Society for Anthropological Sciences
Minutes of the First Annual Business Meeting
Thursday, November 20, 2003
Meeting was convened by Stu Plattner at 6:15 pm in the Williford A room of the Chicago Hilton. Approximately 50 people were in attendance.
The first order of business was a report from Secretary Peter Peregrine on the election. Peregrine reported that the following slate of officers had been adopted by a vote of 98 to 1:
President: Stuart PlattnerAt Large Members:
H. Russell BernardStudent Members:
Ana PitchonThe second order of business was a report from Treasurer Carmella Moore. Moore was not present, and her report was submitted in abstentia, as follows: last year the SAS had $2105 in its coffers; during the 2002-2003 fiscal year SAS spent a total of $50 on postage and copying; as of November 20 th SAS had $2855.
The third order of business was a report from Editor Michael Fischer. Fischer announced that Doug White had arranged with University of California Press for an e-journal for SAS. More information will be forthcoming.
The fourth order of business was recruitment. Ana Pitchon reported on a poll of graduate students she recently completed. Pitchon reported that graduate students would like methods workshops, a directory of resources, and a mentoring network.
Stu Plattner made the point that we need 250 members as soon as possible. At present we have about 220 total members, about 175 of whom are also members of the AAA. We need 75 additional AAA members to become a section. Discussion followed, and numerous suggestions were made about how to attract additional members. Most supported the idea of personal calls and e-mails to colleagues. Several of the student members present made the point that there are many students in the AAA, and we should reach out to them. There was broad support for this idea.
A motion was made by Jeff Johnson, seconded by Alice Schlegel, to make student membership in SAS free. The motion passed unanimously.
Discussion then turned to the idea of a mentoring network for students. Many ideas were put forward, and Michael Fischer handled most of them, as most centered around the possibilities of using the SAS web site as the hub of the mentoring network. It was agreed that Fischer would work on creating a web form into which student SAS members could put there topical, geographical, theoretical, and methodological interests, and be paired with senior anthropologists working in one or more of those areas. Jeff Johnson asked if senior anthropologist information would also be public (with the implication that students could search for and choose mentors if they wanted). The benefits and drawbacks of this approach were discussed.
A motion was made by Jeff Johnson, seconded by Carol Ember, that mentor's biographical information and areas of expertise will be public on the web.
Stu Plattner then asked whether SAS should create a student paper prize. There was broad support for the idea, and Margot Hurwitz, Rick Steppe, and Norbert Ross agreed to organize a student paper prize.
David Kronenfeld then introduced the idea that SAS might host a meeting with another professional organization. Alice Schlegel then put forward an offer from the Society for Cross-Cultural Research to meet jointly with them in Santa Fe in February of 2005. Dwight Read offered the Lake Arrowhead Conference, meeting in May 2005, as another venue. Discussion followed, and there was general interest in meeting with SCCR, which the Board will pursue.
Stu Plattner then asked for volunteers for a nominations committee to put together a slate of candidates for next year's election. Jorge Roche, David Kennedy, and Penn Handwerker kindly volunteered for the task.
Additional discussion followed on a number of points, but with the time already well beyond the scheduled closing of the meeting, Plattner moved to adjourn, with Peregrine seconding. The meeting adjourned at 7:50 pm.
Respectfully submitted,
Peter N. Peregrine