From jancius at ohio.edu  Thu May  1 11:46:56 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Thu May  1 10:48:16 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]NEWS: Charles Tilly Dies at 78
Message-ID: <00a101c8ab9a$377de550$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

Respected Professor, Renowned Sociologist Charles Tilly Dies at 78
http://www.columbiaspectator.com/node/30847

The Columbia Spectator
By Maggie Astor
PUBLISHED MAY 1, 2008

Charles Tilly, Columbia's Joseph L. Buttenwieser Professor of Social Science 
and founder of the noted Workshop on Contentious Politics, died April 29 
after a 20-year struggle with cancer that fluctuated in severity. He was 78.

A vigil was held in his memory Tuesday night in front of Fayerweather Hall, 
as an intimate group of about 10 candle-bearing students and colleagues 
gathered beneath his office window to share memories both humorous and 
heartrending.

Sun-Chul Kim, GSAS '08, recalled working in Fayerweather each night until 4 
or 5 in the morning-around the same time Tilly would come in for the day. 
Tilly said "good morning" each time Kim came in-"But he said one time, 
'Goodnight!'" Kim explained, laughing.

Other stories were more profound.

John Krinsky, GSAS '02, recalled one day about eight years ago when he 
looked around Tilly's library-like office and asked why the professor owned 
and wrote so many books."He said, 'I'm just trying to collect as many pieces 
as I can before I die,'" Krinsky recalled.

At the time, Krinsky said, he laughed. "I said, 'You're one of those guys 
who'll live to be 110. You'll outlive me!' He probably knew something I didn't."
Tilly was born in Illinois in 1929. He received his B.A. and Ph.D. from 
Harvard and taught sociology at Harvard, the University of Michigan, and 
elsewhere before coming to Columbia in 1996. He published 51 books and more 
than 600 articles, and his curriculum vitae spans 30 pages.
"It seemed that he could write, interpret, and explain virtually anything to 
curious minds," University President Lee Bollinger wrote in a statement 
released Tuesday. Tilly "literally wrote the book on the contentious 
dynamics and the ethnographic foundations of political history," Bollinger 
wrote.
During his 12 years at Columbia, Tilly advised 101 Graduate School of Arts 
and Sciences Ph.D. candidates-of whom Kim and Cecelia Walsh-Russo, GSAS '08, 
were the last.

Walsh-Russo, who was also present at the vigil, said she had expected her 
March 6 dissertation defense to proceed without Tilly, who had been in the 
hospital.

"All of a sudden, there's Chuck in the doorway," she said. The panel offered 
to let Tilly ask his questions first, so he could leave early if he got 
tired. "But he didn't get tired," Walsh-Russo said.

Tilly was perhaps best known for his trademark Workshop on Contentious 
Politics, held regularly at Columbia and various other universities. 
Students and professionals from across the northeast and even the world 
attended to share their work.

"It became an institution. It's what Charles Tilly started and everywhere he 
went he took it with him," said Mona El-Ghobashy, GSAS '06 and a professor 
of political science at Barnard. "Whatever I learned in graduate school, I 
learned at the workshop. It wasn't a class, but people took it even more 
seriously than that."

There was a much-praised rule at the workshop that required non-Ph.D. 
attendees to share their work first. The goal was "to include the young 
people and teach them how to be scholars," El-Ghobashy said.

Despite some trepidation, those at the vigil vowed to continue the workshop 
despite the loss of the "name in lights" Tilly gave, Walsh-Russo said.
The workshop "will go in new directions, and that's what Chuck would want," 
El-Ghobashy said.

While there were some tears, the overall tone of the vigil was one of fond 
remembrance.

"His intellect comes once in a hundred years," Francesca Bremner, GSAS '04, 
said. "He wouldn't show his feelings very much, but when you needed 
protection, you'd see how deeply he cares and how fiercely protective he 
 is."

maggie.astor@columbiaspectator.com 


From jancius at ohio.edu  Thu May  1 15:29:44 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Thu May  1 14:30:27 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]
 CFP: Rail-Volution: Reshaping Communities in an Energy Challenged
 Future (San Francisco)
Message-ID: <003401c8abb9$56fa1ab0$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

Rail~Volution

FINAL NOTICE! Call for Presentations
Entry Deadline: May 2, 2008

Rail~Volution
San Francisco, October 26-October 30.

Join us for our annual conference to address "Reshaping Communities in an 
Energy Challenged Future."
Apr 30, 2008

Rail~Volution is a conference for passionate practitioners - people from all 
perspectives who believe in the role of land use and transit as equal 
partners in the quest for greater livability and greater communities. The 
success of the conference depends on the quality and diversity of 
presentations. Rail~Volution solicits your story-sharing expertise, 
experience, success and challenges, including:

?The basics of creating livable and sustainable communities with good 
planning, design and projects that deliver transportation options.
?Approaches to weaving partnerships among public, private and community 
partners.
?Innovations in applying planning methods, transit-oriented design and 
communication.
?Current examples of transit-oriented development, integrated transportation 
options and livable communities.
?The latest approaches to creating sustainable communities and addressing 
climate change.
?Methods for leveraging resources and opportunities to help achieve success.

Related Link: Rail~Volution Website
For more information contact:
Mary Simon
Rail~Volution
1120SW 5th Avenue Suite 800
Portland
OR 97204
USA

Phone: 503-823-6870
Fax: 503-823-7609
Email: mary.simon@pdxtrans.org
Web: www.railvolution.com 


From jancius at ohio.edu  Fri May  2 18:58:02 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Fri May  2 17:59:33 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]CFP: Visual Cultures and Colonialism: Indigeneity in Local
	and Transnational Imagery (Australia)
Message-ID: <005301c8ac9f$a45c2960$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

Visual Cultures and Colonialism: Indigeneity in Local and  
Transnational Imagery
Location: Australia

A growing body of postcolonial research has established the  
importance of visual imagery in creating and popularizing ideas about  
race and cultural difference. Visual representation of Indigenous  
peoples circulated from local to transnational contexts,  
participating in colonial networks of global exchange and defining  
relations of power. One strand of analysis has revealed the  
complicity of Western scopic regimes and imperialism, tracing the  
ways that visual cultures express the colonizers' expanionist gaze.  
Another seeks to emphasise the role of Indigenous peoples within this  
relationship, identifying culturally distinct visual traditions and  
the reformulation of new media such as photography and museum  
exhibitions. Descendant re-valuation of the colonial archive is  
inverting colonial exhibitory practices and spectacle, producing new  
meanings through re-contextualisation of these images. This  
conference aims to bring together research and thinking on visual  
cultures and indigeneity that attends to local specificity as well as  
the global circuits of visual discourse, illuminating both colonial  
processes and attempts at declonisation.



Dr Liz Conor
Dr Jane Lydon


Centre for Australian Indigenous Studies

Tel: 61 3 9905 4200


Email: cais@arts.monash.edu.au
Visit the website at http://arts.monash.edu.au/cais/conference/index.php
From jancius at ohio.edu  Sun May  4 12:34:05 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Sun May  4 11:47:10 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]QUERY: Need Missing of CORI's Selected Papers on Refugee
	Issues
Message-ID: <014d01c8adfe$13288460$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

From: Fethi Keles <fkeles@maxwell.syr.edu>

Hi,

I'm looking to get used copies of the Selected Papers on Refugee Issues (any 
one of the nine volumes here http://www.sunta.org/cori/publications.htm). If 
anybody is out there willing to give away or sell any, please let me know.

Thanks,

Fethi Keles

[Moderator's note: Please reply to the author directly at 
<fkeles@maxwell.syr.edu>, rather than to the listserv address.] 


From jancius at ohio.edu  Mon May  5 15:50:48 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Mon May  5 14:52:07 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]JOB: 1 Year Visiting Assistant Professor, Bard College
Message-ID: <008d01c8aee0$f8856c20$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

Bard College
1 Year Visiting Assistant Professor

The Anthropology Program at Bard College invites applications for a one-year 
visiting assistant professor position in cultural anthropology beginning in 
Fall 2008.  Area of specialization is open.  Teaching experience is 
required.  Duties will include teaching three courses per semester, to 
include Introduction to Cultural Anthropology, and supervision of senior 
theses. Candidates will have colleagues in a variety of area studies 
programs--Africana, Middle East, Latin American and Iberian Studies, Asian 
Studies, as well as Human Rights; Globalization and International Affairs; 
Science, Technology and Society Studies; Environmental and Urban Studies 
among others. Bard College is a highly selective college of the liberal arts 
and sciences located 2 hours north of NYC in the Hudson Valley.   The 
College has a strong tradition of progressive education and academic, 
literary, and artistic innovation.  Bard College is an equal opportunity 
employer and welcomes applications from individuals who contribute to its 
diversity.

Please send curriculum vitae, letter of interest describing research and 
teaching, evidence of teaching experience, a writing sample, and three 
letters of recommendation to:

Chair Anthropology Search (one-year visiting)
Human Resources - 4808
Bard College
Box 5000
Annandale-on-Hudson
New York, NY 12504-5000

 You may also email documents (as word attachments) to hr@bard.edu.

Applications will be reviewed immediately as received. AA/EOE
 


From jancius at ohio.edu  Tue May  6 19:31:30 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Tue May  6 18:32:19 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]
 NEW BOOK: In the Presence of Sai Baba: Body, City and Memory in a
 Global Religious Movement, by Smriti Srinivas
Message-ID: <002d01c8afc8$f12b5cd0$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

Dear All,

You may be interested the below announcement of SUNTA 
member, Smriti Srinivas', new book, _In the Presence of Sai Baba_.
  - AJ

NEW BOOK!

