YU Social Anthropology Graduates' Association (SAGA) is pleased to announce a call for papers for its 2009 Interdisciplinary Conference at York University in Toronto, Canada, November 21, 2009.
YU Social Anthropology Graduates' Association Call for Papers
YU Social Anthropology Graduates' Association (SAGA) presents:
Interdisciplinary Conference at York University, Toronto, Canada
November 21, 2009
Playing the Field
playingthefield2009@gmail.com
http://www.playingthefield2009.wordpress.com
Throughout much of the history of socio-cultural anthropology, fieldwork, particularly that involving extended periods of participant observation, has been touted as the discipline's methodological hallmark. However, the established tendency to conceptualize 'the field' as the site where 'fieldwork' is conducted, and 'the fieldworker' as the actor who conducts it, obscures the complex and multiple milieux informing their mutual constitution. This conference encourages participants to interrogate, complicate, demystify, and possibly re-enchant the concepts and practices of field/work/er, with
special focus on their privileged, albeit shifting, contributions to the domains of knowledge making within anthropology and other disciplines. Alongside theoretical interrogations, we welcome submissions that speak to participants' ongoing experiences, obstacles and successes as workers in the field.
The Social Anthropology Graduates' Association (SAGA) cordially invites fellow graduate students, activists and applied scholars to participate in an interdisciplinary and interactive forum on Saturday, November 21, 2009 at York University in Toronto, Canada.
We invite conference contributions in the following formats:
- Academic papers (presentation time: 15 minutes) and panels (presentation time: 75 Minutes)
- Alternative media presentations (posters, video, poetry, other creative works)
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
What and where is the field?
How is it constituted, entered, and exited by fieldworkers?
Who is a fieldworker? How is she or he constituted by the practice of fieldwork?
Where is the 'work' in fieldwork?
How is fieldwork arranged and conducted?
What are the experiences of fieldworkers?
How does the experience of the 'field' sometimes surprise fieldworkers?
What kinds of interesting stories come out of fieldwork? Do these
stories make it to the final draft?
What is the relationship between disciplinary, regional, and
performative fields?
How is the face and place of fieldwork changing in academia?
To propose a paper, please submit a cover page with your name; institutional affiliation; contact information (mailing address, phone number, and email) and a 250 word abstract of the paper. Presentations will be limited to fifteen minutes.
Panels of 3-4 presentations are especially welcome. To propose a panel, please submit a cover page including the title of the panel and the names of presenters; a panel abstract of 150 words; a separate page with the names of presenters, their contact information (mailing address, phone number, and email) and institutional affiliation(s),
the titles of their presentations; and a 250-word abstract for each paper. Panels will be limited to one hour and fifteen minutes, including discussion periods.
Keynote address by Trent University Professor Anne Meneley:
http://www.trentu.ca/anthropology/meneley.php
Submission deadline for abstracts, proposed panels, and media presentations is September 25, 2009. Please send abstracts and all other inquiries to playingthefield2009@gmail.com. Successful submissions may be assembled for later publication. Note: travel bursaries are NOT available.
