committee will take an integrative approach across the AAA sections and the subdisciplines of anthropology. Its mandate is to increase the responsiveness and attractiveness of AAA to the growing numbers of graduates with a PhD or an MA in anthropology who are working in practicing and applied anthro-pology careers.

CoPAPIA was created in response to recom-mendations made to the AAA Executive Board by the Practicing Anthropology Work Group (PAWG) in November 2006. CoPAPIA’s hall-mark mode of operating will be to engage the leadership of a broad array of AAA sections to work on mutual concerns across subdis-ciplines and degree levels. One of the initial steps in that direction is a forum to be held at the 2008 AAA Annual Meeting in San Francisco titled “Collaboration between AAA Sections in Advancing the Place of Practicing Anthropology within the AAA.” Leaders from nine sections have agreed to take part in this forum. It will be an open session, and all meeting attendees are welcome to participate.

The CoPAPIA agenda, based on PAWG recommendations and input from AAA sections, includes:

Fostering the reciprocal relationship between anthropological theory and practice. Initiatives underway in this regard include discussions with American Anthropologist (AA) Editor-in-Chief Tom Boellstorff to make the AA a more responsive journal to the work of practicing, applied and public interest anthropology and conversations with AN Associate Managing Editor Dinah Winnick to develop an expanded presence for practicing and applied anthropologists in AN.

Establishing relationships with AAA sections including, but not limited to:

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Anthropology and the Environment Section; Archaeology Division; Association of Black Anthropologists; Association of Latina and Latino Anthropologists; Association for Political and Legal Anthropology; Council on Anthropology and Education; Council for Museum Anthropology; Culture and Agriculture; General Anthropology Division; National Association for the Practice of Anthropology; National Association of Student Anthropologists; Society for the Anthropology of Food and Nutrition; Society for Medical Anthropology; Society for Psychological Anthropology; and Society for Urban, National and Transnational/Global Anthropology.

Developing recommendations for training and development, and specific member benefits to encourage non-members to join the AAA.

Maintaining a corporate presence in the ongoing dialogue regarding anthropologi-cal ethics as they affect and relate to prac-ticing anthropologists.

Increasing AAA’s visibility and engage-ment with organizations and employ-ers outside of academia. Ultimate goals include increasing AAA membership among practicing and applied anthro-pologists, and maintaining strong rela-tionships with organizations that employ anthropologists.

Members of this new committee are appointed by the AAA president and serve three-year terms. In the initial appoint-ments, staggered terms have been set. Current members are Linda Bennett (chair for the initial two years), Chip Colwell-Chanthaphonh, T J Ferguson, Shirley Fiske, Robert Hahn, Niel Tashima and Sue Squires. As the practicing/professional representa-tive on the AAA Executive Board, T J Ferguson is automatically a member of CoPAPIA. The committee’s membership reflects AAA’s need to be inclusive of as many disciplines and work contexts as possible. AAA President Setha Low is an ex-officio member. Kathleen Terry-Sharp, the director of the newly established Applied and Practicing Department within AAA, is staff liaison. The website location for CoPAPIA is www.aaanet.org/cmtes/copapia. Please contact the committee by email at applied@aaanet.org, or contact individual members directly.

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New Committee on Practicing, Applied and Public Interest Anthropology

AAA 2008 EXECUTIVE BOARD

PRESIDENT

Setha M Low (2007–09) slow@gc.cuny.edu

PRESIDENT-ElEcT

Virginia Dominguez (2007–09) vdominguez@uiuc.edu

SEcRETaRy

Dan Segal (2006–09) dsegal@pitzer.edu

aRchaEology SEaT

Deborah L Nichols (2005–08) deborah.l.nichols@dartmouth.edu

BIologIcal SEaT

Thomas L Leatherman (2005–08) leatherman@sc.edu

culTuRal SEaT

Ellen Lewin (2006–09) ellen-lewin@uiowa.edu

lINguISTIc SEaT

Monica S Heller (2005–08) mheller@oise.utoronto.ca

MINoRITy SEaT

Gwendolyn Mikell (2007–10) mikellg@georgetown.edu

PRacTIcINg/PRofESSIoNal

T J Ferguson (2007–10) tjf@wildblue.net

STuDENT SEaT

Jennifer Jackson (2006–09) anthropology.jackson@utoronto.ca

uNDESIgNaTED #1

Theodore Bestor (2006–09) bestor@wjh.harvard.edu

uNDESIgNaTED #2

Charles Briggs (2007–10) cbriggs@berkeley.edu

uNDESIgNaTED #3

Sally Engle Merry (2005–08) sally.merry@nyu.edu

uNDESIgNaTED #4 and aaa TREaSuRER

Edward Liebow (2006–09) liebowe@battelle.org

uNDESIgNaTED #5

Katherine Spielmann (2007–10) kate.spielmann@asu.edu

SEcTIoN aSSEMBly coNvENoR, Ex-offIcIo

Florence Babb (2007–08) fbabb@wst.ufl.edu