"In the Presence of Sai Baba: Body, City and Memory in a Global Religious 
Movement" by Smriti Srinivas

South Asian paperback (2008) published by Orient Longman (Hyderabad), 
https://www.orientlongman.com   

Original Hardback (2008) published by Brill (Leiden/Boston) in the Numen 
Book Series: http://www.brill.nl/default.aspx?partid=74&mcid=5&pid=27711

The Sai Baba movement, centered on the Indian guru Sathya Sai Baba (b. 
1926), today attracts a global following from Japan to South Africa. 
Regarded as a divine incarnation, Sathya Sai Baba traces his genealogy to 
Shirdi Sai Baba (d. 1918), a mendicant in colonial India identified with 
various Sufi and devotional traditions. The movement, thus, has "roots" 
in Shirdi Sai Baba but as it globalizes, it has developed conjunctions 
with other religious traditions, New Religious Movements, and New Age 
ideas. This book offers an account of the Sai Baba movement as a pathway 
for charting the varied cartographies, sensory formations, and cultural 
memories implicated in urbanization and globalization. It traverses the 
terrain between social theories for the study of religion and cities - 
themselves a product of modernity- and the radical, creative, and 
unexpected modernity of contemporary religious movements. It is based on 
ethnographic research carried out in India, Kenya, and the United States 
of America.

SMRITI SRINIVAS is Associate Professor of Anthropology, University of 
California, Davis. She is the author of The Mouths of People, the Voice 
of God: Buddhists and Muslims in a Frontier Community of Ladakh (1998), 
and Landscapes of Urban Memory: The Sacred and the Civic in India's High-
Tech City (2001). Her research interests are in urban cultures, social 
memory, cultures of the body, and religion.

From j.r.beaumont at rug.nl  Fri May  2 14:25:35 2008
From: j.r.beaumont at rug.nl (Justin Beaumont)
Date: Tue May  6 18:45:34 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]The postsecular city
Message-ID: <CPSMTP-EML112SxvjPk00021128@cpsmtp-eml112.kpnxchange.com>

Following the second call for papers I delivered last week, I would like to
add some remarks and hope to stimulate further discussion in this emergent
area of enquiry.

 

The general question posed by my research agenda is: how can we make sense
theoretically, conceptually and empirically of the postsecular city?

 

Specific themes for attention include:

 

--Competing approaches, narratives and definitions of "postsecular";

 

--Eliciting the specific contribution of a postsecular narrative for
explaining but also for reinterpreting diverse urban processes in a wider
interactive frame of reference;

 

--New and innovative relations between urban theory, on the one hand, and
theories of religion, faith and belief in a postsecular context on the
other;

 

--Relations between religion, politics and postsecular urban society at the
political economy and humanist nexus in the current era of
neoliberalization;

 

--Theoretical relations between neoliberalization, deprivatization of
religion, re-enchantment of the real, the Weberian secularization thesis and
the repositioning of faith-based organizations (FBOs) in the social and
political processes of cities;

 

--Competing approaches to urban governance and politics to debate changing
roles of religions and diverse FBOs in the socio-political frameworks of
cities;

 

--Shifting interface between institutions of diverse religions and state at
a variety of scales, with implications for social and political action in
cites;

 

--Contribution of a postsecular narrative for dealing with perennial urban
policy concerns in Europe, North America and beyond (community building;
social inclusion; social cohesion; multiculturalism/ diversity policies);

 

--An international comparative dimension and typology of "postsecularisms"
to capture differences between Europe, North America and the Global South;

 

--Empirical evidence to support operationalized identifiers of
postsecularism, such complex faith-based and other motivations for
voluntarism within care networks and for tackling urban homelessness (for
example), as well as data garnered through the EU-7FP FACIT project
(2008-2010) on FBOs and exclusion in European cities.

 

The research aims to explore and theorize the changing dynamics between
religion, politics and postsecular cities in the conviction that cities are
the pre-eminent loci where these processes converge and congeal with
intensity. While state restructuring, rescaling and the urbanization of
political action are well-documented processes, far less is known about
similar changes in the governance of religious institutions and their
consequences for the urbanizing relations between religion, politics and the
public sphere in the wider context of Habermas (postsecular society),
Cassonova (public religion) and Taylor (multiple modernities). Making the
link between theoretical enquires and operationalized empirical
identification remains a key objective.

 

Clearly this ambitious agenda is not without blind spots at this early stage
and I welcome your critical and insightful reactions to spearhead debate
among urbanists of all kinds.

 

----

Justin Beaumont

Room 3.04, Landleven 1

Faculty of Spatial Sciences

University of Groningen

The Netherlands

Tel: 00 31 50 363 6910/ 3895

Skype: justin9712

Web: www.rug.nl/staff/j.r.beaumont/index

 

International Conference: Religion, Politics and the Postsecular City,
Groningen, 12-15 November 2008

 

EU-7FP FACIT project: Faith-based organizations and exclusion in European
cities

 

Book Reviews Editor: Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie
(TESG)

 

 

 

 

From j.r.beaumont at rug.nl  Fri May  2 14:29:49 2008
From: j.r.beaumont at rug.nl (Justin Beaumont)
Date: Tue May  6 18:46:51 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]The postsecular city: cont
Message-ID: <CPSMTP-EML111D3MBhe00020c5f@cpsmtp-eml111.kpnxchange.com>

I would like to add some further remarks based on my liaison with Paul
Cloke.

 

--The claim about the secularization of society was a general philosophical
claim, which was strangely echoed by many theologians as well as by
humanists and atheists;

 

--Several scholars are at pains to point out that the secularization thesis
was too totalizing, and potentially has ignored particular states and areas
which have maintained sufficient public and cultural attachment to
religion(s) to be regarded as non-secular. Such scholars usually point to
the US as a context which can be regarded as never having been secular;

 

--It seems, however, legitimate to talk of the "secular" city where the
institutions, policies, culture and ways of life have reflected a
diminishing "public" role for religion as a proselytising and self-serving
influence in its own right. Harvey Cox's (1965) The Secular City (how
Harvard Divinity School) argued in the context of what he called urban
secularization that the church was primarily people of faith and action and
not a formal institution. His work based largely on the liberation theology
movement was a critique of the status quo and part of the wider embrace of
social revolution from the 1960s onwards;

 

--Equally it seems legitimate to reflect on a counter-move which has seen
not only a greater involvement (practical, political, cultural) of
faith-groups in the institutions, practices and cultures of the city, but
also perhaps a greater willingness to reconcile virtue (which was always
there) with a recognition of difference in their various involvements;
unity/ commonalities among difference. This is where the tag of
"postsecular" is the most appropriate and where links with interminable
feuds over multiculturalism, integration/ assimilation and urban social
cohesion come to the fore. In short, the "postsecular" is conceptually
distinct from "religious" or "secular" in the traditional sense of these
terms;

 

--Reliable evidence exists which charts the changing activities of
faith-groups over these phases (but this may not constitute "data" in the
hard, statistical sense of the term and indeed a lot of interesting data is
currently available of a more qualitative and ethnographic nature).

 

These remarks taken together with the ones I sent earlier constitute some of
the currents issues and dilemmas when trying to conceptualize the
postsecular city.  I am looking forward to reading your intelligent,
insightful and helpful replies as I develop and refine this agenda.

 

----

Justin Beaumont

Room 3.04, Landleven 1

Faculty of Spatial Sciences

University of Groningen

The Netherlands

Tel: 00 31 50 363 6910/ 3895

Skype: justin9712

Web: www.rug.nl/staff/j.r.beaumont/index

 

International Conference: Religion, Politics and the Postsecular City,
Groningen, 12-15 November 2008

 

EU-7FP FACIT project: Faith-based organizations and exclusion in European
cities

 

Book Reviews Editor: Tijdschrift voor Economische en Sociale Geografie
(TESG)

 

 

 

From jancius at ohio.edu  Thu May  8 13:00:07 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Thu May  8 12:16:13 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]NEWS: Mexico: No Place for Small Farmers at the
	Supermarkets
Message-ID: <009601c8b126$adccc190$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

MEXICO: No Place for Small Farmers at the Supermarkets
By Diego Cevallos*
IPS - InterPress Service
May 2, 2008
http://www.ipsnews.net/news.asp?idnews=42211

Some supermarkets don't make space on their shelves for small farmers' 
products.

Credit:Wikimedia Commons

MEXICO CITY, May 2 (Tierram?rica) - A Mexican coffee grower receives about 
three dollars per kilogram of unprocessed coffee beans, and the consumer 
here pays 11 dollars. That price difference, in large part, is the result of 
the growing power of a handful of supermarkets.

The "autoservicio" (self-service) stores, as supermarkets are known in 
Mexico, are responsible for sales of 52 percent of food and perishable items 
in the country. In Mexico City the proportion rises to 70 percent.

These large stores have pushed out the old markets and the neighbourhood 
shops, according to the federal government's consumer protection agency. 
Those stores could disappear within the decade.

The small farmer faces the "voracious and nearly absolute power" of the 
supermarkets and intermediaries, says Pedro Cervantes, coordinator for 
Agromercados, a marketing firm whose members include coffee growers with 
scant resources.

"It isn't easy to meet the supply requirements imposed by the large 
supermarkets, and they have a policy of paying the supplier up to three 
months after product delivery -- most small farmers can't wait," Cervantes 
told Tierram?rica.

As a result, many coffee growers hand over their product to intermediaries 
for a lower but immediate pay, he said.

"Sometimes coffee or other farm products pass through the hands of seven or 
eight before reaching the supermarket in the form and frequency demanded," 
Cervantes added.

The U.S.-based mega-store Wal-Mart and Mexico's Soriana and Comercial 
Mexicana chains together have 1,800 supermarkets across the country, of 
which 1,033 belong to Wal-Mart.

The combined Mexico sales of the three in 2007 surpassed 27.7 billion 
dollars. Their original suppliers are in the countryside, where 5.6 million 
farmers live and work, and where 75 percent of the country's poverty is 
found.

The growing power of the supermarket chains is not just a Mexican 
phenomenon. Gathering force since the 1990s, it is happening in all of Latin 
America and the Caribbean, says the International Assessment of Agricultural 
Science and Technology for Development (IAASTD), published Apr. 15.

The supermarket chains concentrate 50 to 60 percent of all food sales in the 
region. It is "an extraordinary increase", considering that just 10 years 
ago they controlled 10 to 20 percent, according to the study, carried out by 
some 400 scientists from around the world.

The penetration of the supermarkets is growing by giant steps in the cities, 
and even in some rural areas, states the report.

The IAASTD says the consolidation of the supermarkets' presence has widened 
the gap between the prices paid to the food producer and what consumers pay 
at the cash register.

