Upcoming July Conferences

Biennial Meeting of the Association of Southern African Professional Archaeologists (ASAPA) “Thirty Years On: Reflections and Retrospections on Southern African Archaeology Since 1983

July 3-7, 2013

University of Botswana in Gaborone

The ASAPA biennial conference brings together professional archaeologists from the region and the world at large whose research interests are in southern African archaeology. The 2013 conference will be the second to be held in Botswana, the first being in 1983, and will provide an environment where scholars and students of archaeology can discuss research and share ideas. It is also an atmosphere whereby archaeologists, heritage managers and related fields from univeristies, museums, CRM practitioners can engage in meaningful dialogue on issues of academic, practice and policy development. The programme includes oral and poster presentations as well as round-table sessions.

At the time when the conference was first held in Botswana in 1983, archaeology was not taught as an independent subject in the University of Botswana and at a regional level most of the practitioners were from outside the continent whilst in South Africa there was political instability. This conference will thus give archaeologists who were present at the first conference a time to reflect, retrospect and share their experiences with the younger generations. It will also give those who were not present a chance to learn and share with the archaeology elders their new and old experiences and finally forge the way forward in terms of new research directions and challenges for archaeology in the 21st century.

 

X Reunión de Antropología del Mercosur (XRAM)

July 10-12, 2013

School of Philosophy and Humanities, National University of Cordoba, Argentina

This meeting aims at contributing to the development of Social Anthropology in South America’s Mercosur community. Every meeting of RAM has witnessed the increasing participation of anthropologists from the Americas – particularly the United States – and Europe. The challenge for the upcoming years is to widen international links to embrace Asia and Africa. RAM is, to conclude, a meeting of particular worldwide interest for the development, strengthening and legitimation of Social Anthropology in South America. It is, therefore, a major event for the discipline and the social sciences, lasting international impact. This means great commitment and positioning opportunities for international legitimacy for the academic units that organize the RAM.

The RAM does not specify a unique discussion area. It looks forward to give expression to the widest range of research topics and interests of anthropologists from the various academic units of the Southern Cone. This makes the RAM a conference that promotes the development of social anthropology in its most diverse and general dimensions. That is why the event is itself a sampler of topics and research areas representative in this region of the globe.

 

The Future Of Ethnographic Museums

July 19-21, 2013

Keble College and the Pitt Rivers Museum, University of Oxford

Ethnographic museums have a long and distinguished history but they have also been the subject of criticism and complaint, to the extent that in the post-colonial era they have undergone something of an identity crisis. In response many of them have been renamed, remodelled or even entirely replaced by spectacular new buildings in which their collections are now presented as examples of ‘World Art’. Perhaps as a result of these alterations, visitor numbers have begun to increase. But many questions remain unanswered about how ethnographic museums should communicate with the diverse audiences they seek to address, how they interact with the politics of the nations and communities in which they are located and the global context in which they increasingly operate via digital technologies. By assembling an international gathering of anthropologists and museum professionals this conference will be the first to tackle the question: What is the Future of Ethnographic Museums? Speakers include James Clifford, Ruth Phillips, Sharon Macdonald, Wayne Modest, Corinne Kratz, Kavita Singh, Annie Coombes and Nicholas Thomas. In addition to discussion and debate, the conference features a series of art and music events in the unique environment of the Pitt Rivers Museum, Oxford.