This has an impact across society, generating displacement of small farmers, 
loss of employment and even changes to the cultural patterns of rural 
dwellers and consumers, says the report, which was sponsored by the World 
Bank and five United Nations agencies.

The Rural Confederation of Mexico in 2005 and 2006 signed agreements with 
the supermarkets so that its three million members could sell their products 
directly to the companies, avoiding intermediaries and losses.

But those agreements failed, announced Confederation spokespersons in 
January, because the farmers could not comply with the volume and regular 
delivery schedules imposed by the supermarket chains. Furthermore, payment 
was much delayed, arriving up to eight months after delivery.

Most of the farmers prefer to deal with the intermediaries, which gather 
large volumes of products at the central supply site located just outside 
Mexico City.

Latin America's largest wholesale market -- 304 hectares with 1,489 sales 
posts and 1,881 warehouses -- is where the supermarket trucks arrive daily 
to get their products.

A small farmer alone cannot abide by the conditions imposed by a 
supermarket, like delivering large volumes, providing packaging and waiting 
for deferred payment, says Rita Schwentesius, an expert in global 
agroindustry at the Autonomous University of Chapingo.

The supermarket chains prefer to buy from the supply centres in the capital 
and in other cities, although they also receive products in their own 
warehouses, as long as the deliveries comply with their conditions, 
Schwentesius said in a Tierram?rica interview.

To avoid intermediaries, the government and some local authorities are 
encouraging and financing the integration of farmers into networks.

But such initiatives have functioned for only a few, agree Schwentesius and 
Cervantes.

"Most can't meet the requirements of the supermarkets," said Agromercados 
coordinator Cervantes, who was able to establish a group among the members 
to provide supermarkets with packaged coffee, both whole bean and instant 
coffees.

In the case of processed products, most supermarkets require the supplier to 
stock the shelves themselves.

If in three months the sales are slow, according to parameters set by the 
supermarket, the product is returned and it is very unlikely that they will 
be able to return to the shelves in the future, chain executives told 
Tierram?rica.

The requirement that suppliers put their own products on the shelves, as 
well as employing children or the elderly to pack up the clients' purchases 
in exchange for tips, are practices aimed at cutting costs.

The IAASTD notes that one of the arguments justifying the existence of 
supermarkets is that the consumer would benefit from the larger scale, with 
better products and prices.

But the study says that the dominant position of the supermarkets reduces 
competition -- and thus reduces those presumed benefits

In Mexico, the situation could be different. By the late 1980s, when this 
country began implementing aggressive policies of open trade, the rise of 
the supermarkets was dominated by a few national chains in partnership, 
without open competition among them, according to several studies.

Wal-Mart stepped on to the Mexican market in 1991, inviting consumers to 
compare its prices and services with the other supermarkets.

That strategy was a blow to national competition and led to clashes with 
Wal-Mart, which in 2002 resulted in its expulsion from Mexico's National 
Association of Supermarkets and Department Stores.

Some observers say the presence of Wal-Mart, which now dominates the Mexican 
market, forced its competitors to lower prices and improves services.

The IAASTD suggests confronting the broad power of the supermarkets, 
monitoring and analyzing their strategies of self-regulation, and urging 
consumers to pursue a more fair commerce.

(*Originally published by Latin American newspapers that are part of the 
Tierram?rica network. Tierram?rica is a specialised news service produced by 
IPS with the backing of the United Nations Development Programme and the 
United Nations Environment Programme.) (END/2008) 


From jancius at ohio.edu  Tue May  6 19:41:08 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Thu May  8 17:09:49 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]
 ANN: Hierarchy and Power in the History of Civilizations (Moscow)
Message-ID: <013801c8afca$4bf28a20$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

RUSSIAN ACADEMY OF SCIENCES
INSTITUTE FOR AFRICAN STUDIES
CENTERS OF HISTORY AND CULTURAL ANTHROPOLOGY
CENTER FOR CIVILIZATIONAL AND REGIONAL STUDIES
30/1 Spiridonovka St., 123001 Moscow, RUSSIA
Tel.: + (7 495) 291 4119; Fax: + (7 495) 202 0786

RUSSIAN STATE UNIVERSITY FOR THE HUMANITIES
SCHOOL OF HISTORY, POLITICAL SCIENCE AND LAW
6, Miusskaya Ploshad' 125267 Moscow, RUSSIA
Tel.: + (7 495) 298 5886; Fax: + (7 495) 298 0345


FIFTH INTERNATIONAL CONFERENCE
"HIERARCHY AND POWER IN THE HISTORY OF CIVILIZATIONS"
June 23-26 2009, Moscow, Russia

SECOND ANNOUNCEMENT AND CALL FOR PAPERS
Centers of History and Cultural Anthropology and for Civilizational and
Regional Studies of the Institute for African Studies, Russian Academy of
Sciences, and the School of History, Political Science and Law of the
Russian State University for the Humanities are organizing in Moscow on
June 23-26, 2009 the Fifth International Conference "HIERARCHY AND POWER
IN THE HISTORY OF CIVILIZATIONS".

All the Conference events except culture program will take place on the
Russian State University for the Humanities main campus.

The working languages of the Conference are Russian and English.

The Organizing Committee has considered all the panel proposals received
by it. The descriptions of the accepted proposals please find below. The
deadline for paper proposals (in the form of abstracts within 300 words in
English) is November 1, 2008. Paper proposals should be sent not to the
Organizing Committee but directly to the respective panel convenor(s) who
is (are) to inform the applicant about his (her) application's fortune by
December 1, 2008. The information to be submitted alongside with the paper
abstract includes full name, title, institutional affiliation, full mail
and e-mail addresses, and fax #.

However, in the case you feel your paper does not fit any particular panel
but corresponds to the Conference general problematics, you may submit
your proposal to the Organizing Committee by the same date (November 1,
2008) and it will be considered for scheduling for the Free Communication
Panel. Besides, if the Organizing Committee finds it possible to unite an
appropriate number of proposals submitted for the Free Communication Panel
into a thematic panel, it may establish such a panel and propose one of
its prospective participants to become the convenor. None of the proposals
may be accepted or rejected on the basis of its submitter's previous
academic credentials, ethnic or national origin, sex, or otherwise, but
only on the basis of the proposal's relevance to and importance for, the
Conference's problematics.

All the general inquiries and proposals for the Free Communication Panel
should be sent to the Organizing Committee, for the attention of Ms.
Anastasia A. Banschikova and Dr. Oleg I. Kavykin, Conference Secretaries
preferably by e-mail (conf2009@conf2009.ru), or either by fax (+ 7 495 202
0786), or by ordinary mail (Center of History and Cultural Anthropology,
Institute for African Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, 30/1
Spiridonovka St., 123001 Moscow, Russia). The telephone number is: + 7 495
291 4119.

In the case the proposal is accepted, the Organizing Committee will send
you the list of documents necessary to support your and your panel
participants' visa application process at the Russian Consulate or Embassy
in the respective countries in the beginning of the year 2009.

The Conference participant's registration fee is 150 euros (or the
equivalent sum in US dollars or Russian rubles) which includes the visa
application support at the Russian Federal Migration Service,1 culture
program, Conference Book of Abstracts, reception, coffee-breaks, is to be
paid on the spot upon arrival. The fee for an accompanying person is 70
euros (or the equivalent sum in US dollars or Russian rubles) includes the
visa application support at the Russian Federal Migration Service,
participation in culture program and reception.

The Organizing Committee can assist in accommodation booking at the hotel
of the Russian Academy of Sciences in Downtown Moscow. The prices for
September 2007 are as follows: about 187 euros per night for a SGL room
and 186 euros for a DBL room. Accommodation at the hotel "Uzkoye" of the
Russian Academy of Sciences in a Moscow southern neighbourhood of is 97
euros per night (SGL room) and 123 euros (DBL room). Please note that the
prices may well be subjected to changes in the direction of growth. The
independent reservation in any other Moscow hotel well in advance is
strongly encouraged; furthermore it can turn out to be more reasonable.
For further information you may consult the Internet sites:
http://moscow-hotels.net and http://all-hotels.ru/moscow. Please do note
that the figures above may be subjected to some changes due to processes
in thansnational and national economy which are obviously out of the
Organizing Committee's control. If such changes happen, the Organizing
Committee will try its best to inform the Conference participants as soon
as possible.

PANELS ACCEPTED FOR THE CONFERENCE (In the alphabetical order of titles):
Aggression and Power Control in Traditional and Industrial Societies
Convenor: Prof. Marina Butovskaya (Institute of Ethnology and
Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow; E-mail:
mbutovskaya@rambler.ru)

Aggression in the human society remains one of the most actively disputed
social phenomena. Despite thousands of annual publications on aggression,
attempts of its analysis from various angles, ranging from molecular to
macrosociological, we are still far from being ahead with elaboration of
effective methods of aggression control and prevention. A complex approach
to estimations of factors provoking aggression and determining particular
ways of its expression may provide an additional chance for better
understanding of the nature of this phenomenon and reasons for its
cross-cultural similarities and differences. In line with this Panel we
are planning to discuss a wide range of questions connected to modern
theories of interaction between aggression and power control on the
within-group and between-group levels. We are expecting to discuss the
issues of correlations between various expressions of aggression and
mechanisms of power control from very broad positions, including
evolutional, ecological, psychological, sociological, and anthropological
approaches. We suppose to discuss the family violence, aggression
practices in small groups, as well as traditional socialization practices
in cultures with clearly expressed gender asymmetry in power control.
Theoretical and field studies of personal and group mechanisms of control
over aggression are welcomed. Special attention will be given to studies
of traditional institutions of power control connected to conflict
resolution, as well as to investigations of transformations of traditional
representations of power control within the family and on the level of
small social groups in connection with rapid economic changes and
transitions from one economic structure to another. We would highly
welcome the presentations based to cross-cultural data, as well as
mathematic models of interactions between aggression and power control on
the in-group and between-group levels.

Analyses of Cultural Evolution
Convenors: Prof. Herbert Barry III (University of Pittsburgh, USA; E-mail:
barryh@pitt.edu); Prof. Douglas R. White (University of California-Irvine,
USA; E-mail: drwhite@uci.edu); Prof. Andrey Korotayev (Russian State
University for the Humanities & Institute for African Studies, Moscow,
Russia; E-mail: akorotayev@mail.ru)

Prior verbal theories of cultural evolution have led to empirically
testable mathematical models of this process. The panel is aimed at
discussion of further scientific methods for studying adaptive evolution
of governmental extension and selection. During the past several thousand
years, many independent communities have aggregated or been conquered to
form portions of a chiefdom, nation, or empire. Other communities have
remained independent. Some empires and nations have split into smaller
aggregations. Methods of choosing a new leader of a community or nation
include hereditary succession, conquest, selection by elite members, and a
formal election by some or all adults. Adaptive evolution can be inferred
when changes in cultural customs and in environmental conditions cause
changes in governance methods. New governance methods cause adaptive
changes in other cultural customs. Different governance methods are
associated with differences in education of children and adolescents.
Various techniques are available for analyzing adaptive evolution. The
same communities or nations can be compared at different times.
Similarities or differences after separation from the same antecedent
society can be identified in communities or nations. Measures of
governance methods, education, and other customs are available on a world
sample of 186 societies. Mathematical models of cultural evolution are
especially desirable but contributions without such models are also
welcome

Cases of Records: The Concept of Written Evidence within the Context of a
Socio-Cultural Hierarchy (Source Studies, Historical Anthropology, and
Interpretation of the History of the Document from Antiquity to
Renaissance)
Convenor: Dr. Nadejda A. Selounskaia (Russian State University for the
Humanities, Moscow; E-mails: spesbona@mail.ru; ravello@inbox.ru;
spes@dr.com)

It seems impossible to give a definition for the concept of "written
culture" as well as the interpretation of it beyond the hierarchal
principle of the society's organisation. A written culture occupies a
particular place within the hierarchy of cultural values . It usually
relates to a so called "culture of elites" (contrary to "oral tradition",
associated with low classes of the society). However, such a primitive
opposition includes a risk not to notice the nuances of the correlation
between social and cultural processes. The research of the cases of
composition of the records provides several advantages. Firstly, we have
the chance to identify multiple influence, initiated by the
representatives of different social strata on the composition of the
document( for example, it could be the discourse of the witnesses and the
judges, or persons who ordered the documents and its composers. Secondly,
it becomes clear, that the culture of the written, recorded evidence
(including the aspects of law and the juridical culture) was wide spread
among common people in the particular historical periods in the different
regions of Ancient, Medieval, and Renaissance Europe.

The main goal of the project is taking down the tradition of the primitive
bipolar opposition written culture of the elite to the popular "law" oral
tradition without the rejecting of the attempts to trace the correlation
between the specific cases of the written evidence and  the aspects,
related to the complicated structure of society.

Within the framework of the section we are planning to discuss the
following topics: 1). The reasons and the cases of the initial records of
the law custom, oral and historical tradition, myth, rituals.
2). The distribution of the roles and of the functions in the process of
the registrations of the cases. Initiators and translators of the records,
the addressees: the translators sensu stricto (in the stricter sense) of
the word, the interpreters and the mediators, the audience and
eyewitnesses. The analysis of the needs, the strategies, the goals of the
initiators, translators and the addressees of the records.
3) The influence of the oral culture, tradition, customs, customary law
and the performance of the rituals in the process of the creating of the
record. The mutual influences. The record reproduces the voices and
sounds, the atmosphere in which the written evidence was created.
4) The art of scriba/notaria from Antiquity to Renaissance epoque.
Medieval Notarius, the culture of the document through the centuries in
the Latin West.
5) The principles, the aims and the goals of the recording and of the
creating of the written evidence; the methods of the historical
reconstructions. The technical details and formulae of the record; the
case studies: the situations and peculiarities of the recording.

Civilization and State in Africa in History and at Present: Becoming and
Disintegration Factors (Values and Law, Economy and Politics)
Convenor: Prof. Anatoliy D. Savateev (Institute for African Studies,
Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow; E-mail: asavat@mail.ru)

In the 1990s two inconsistent directions have arisen in an estimation of
mutual relations of a civilization and State in the western scientific
idea. The first, which ancestor was Francis Fukuyama, in essence abolishes
a role of civilizational systems in world politics, approving a victory of
western (American) political, cultural, economical institutes and values
in planetary scale. The second approach, on the contrary, brings to the
forefront relations between civilizations, which, as the founder of this
thought Samuel Huntington considers, becomes the basic content of
contradictions of the present. Opposition of the States, on its idea, is
replaced with an antagonism of civilizations. At the same time two
approaches to definition of a civilization exist in one civilizational
paradigm in the basic: the first one considers civilization as a
socio-cultural reality, whereas for partisans of other approach a
civilization is first of all a mental concept, a social construct.

Organizers of section suggest to discuss theoretical problems with
reference first of all to history and the present of the African
continent, and also the global world. They consider, that integrating of
the State in Africa was preceded with penetration and strengthening of
world civilizations - Islamic and Christian one (separately is Egyptian
one).  Simultaneously the development of statehood in its western forms
promoted spreading of elements of western civilization (Christian
religion, language, writing, the literature of various genres, an
appropriate way of a life, a political culture, practical orientation of
spiritual culture, a pragmatism in social sphere, evolution of facilities
in a direction of raw-material producing type). However the evolution of
western type statehood occurs under the strongest influence of African
social and cultural systems the result of which becomes occurrence of
original, Africanized political institutes and norms, forms, maintenance
and organization of economy. Misunderstanding of features of the State in
Africa, its (and economic life) intimate connect with traditional, ethnic,
confessional, clan structures became the reason of disappointments of a
greater part of the western and domestic researchers in results both
pro-bourgeois, and pro-socialist transformations on the continent.

Unlike European civilization which as a whole was spread from above, by
colonial administration and by European organizations, Islamic
civilization in Tropical Africa got from below and it was fixed in
society, focusing the person on maintenance of social communications,
consolidation of a society and observance of morally-legal harmony. It to
a lesser degree developed political institutes though promoted becoming of
the large States, however has shown greater tenacity and flexibility in
conditions of Africa. Moreover, separate societies, where the synthesis of
the African social and cultural systems and structures of Islam happened,
showed the world such original Islamic-African institutes which appeared
able to adapt oneself to present time, combining in itself economic
efficiency and social and cultural consolidation.

In this connection the organizers of the Panel propose to discuss
followings issues:
1. Co-operation of civilization and State in African conditions and other
regions of the world.
2. The role of large States (empires) in life of people of continent and
other parts of planet (positive or negative).
3. What is intercommunication of spiritual and financial components in the
development of civilization and State in the history and modern times?
4. Does development of African societies and States conducts to appearance
of analogues of western civilization, i.e. to westernization with its
democracy and individual human rights or it deals with traditionalization
of the modernity?
5. How do traditional moral norms and western type law combine in these
terms?  Ordinary law and civil society?
6. Do political institutes, cultures, economy of the African people evolve
in what direction?
7. What part did the institutes, cultures, economy act in past and modern
life of society and State? How did they influence upon civilizations?
8. Is there in the African social and cultural systems and economies
internal potential of development, able to provide arise of societies and
economies, like to same in South-East Asia and on the Far East?

Culture as a Major Factor in Relations between States and People
Convenors: Dr. John A. Taylor (University of Southern Illinois, Chicago,
USA; E-mail: john_taylor84@post.harvard.edu); Mr. Ivan Nechepurenko
(University of Calgary, Canada; E-mail: inechepo@ucalgary.ca)

Our panel will discuss one instance of this, the communication between
Russians and English-speaking people, and we will also discuss Japanese
and Russian relations briefly. The panel will claim that characteristic
and often-recurring difficulties hinder communication between Russians and
English-speaking people.

During the time of the Soviet Union, everyone realized that communication
between Russians and English-speaking people was difficult. The Soviet
Union closed its borders to many travelers, and its official ideology was
also closed to outside influences, for instance. These hindrances to
communication were visible and objective. They presented great
difficulties, deterring many American and British academics.
Kremlinologists as they were sometimes called specialized in Russian
language and politics, and they tried to analyze and predict the various
turns of Soviet policy, although these scholars often did so wrongly, and
few of them predicted the fall of the Soviet system. These scholars
studied Russia intently, but they found it hard to obtain visas to visit
the country itself, and they were limited and controlled when they did
visit Russia. American and British visitors were often followed or
otherwise kept under surveillance, for instance. On the other hand,
scholars of Soviet nationality had even less access to America and western
Europe. Only a small handful of Soviet citizens could obtain, and then
with difficulty, the papers and hard currency necessary for travel abroad.
In practice, few Soviet professors and even fewer students did travel.
Most Soviet academics never met any American or British counterparts.

After the collapse of the Soviet Union, these obstacles disappeared;
nevertheless, other obstacles, most of them cultural, have since become
evident. The emergence of these obstacles was a surprise. People on both
sides ended the Cold War period with the assumption that the disappearance
of official barriers to communication between Russians and the
English-speaking world would mean that there were no longer any barriers
at all. Most people hoped that combination would become easy and fully
successful. Unfortunately, this goal proved to be too difficult to achieve
in practice. In fact, some major cultural differences always existed but
were concealed from the mainstream point of view during Soviet times.
Since both the conveners of this panel are involved in higher education,
the panel emphasizes communication in education. Nevertheless, the authors
hope that the panel may be of value to people in other fields as well, and
in the conclusion of the panel they will very briefly apply its principles
to broader issues.

One of the panel's conveners is an American specialist in British history
who periodically teaches in Russia and who has also taught in Japan.
Another is a Russian, currently studying at a Canadian University. We are
prepared to discuss Russian communications with Japan as well. We are also
prepared to invite more participants, Russians as well as foreigners; our
connections in Russia as well as in America will allow us to do so. We
think, that the subject of our future panel is especially important now,
when relations between Russia and the outside world are being explained
mostly in political terms. We argue, that cultural misunderstandings
hinder successful cooperation between Russia and the outside World.

Despotism in the History of Civilizations
Convenor: Prof. Leslie Gunawardana (University of Peradeniya, Sri Lanka;
E-mail: leslie.gunawardana@gmail.com; leslieg12@hotmail.com)

Reflection on hierarchy and power in the history of civilizations would
invariably come to focus on despotism as a phenomenon of enormous
interest. Despotism assumed varied forms in human history. The specific
features of these diverse forms and the common elements that link them
across space and time deserve careful study. While historical state
systems, especially those in Asia, will attract particular attention, this
emphasis will be moderated by the awareness of dangers of excessive
limitation of spatial or chronological focus. It is expected that
considerable attention will be devoted to economic, social and ideological
bases of despotism, the common characteristics of despotism in history and
factors conducive to opening paths to emerge from despotism or to avoid
the path of despotism.

The term despotism developed in contexts of acute political rivalry, as in
the struggles against the Persians by the Greeks or against Sulla by
leading Roman patricians. It was revived in French polemics on absolutism
during the reign of Louis XIV when views on "despotism of the Orient"
hardened into a concept that was carefully distinguished from the "legal"
and "enlightened" despotism of European monarchs. During the expansion of
colonialism in the "old world" and across the Atlantic, the term gained
wide currency, and the despotic image was freely applied to archaic and
traditional polities in Asia and elsewhere, thereby providing a popular
justification for colonialism.

A major theoretical hypothesis on despotism linked it with needs of
agriculture in arid lands on the argument that the crucial value to the
community of the despot's work as "total entrepreneur" providing
irrigation facilities was behind the acceptance of despotism in those
lands. While the position and functions of the despot were supposedly
strengthened by his "bureaucracy," the absence of economic and social
institutions with adequate countervailing power to check his actions has
been used among variant explanations for the rise of despotism, and the
isolation of rural settlements has been cited as another contributing
factor.

Presumptions about despotism are not always supported by available
historical data. While large-scale hydraulic enterprise was usually
state-sponsored, the daily maintenance and management of such works often
passed on to third parties. On the other hand, religious institutions and
private families were very often behind irrigation enterprise of medium
and small scale. By retaining control of operations at these irrigation
works they benefited from incomes derived from irrigation activity.
Consequently, present within such types of irrigation society were social
groups with economic resources that enabled them to check and balance the
growth of royal power.

Even though some scholars have drawn sharp distinctions between
"irrigation" and "trading" societies, some irrigation societies in history
have also been trading societies with merchant groups controlling
considerable economic resources and capable of functioning as
countervailing forces unfavourable to the growth of royal power. This
meant that even if they came under the shadow of despotism, emergence from
that state would not depend entirely on intervention by external imperial
powers.

>From Simple Societies to the World-System. Pathways and Forms of Political
Integration
Convenor: Dr. Daniel Smihula (University of Constantine the Philosopher,
Nitra, Slovakia & University of Vienna, Austria, E-mail:
daniel.smihula@vlada.gov.sk)

In the framework of this panel several questions should be discussed:
1) A man as a collective creature.
2) Intra-social and inter-social relations.
3) Possible rules applicable in primitive societies.
4) Question of the group sees as the most important for self-identification
5) Differences between internal political system and international
political system.
6) Possible form of organization of human beings.
7) Origin of the State.
8) Reasons of dominance of the State over alternative political structures.
9) Situation in collapsed states and in the time of decline of State power
(for example in post-socialist countries after 1989) - Return to more
primitive organizations? (e.g. organised crime, clans, tribes, mafia).
10) International system and its rules.
11) Special similarity between  primitive social systems and the
international system.
12) Regional international system.
13) World international system and its subsystems.
14) Challenges to today world international system.
15) Globalisation and the world government?
16) Unipolarism of the USA and its impact on the world international
system and international law.
17) Potential disintegration of our today world international system.

Globalization: Reshaping the Research Agenda
Convenors: Prof. Fantu Cheru (The Nordic African Institute, Uppsala,
Sweden; E-mail: fantu.cheru@nai.uu.se); Prof. Vladimir Shubin (Institute
for African Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow; E-mail:
vladimir.shubin@inafr.ru; vlgs@yandex.ru)

Writings on globalization are rapidly proliferating. Yet systematic
research on globalization is only slightly more than a decade in the
making. It is connected to, but differs from, forerunner studies of world
history, social theory, and related branches of international relations.
Globalization studies has emerged as a means to explain the myriad
features of worldwide restructuring in the last 20th and early 21st
centuries. Notwithstanding major theoretical innovations, as a field of
study, globalization is more of a potential than a refined framework,
worldview, kit of tools and methods, and mode of resolving questions.
Surely there are grounds for discontent with globalization studies. To
some critics, globalization is seen as a promiscuous concept, one that
cries out for ore analytical precision and empirical rigor. Moreover,
globalization is sometimes deemed over determined - too abstract, too
structural, and insufficiently attentive to agency. Not only does
globalization seem to be too blunt a tool, but what does it leave out?
What is not globalization? What is the effect of globalisation in
different regions? How do different forces respond to it?

These complaints are formidable challenges to globalization researchers.
Of course, these scholars are not univocal. There are different
interpretations and considerable contestation. But what are the different
responses to the discomfort with this emerging field? Where to go from
here, and what are the most promising research strategies?

"Great Kings" and "Lesser Kings": The Ranking of Political Subjects in
Ancient and Early Mediaeval Times
Convenor: Dr. Alexander A. Nemirovskiy (Institute of World History,
Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow; E-mail: sidelts@inbox.ru)

This panel is dedicated to various phenomena of hierarchization and
ranking of political subjects and units (communities, groups,
functionaries, structural elements) which are of similar nature by
themselves but receive different ranks within some system of inequitable
mutual relations, so that they appear as elements of "vertical" scale or
"horizontal" alignment according to respective highness of their status or
power. It deals with ranking of rulers; dignitaries; administrative,
territorial and tribal subdivisions; political communities; various groups
of population of similar social nature but unequal status and rights, etc.

The most important varieties of these phenomena are as follows:
- distinguishing between "great" and "lesser" rulers and/or powers in
international relations (while all of them are recognized as sovereign
political units independent from each other);
- hierarchies of supreme and vassal rulers existing within one political
entity (while all of them are positioned on different levels of one and
the same political class described by a common title of "king" etc., or,
vice versa, are regarded as elements of totally different political
classes which have no common title and constitute a kind of vertical
scale);
- relative ranking of supreme and dependent rulers who are members of
different political entities;
- hierarchies of supreme/ predominant and dependent political communities
(suzerain and vassal states, hegemonic entities and their minor "allies"
etc.);
- ranking of dependent political units (rulers or communities) in respect
to each other within the frames of their common subordination to one
supreme power (while these dependent units may or may be not
co-subordinated to each other in their own turn);
- ranking of administrative, tribal and territorial subdivisions of one
political entity (e.g. major and minor appanages in Mediaeval Russia and
scales of seniority of "wings" or "juzes" in Turko-Mongolic societies) and
various orders of succession of their rulers;
- ranking of dignitaries and other persons of extraordinary high status
within one political structure or entity; the corresponding hierarchical
scales;
- ranking of professional and social groups of similar or nearly similar
economic nature (e.g. some castes in India).

Various phenomena of such rankings can be combined with vertical
subordination of subjects of different rank to each other (suzerain -
vassal relations) as well as with their nominal and/or real independency
from each other (great and minor sovereign states) or co-subordination to
the common supreme rule (vassals of different rank). Distinguishing and
study of these varieties will be one of the panel's aims.

Some other special aspects of the theme in discussion would be:
- correlation of reality and formalization within phenomena of ranking,
i.e. the correlations between real subordination and difference in power
on the one hand and formalized rank differences (in titularies, rites,
etiquette etc.) and nominal subordination on the other one;
- ideology and conceptualization of ranking and hierarchization;
- legitimate and illegitimate ways of changing a subject's rank within a
hierarchy; revisions and redistributions of places occupied by various
political units within a hierarchy (e.g. passage of a state into category
of "great powers" from minor ones); mechanics of transition of a
predominant position within a hierarchy from one political subject to
another one.
- means used to maintain the ranking system (and the resulting hierarchy)
stable and means used to reform them; attempts to struggle for full or
partial abolition of some ranking system and hierarchy itself.

We are glad to invite to our panel everyone who would like to present a
paper somehow related in subject to the themes enlisted above.

Hierarchies, Networks and Flows in the Sociopolitical Development of
Southern Africa
Convenor: Dr. Franco Barchiesi (Ohio State University, Columbus, USA;
E-mail: barchiesi.1@osu.edu)

The contributions presented in this panel discuss the conceptual relevance
and intersections of hierarchies, networks and flows in shaping the
contemporary definition of Southern Africa as a regional space. The panel
combines different social science perspectives to specifically focus on
Southern Africa's social and political development subsequent to the
collapse of the South African Apartheid regime and the post-Cold War
scenario of globalization.

Hierarchical views of the Southern African region have greatly shaped past
scholarly debates and contrasting theoretical perspectives. This is the
case both for views praising the allegedly modernizing role of foreign
direct investment, transnational corporations, and international financial
institutions, and for critical perspectives looking at the role of South
Africa as a regional hegemon, with the attendant regional socioeconomic
inequalities and uneven development that followed the South African
post-Apartheid transition.

At the core of such debates has often been the need to conceptualize
regionalism in this specific case: Is the notion of a Southern African
regionalism just a tool to enhance the area's competitiveness in global
markets, which are on the other hand also characterized by hierarchical
inequalities? Does it merely disguise South Africa's continuous economic
and political dominance? Is it a metaphor for international economic and
political cooperation within the evolving contexts of democratization and
the New Partnership for African Development (NEPAD), where Africa's role
in relation to global powers and institutions remains fraught with
ambiguities? Or can "the region" be thought of as a counter-hegemonic
space, where alternatives to global free market capitalism are elaborated
through networks and flows of ideas and practices connecting civil
societies and social movements?

Paradigms focusing on the role of hierarchies in shaping the region are,
in fact, often in need of insights into dimensions of grassroots agency
and subjectivity that are relatively opaque from the standpoint of formal
organizational and institutional analysis. Concepts of networks and flows
can therefore be used to account for such neglected aspects that
contribute to the continuous production and reproduction of a regional
Southern African space.

The purpose of this panel is, therefore, to explore interactions between
hierarchical processes (like top-down development discourses, structures
of production and work, cross-border corporate investment, transnational
commodity chains, social stratifications underpinning national social
policies, and the position of the region in global divisions of labor),
dynamics of flows (of migrations, cross-border identities, ideas of
citizenship and democracy, emancipatory discourses), and networks (of
trade, informal economic activities, transnational entrepreneurship,
social movements and collective identities). These are the main factors
discussed in this panel, which interrogates the multiple meanings of
Southern Africa as a regional space, and how they overlap and relate to
local specificities.

Hierarchy and Power in the Sphere of Cyber Anthropology
Convenors: Dr. Alexei G. Loutskiy (Moscow Government; E-mail:
shaanxi@mail.ru); Dr. Oleg I. Kavykin (Institute for African Studies,
Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow; E-mail: atrociter@mail.ru)

The panel's aim is a discussion on the following questions:
Cyber Anthropology in the context of contemporary Cultural Anthropology,
i.e. specifics of the subject, object and researcher of the
sub-discipline;
Power in Cyberspace / Power of Cyberspace (i.e. interactions between
formal and informal relations in World village);
Net and hierarchy as the principles of organization of users in
information networks;
Cyberspace as supporting system;
Projective systems and Cyberspace (i.e. ideologies of the Net \ ideologies
in the Net);
Cyberspace and the processes of enculturation and socialization.

Leadership in Hunter-Gatherer Societies
Convenors: Dr. James Woodburn (London School of Politics and Economics,
UK; E-mail: james@woodburn.org.uk); Prof. Olga Artemova (Institute of
Ethnology and Anthropology, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow; E-mails:
artemova.olga@list.ru; olga.artemova@jcu.edu.au)

The focus of this panel will be on leadership in hunter-gatherer societies
both in the past and at present. We will be concerned with societies with
a known and locally acknowledged recent history of living largely by
hunting and gathering including those societies whose present-day way of
life may involve little or no hunting and gathering. Did such
hunter-gatherers, and do they now, have distinctive forms of leadership?
We seek discussion of the whole range of forms of leadership, both formal
and informal, in both society-wide contexts and in smaller units including
domestic units. We seek to consider both leadership roles which are
exercised in a range of situations and those which are restricted to
specific situations.

Many, though certainly not all, hunter-gatherer societies have been
characterized in the hunter-gatherer literature as lacking formal
positions of authority, as lacking institutionalized and recognized
leaders. How do or did such societies operate? How, in particular, are or
were decisions reached?

If many of these societies had no formal leaders, has this influenced the
contemporary situation? Do formal relations of authority exist today and
can those who today may occupy positions of authority persuade or compel
other members of their societies to recognize and accept their authority?
In what sense, if any, do those claiming leadership roles today (in
political situations where leadership may well be crucial in the
contemporary struggle with outsiders for land and other resources) gain
the active acknowledgement, recognition and support of other members of
their societies? Many of us in our research encounter individuals who
claim to lead and represent their communities. Do other members of their
societies accept their credentials and vest them with the authority to act
on behalf of the community? How do such leaders come to power and how do
they maintain their power? What continuities and discontinuities are there
between leadership in the hunter-gatherer past and leadership in the
contemporary world?

The aim of this panel is to achieve a better understanding of the nature
of leadership in hunter-gatherer societies and to make this understanding
available to all those hunter-gatherer leaders and followers who are today
working productively to enable their people to retain and develop their
rights to land and resources and to maintain and enhance valued
characteristics of their culture and society.

Lineage as Legitimacy in Asian Religious Communities
Convenor: Ms. Amy Holmes (Australian National University, Canberra;
E-mail: amy.holmes@anu.edu.au)

This panel will explore various facets of how hierarchy is developed and
legitimised in Asian religions through focusing on lineage discourses in
several religious traditions in Asia. Lineage serves to link together
religious believers and practitioners into an imagined collective through
commonly acknowledged ties with previous masters. Lineage ties together
groups that are otherwise socially and sometimes culturally unrelated,
thereby creating cultural models that are open for emulation and that are
legitimated by association with the power of previously renowned
practitioners. However, as well as their religious significance, lineages
can also have profound social, economic and political implications.

The members of this panel all focus on different forms of lineage across
different Asian civilizations in an attempt to portray the pervasiveness
and potency of lineage in its various manifestations. Through looking at
different cultures comparatively, several commonalities emerge that
highlight the importance of lineage to the authority of religious
communities. There are also important differences in the manifestations
and depth of involvement of lineage for these collectives in their
different cultural environments. Some religious groups remain spiritual in
focus, while others become important political forces, or become linked to
ethnic identity.

This panel will also explore the different ways in which lineage is
constructed, and the methods by which particular lineages are propagated.
Rather than seeing lineage as an imposing monolithic force, here we define
it as negotiable and fluid, the manifestation of the sum of the
individuals who are affiliated to it. This perspective allows for a freer
understanding of how lineage affects the societies within which it is
formed, and its contestability also remains crucial to perceiving its
pervasiveness in the imaginations of individuals across such varying
civilizations.

Macroevolution: Hierarchy, Structure, Laws, and Self-Organization
Convenors: Prof. Leonid E. Grinin (Volgograd Center for Social Studies,
Russia; E-mail: lgrinin@mail.ru); Prof. Alexander V. Markov
(Paleontological Institute, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow; E-mail:
markov_a@inbox.ru); Prof. Akop P. Nazaretyan (Institute of Oriental
Studies, Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow; E-mail: anazaret@yandex.ru);
Dr. Fred Spier (University of Amsterdam, The Netherlands; E-mail:
f.spier@uva.nl)

It is increasingly realized today that interdisciplinary research has a
great potential. The study of evolution very much belongs to this type of
research. The proposed panel is aimed at bringing together major scholars
investigating different type of evolution in order to exchange the results
and unify the efforts. The panel is supposed to consider cosmological,
chemical, biological and socio-cultural macroevolution as both consecutive
and co-existing types of macroevolution. We believe that this is a very
important form of interdisciplinary cooperation, which may well help to
achieve a better understanding of the trends, patterns, mechanisms, and
peculiarities exhibited by all these different types of evolution. The
experience gained with using ideas originating within one particular type
of macroevolution (e.g., biological evolution) for the study of another
type of macroevolution (e.g. social macroevolution) indicates that such an
approach can be very fruitful. In fact, in certain respects it appears
possible to consider macroevolution as one single process. In this case it
is especially important to understand the underlying regularities and
laws, although some of these regularities and laws can be rather
different, depending on the concrete entity evolving (cosmic, biological,
or social).

We suggest the following range of topics for discussion:
1) comparisons between cosmic, chemical, biological, and social evolution;
2) General issues within Big History / Universal History;
3) The "evolution of evolution" (the evolution of evolutionary theories);
4) Particular types of macroevolution, or macroevolution "at the border
between two domains" (e.g. with respect to ethology or biochemistry);
5) Other topics, such as linguistic, cultural, epistemological, or
psychological macroevolution.

A main focus for the panel will be to look for those regularities and
rules that are common for different types of macroevolution, as well as
the analysis of the applicability of concrete rules to particular types of
macroevolution.

Our main starting points are the following. Firstly, evolutionary rules
should not be regarded as rigid functional relationships that are
necessarily found in all evolutionary phenomena of a particular class, but
rather as certain principles that tend to be supported by empirical data
and that can therefore help us to provide a more adequate explanation of
the studied complex processes. Secondly, there are important grounds for
seeking to determine similarities between different types of
macroevolution:
?) In most cases we are dealing with very complex non-equilibrium yet
relatively stable systems. The general principles of the functioning and
evolution of such systems are described by general systems and complexity
(non-linear dynamics) theories;
b) We observe a complex interaction between systems and their environments
that can be described by a few general principles (although they emerge in
somewhat different ways in different types of evolution);
c) It is important to become aware of certain "genetic" links between
different types of evolution.

One further important task of the panel will consist of the analysis of
evolution of various types of hierarchically and heterarchically ordered
structures within different types of macroevolution.

Material Landscape of Power: Gender, Political Identity, and Complexity in
Archaeological Context
Convenor: Prof. Nikolay N. Kradin (Institute of History, Archaeology, and
Ethnology, Far-Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences,
Vladivostok; E-mail: kradin@mail.ru)

As a discipline distinct from anthropology and history, archaeology
studies the longue duree of human life. From the traditional perspective
history as a narrowly defined discipline begins with the invention of
writing. Ethnologists investigate recent non-state societies, groups
already influenced by modernization. Historical and ethnological studies
are useful for archaeologists. Archaeological sources are more fragmentary
than written sources and the observations of ethnographers. Ceramics,
fragments of artifacts, and stratigraphic levels are all that the
archeologist has. How is it possible to study authority with these poor
data? What does a rich burial signify for status position or property? Is
there a correlation between social inequality, power, and domination in
prehistoric and traditional societies? How may we distinguish, for
example, chiefdoms from other complex non-state societies and the states
and civilizations using archeological sources?

We suggest to discuss the following problems:
1). Archeological criteria of rank and power.
2). Age, gender, and status in archaeological sources.
3). Elites, material symbols, and identity of cultural groups.
4). Landscape of power: architecture of habitation before and after death.
5). Archaeology of political spaces: peer polity, chiefdom, early state in
material culture.

Movements and Revolutions from Net to Hierarchical Structures
Convenor: Dr. Bahram Navazeni (Imam Khomeini International University,
Qazvin, Iran; E-mails: info@navazeni.ir; navazenib@ikiu.ac.ir)

The history of mankind has witnessed various types of state system in
which the main subject had always been the distribution of power towards
maintaining the true values of own. In each type, the old or modern,
theocratic or democratic, despotic or pluralistic, different classes and
groups have played different roles either in supporting or opposing the
ruling power which may have some relation to a particular context of
cultural, religious, social and economic power. Classes such as nobles,
clergies, bourgeoisie, proletariats, and peasants and groups such as
patriots, zealots, and nationalists may insist on their will and not ease
until the victory of the revolution and the collapse of the whole system.
But even when the revolutionaries came to power, they would find the
distribution of power as the their first task. This game continues with
the opposition groups as the counter revolutionaries.

Covering a large area of the political science field, this panel
encourages all academics and scholars of politics, sociology, history and
all those interested in the nature of the old or modern state, and the
power it wields to use historical and contemporary materials to illustrate
the theoretical analysis and the different and changing will and need of
the ruling and revolutionary groups and classes. The Russian, Persian,
British, American, Turk, Arab, Indian, Chinese, and African revolutions,
old or new, will surely be interesting and appreciated in this panel. I
invite the interested participants to discuss the cause and process of
movements and revolutions and to find a way to ease tensions among the
civilization as a whole.

Political Dynamics of the Muslim World and Evolution of Islamic Political
Thought from a Comparative Perspective
Convenors: Dr. Igor Alexeev (Russian State University for the Humanities,
Moscow; E-mail: ialxyv@gmail.com); Dr. Pavel Basharin (Russian State
University for the Humanities, Moscow; E-mail: pbasharin@yandex.ru)

The panel aims to discuss various problems of political history of Muslim
societies and evolution of Islamic political thought from a wide
interdisciplinary perspective.

The panel's concern revolves around understanding of both traditional
forms of Islamic political culture and the recent developments. In
particular, the panel seeks to evaluate the dynamycs of traditional
socio-political structures and ideologycal complexes as well as their
transformation under the influence and impacts of modernization processes.
Our theoretical premise is that the interaction between the tradition and
modernization is by no means unidirectional, as well as the very meaning
of these conceptions can hardly be unified. The panel participants are
invited to theorize processes of crisis and transformation as permanent
factors of political dynamics of various societies of the Muslim World. On
the other hand, methaphysical and theological presumptions and constructs
reflecting the dynamics of religion as politics and politics as religion
can be also helpful to understand processes of intellectual reflection of
the political as a general category of thought. That is why we are
welcoming political historians and historians of thought as well as
political scientists, anthropologists and other specialists interested in
this problematique.

Power and Legitimation: Political Strategies in Early States
Convenor: Prof. Peter N. Peregrine (Lawrence University, Appleton, USA;
E-mail: peter.n.peregrine@lawrence.edu)

I propose a three-dimensional model for describing and analyzing political
strategies in early states. The dimensions are: (1) source of power; (2)
implementation of power; and (3) means of legitimation. I suggest that
there are less "costly" and more "costly" strategies along these of these
dimensions, as well as less "stable" and more "stable" strategies, all
dependent on the historical and social context and the physical
environment. I suggest emergent leaders employ the least "costly"
strategies available to them, but shift to more "stable" ones as they are
able (and sometimes they are not, and the state collapses). This model is
unapologetically "top-down" and formalist in its approach, but I believe
this is a defensible position given both the limitations of comparative
archaeology and, more importantly, the reality of political process in
early states.

"Republic of Letters" as a Net Structure in the Cultural Space in the 16th
- 18th Centuries
Convenor: Dr. Violetta Trofimova (Institute of Foreign Languages & St.
Petersburg State University, Russia; E-mail: violet_trofimova@mail.ru)

This panel seeks to analyze various aspects of the birth and development
of the "net" of the Renaissance and Early Modern European intellectuals
called "Respublica Litteraria" or "Republic of Letters." The term itself
was made popular by Erasmus in the early 16th century, and later was to
describe the community of European scholars of the Western world in the
Early Modern period.

>From the very beginning "The Republic of Letters" was an elite community,
and at some stages and in some countries it did not eliminate the idea of
hierarchy - see, for example, T. Boccalini's "Ragguagli del Parnaso"
(1614), where the head of the "Republic" is Prince Apollo. Nevertheless,
by the end of the 17th century the authors who discussed the phenomenon of
the "Republic of Letters" underlined its non-hierarchal nature.

As for the Enlightenment period, which is considered the separate stage in
the existence of the "Republic of Letters," it saw the wide spread of the
ideas of universalism and cosmopolitanism, which had been promoted by the
citizens of the "Republic." The end of the 18th century marked the eclipse
of the very idea of the "Republic of Letters."

This panel focuses on the image of the "Republic of Letters" as a
net-like, hierarchal/non-hierarchal structure in the minds of Early Modern
people. It strives to represent "Republic of Letters" as a cultural
phenomenon. It invites papers which discuss this phenomenon in the whole,
as well as various subcultures in the "Republic of Letters," for example,
separate intellectual networks, figures of intellectuals belonging to this
community, literary works which were the result of the existence and
activity of the "Republic of Letters" etc. It invites scholars to analyze
the phenomenon of the "Republic of Letters" from historical,
philosophical, sociological and other points of view.

"Republic of Letters" was an early predecessor of the Internet, and the
ideas of the "citizens" of the "Republic" became the ground for such
political structures, as UN and EU, as well as for the very concept of the
global world.

Socio-Cultural Perceptions of Globalization: A Global Resemblance or a
Local Recognition?
Convenor: Dr. Irina Vasilenko (Victoria University, Melbourne, Australia;
E-mail: irina.vasilenko@research.vu.edu.au; bridgingrussia@hotmail.com)

In today's world, Globalization is more than the capstone of economic
transition that drives local economies; more than the production of the
higher-order capacity necessary for effective communication tools; it is a
critical pillar of human development worldwide that, indeed, has
remarkably intensified a socio-cultural transformation. A multifaceted
nature of this influence creates an immense complexity in transformation
registered in all spheres of social and cultural life affecting each
nation or individual. The socio-cultural transformation manifests a
complicated character of changes, conflicting tendencies, and a
contradicted pattern of simultaneously occurring processes, endorsing
assimilation, adaptation, and adjustment along with a reinstatement.

Globalization motivates changes occurring in traditions, culture, and
mentality, collective as well as individual, and indeed, in education,
arts, communication, and other social institutions. These changes are
central to the transformation of not only a national intellectual capacity
of local knowledge of being sufficient in a global environment, but also
to a promotion of worldwide practices necessary to update individual
knowledge and skills. A widespread discourse of these changes demonstrates
that Globalization is more influential than ever in respect to the social
and cultural transformation.

At that same time, to challenge the global influence is appeared to be the
most critical dimension in the process of socio-cultural transformation.
The increasing importance of local knowledge, tradition and culture is
significant for surfacing the inverse changes answerable for a
reoccurrence of traditionalism, conservatism, and nationalism in the
post-industrial, industrial and transitional societies. It is also
responsible for maintaining the various forms of social and cultural
estrangement and for developing an intricacy of socio-cultural perceptions
in different societies.

The complexity of socio-cultural transformations in a rapidly changing
global environment has made necessary for a further discussion in respect
to the theoretical assumptions and policies concerning a global influence
on a socio-cultural transformation in general, and a role of
socio-cultural perceptions of Globalization for a national development on
the core of a country's competitive advantage in the global environment,
in particularly.

The Panel invites scholars, social scientists, social anthropologists,
humanists, international educators and independent researchers to discuss
the complexity of socio-cultural perceptions of Globalization in the
environment of traditional, post-industrial, industrial and transitional
societies. The Panel calls for a presentation of papers, case studies,
research, surveys, or personal observations informing about cultural and
social transformations  taking place in human development and revealing
currently occurred changes in social life, psychology, arts, education,
and culture as well as in the social institutions their represented.

The interdisciplinary theme of the Panel opens a wider opportunity to
discuss different paradigms of socio-cultural perceptions of Globalization
in various milieus; tendencies that support or restrict a worldwide
integration; and forms of socio-cultural estrangement, The participants
also encourage in stimulating a dialogue on both advantages and
disadvantages of socio-cultural transformation, how different social
institutions are responding to the challenges and opportunities of the
global environment; and how Globalization affects not only the shape and
mode of national operation but also a life of the individuals.

The Emergence of the State in Europe
Convenor: Prof. Alessandro Guidi (Verona University, Italy; E-mail:
alessandro.guidi@univr.it)

Normally we consider ancient early states those of Near East, Egypt,
Mesoamerica and Peru.

The archaeological researches of the last 25 years demonstrated that in
many parts of Europe state systems are present, often before contact with
so called "superior civilizations".

The aim of this panel is to analyze their emergence in early I millennium
Italy and Spain, "Dark Age" Greece, late I millennium Central Europe,
France and Britain).

Crucial themes will be:
1). Definition of different pathways toward the State;
2). Presence/absence of cities;
3). Endogenous vs. exogenous development;
4). Centre/periphery relationships.

The End of Socialist States and the Rise of Ethnic Nationalism
Convenor: Dr. Charles Rheaume (National Defense Headquarters, Ottawa,
Canada; E-mails: rheaume.cc@forces.gc.ca; crheau@sympatico.ca)

Various kinds of ethnic nationalism have developed at the turn of the 21st
century. This phenomenon, as manifested in international relations, is to
be traced in good part to the disappearance of the Socialist Bloc and its
internationalist discourse. Among that paradigm shift's fiercest episodes
were Yugoslavia's break-up and the Bosnian war, which had repercussions in
contexts as remote as Canadian politics. The rise of ethnic nationalism
expresses itself in subtle ways as well. This is the case with
Russian-language humor from Russian immigrants against their receiving
societies where they voice nostalgia for the superpower status of the
Soviet Union.

The Forms of Social Stratification and Power Institutions in Chiefdoms and
State Societies of South America and Mesoamerica
Convenors: Dr. Ernesto Gonzalez Licon (National School of Anthropology and
History, Mexico City, Mexico; E-mail: eglicon@yahoo.com.mx); Dr. Carlos
Armando Rodriguez (University del Valle, Cali, Colombia; E-mail:
carodrig@univalle.edu.co); Dr. Anastasia Kalyuta (Russian Ethnological
Museum, St. Petersburg; E-mails: anastasiakalyuta@mail.ru;
kalyuta@ethnomuseum.ru)

The main objective of this panel is to discuss the civilizational and
evolutionary models of socio-political development of two important
regions in the pre-Hispanic Period: the northeastern part of South America
and Mesoamerica. The panel is integrated by scholars from these regions
and is open to other researchers interested in the comparison and analysis
of the sociopolitical evolution of Chiefdoms and State societies in these
regions as well.

The panel will be dedicated to the examination of general tendencies and
particularities of appearance, evolution and functioning of social
stratification and power in the South American and Mesoamerican societies
in course of more than 3000 years from Formative Period to the first
quarter of the 16th century, the time of Spanish Conquest. The Andean
region and Mesoamerica are two of the few regions in the world, where
complex societies and states emerged independently of contacts with other
parts of the earth that gives to researchers the unique "opportunity" for
checking the existing theories of complex societies and state formation.
This moment is combined with exceptional richness of archaeological
materials and written sources, which makes possible to reconstruct at
least in general forms the main vector of South American and Mesoamerican
civilizations' development as well as concrete variants of their evolution
in various parts of the regions.

Departing from these general objectives, the panel will deal with three
main blocks of questions to be discussed during its sessions:
- Discussion and evaluation of theoretical models, methodological
approaches and / or archaeological indicators related directly to the
societies in the regions and period mentioned above.
- Discussion of several aspects based on the archaeological record and/or
ethnohistoric sources, related to the formation of hierarchical and net
structures, social inequality, gender roles, funerary practices, long
distance trade, diffusion of knowledge, and the possible relationship
between these two regions and/or some of their forms of socio-political
organization.
- Main economic and environmental factors of appearance and evolution of
states and complex societies in South American and Mesoamerica;
- Economic, ideological and social bases of power in Formative, Classic
and Postclassic societies

The Images of Power, State and Leaders
Convenor: Dr. Tatiana V. Evgenyeva (Institute for African Studies, Russian
Academy of Sciences, Moscow; E-mails: etv@rol.ru; etv133@mail.ru)

While observing the facts and reasons, because of which the relations
between the population and the power is undergoing changes, we'll pay
attention to the context of power perception.

These relations is not be limited to the ratings, proposed by different
sociologic agencies. it is necessary to analyse the structure of political
perception in general, taking into account more complicated and fine
mechanisms, than those fixed by sociological questionnaires.

Images of power have complex structure, in which one should distinguish
alongside the rational level, which is being fixed in sociological
surveys, also the level of unconsciousness, to find out which we need
different, mainly psychological instruments. This level is composed not
only under the influence of the current political events, but also under
the impact of the traditions of national political culture, those
archetypes, which have been rooted in mass consciousness for a long time.
Images of power are also based on the images of specific power holders in
mass consciousness.

Within the research of the images of power  it is necessary to compare
images of power and images of the person of leader in public mentality, to
find the basis of these images in national culture, including the image of
the state, to explore dynamics of the attitudes of rank-and-file citizens
towards real and ideal power.

We invite the participants to discuss the problems of real and ideal power
and state, images of "our" and "alien" political leader, "our" and "alien"
state, mass ideas of actual and "shade" political power and political
system.

The Newcomers and Old-Timers: Intercultural Communication, Social
Transformations and Migration Policy
Convenors: Prof. Dmitri M. Bondarenko (Institute for African Studies,
Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow; E-mail: dbondar@hotmail.com); Dr.
Veronica V. Usacheva (Institute for African Studies, Russian Academy of
Sciences, Moscow; E-mail: veronius@rambler.ru)

Activation of the migration processes, one of the key characteristic
features of our time, is often seen as a source of social tension
determined by cultural differences between the newcomers and old-timers in
a society. Both cultural and social differences and contradictions between
the migrants and initial citizens are to be given consideration in the
Panel. One of the Panel's goals is to study the migrants and autochthonous
population interdependent images in the each others' consciousness,
stemming from the premise that the images of other cultures affect
crucially the attitude to the respective cultures representatives. Owe to
these images the stereotypic visions of other peoples are formed and
reproduced, they influence directly the practice of the relations with
them. It is important to reveal not only the images as such but also the
historical backgrounds for, and dynamics of their formation in different
countries of the world, their specificity and directionality that depends
on the socio-cultural features of both the "accepting milieu" and various
migrant communities. Simultaneously with the formation of the mutual
images of different cultures representatives - now dwellers of the same
country and members of the same society, one more process is on, too. This
process also has two aspects, dealing with which is a part of the Panel's
tasks. On the one hand, the migrant communities are becoming diasporas -
net associations that establish informal as well as semiformal and formal,
links and hierarchies within themselves, with the recipient society, with
the country of origin, and with the analogous compatriot communities in
other countries. Although in the diaspora communities the pre-migration
cultural traditions and social relations are supported and may remain
unchanged for a much longer time than in the country of origin, these
communities inevitable have to conform to the principles of the recipient
society. On the other hand, the process of the migrant communities'
socio-cultural integration in the latter presupposes securing by them of
some social and professional niches what leads to transformation of the
whole system of social hierarchies in a given society. The role of the
directing force, of mediators and regulators in the relations between a
country's cultural majority and the migrant communities is to be played by
the civil society institutions and the state that pursues the migration
policy in the legal, economic, social, cultural, educational, information,
and other spheres. Hence, an important task of the Panel is to consider
the migration policy in different states and the range and variety of the
migrant communities and the wider, whole society's "responses" to the
government's "challenges".

The Use of Symbolic Identities as Cultural Models of Power Legitimation:
The Case of the Navy and Merchant Fleet
Convenor: Mr. Ioannis Sideris (Merchant Marine Academy of Greece,
Thessaloniki; E-mail: siderisy@otenet.gr)

This proposal aims at the presentation of a research undergoing within the
frameworks of the Maritime Education and concerned with the variety of
cultural patterns of power legitimation on board military and merchant
ships.

These cultural patterns of legitimacy construction are viewed as being
parallel, converging, or conflictuous to the official mechanisms
distributing authority and power in the setting of a military or merchant
ship manned by a multinational/multicultural crew.

In particular, being the largest in the world by transporting capacity,
the Greek-owned merchant shipping industry operates under a variety of
flags [registries] and employs crews of many different national and ethnic
origins [mainly Asians and Eastern Europeans]. The Greek-owned shipping
industry is not only the most globalized and financially successful branch
of the Greek economy, but it is so in comparison with the rest of its
competitors as well.

As in any globalized economic environment, the imperatives structuring the
coexistence of different national, ethnic, and cultural factors in the
workplace are interweaved with and affected by a number of well known
phenomena, namely inter-ethnic conflict, nationalist and religious
presumptions, or, simply, unavoidable ingredients of a still semantically
dominant but controversial "Clash of Civilizations".

In the light of the findings of the undergoing research, the above
mentioned phenomena are not independent of the cultural models of power
and hierarchy legitimation, as these latter often function as
inter-cultural translators providing acceptable and workable individual
perceptions of hierarchical relations.

Hierarchy as an organizing principle of human groups, and the creation,
transformation, or mutation of symbolic identities as a means to overcome
the conflictuous character of hierarchy formation, is the object of our
study whose most salient aspects would be presented at the panel. More
precisely, we shall make use of a research on the maritime microcosm to
focus, in a structurally encompassing manner, on the following issues /
problematics of the Conference:
1). ideology and legitimation of power in different civilizational
contexts, where we shall examine the role of the socially dominant
ideologies in the shaping of individual cognitive schemata;
2). cultural models of power's perception in different civilizations,
where we shall try to articulate the artifact of symbolic identity with
the existence of cultural patterns of legitimacy construction;
3). power, society, and culture in the era of globalization, where we
shall propose an alternative reading of the inter-cultural dynamics in
regard to what is currently considered as up-to-date theory in "Managerial
Anthropology", inter-cultural management, and conflict resolution studies.

Traditional Identities in Modern Social and Political Processes in the
Caucasus
Convenor: Dr. Enver F. Kisriev (Institute for African Studies, Russian
Academy of Sciences, Moscow; E-mail: kisriev.dagestan@mtu-net.ru); Prof.
Robert Bruce Ware (Southern Illinois University Edwardsville; E-mail:
rware@siue.edu); Dr. Naima Neflyasheva (Institute for African Studies,
Russian Academy of Sciences, Moscow; E-mail: innef@mail.ru)

The Caucasus is a very specific region of the world where various
communities based on deeply rooted traditional modes of social ties
(clan-like, Jamaat-like, ethnic, religious and other identities) preserve
their stability and actually reveal themselves in social and political
life.

When after the collapse of the Soviet Union some radial political
transformations occurred in the Caucasus, studies relating to regeneration
of the traditional Caucasian identities and their participation in social
and political processes developing in the states of the Southern Caucasus
as well as in North Caucasian subjects of the Russian Federation acquired
a strong scientific and practical interest.

Transfer of Institutions and Technologies in the Context of Dialogue of
Civilizations
Convenor: Prof. Yuri V. Gromyko (Institute of Advanced Studies, Moscow,
Russia; E-mail: nmu@dol.ru)

Among the most important constituent bases of the contemporary world are
communicability and transferability, especially insofar as they concern
institutions and technological systems (both industrial and humanitarian)
at the level of interstate relations.

The study and explanation of phenomena such as the interaction and
transfer of institutions and technologies, particularly from the
perspective of power and politics, are thus one of the most challenging
tasks pertaining to the goal of establishing regional and global security,
as well as of preserving identities. Is Russia prepared today to not only
borrow and acquire institutions and technologies - first and foremost
"Western" ones - but also translate them? What are the place and role of
the state itself as an institution and how can this institutional and
technological transfer be accomplished in the context of dialogue of
civilizations? What is to happen both to the country identity and to
ethnic identities in such a context? What humanitarian technologies should
be like? These are questions that actually inquire int o the place, part,
and functions of the state as a political institution in the contemporary
world.

The present-day world of globalization is the Oikumene that is
deteriorating because of the unrestrained expansion of a limited set of
technologies over the entire universe - technologies destroying biological
and sociocultural diversity in the world - as well as because of the
imposing on all residents of the "global village" of a narrow circle of
values obliterating their identities. The overcoming of "egoculturalism"
and the building of an intercivilization dialogue are the most pressing
problems of nowadays. The examination of these issues and possible
projects of solving problems of global and regional security are the focus
of the section.

Problems for discussion:
1). Principal characteristics of the contemporary world and the role of
the state as a political institution
2). The transfer of institutions and technologies: historical, regional,
cultural, and political aspects
3). The translation of institutions and technologies in the context of the
issue of maintenance and preservation of identities

War, Economy and Society in Southern Africa, 1867-1902
Convenor: Prof. Ian Phimister (University of Sheffield, UK; E-mail:
i.phimister@sheffield.ac.uk)

Such a panel, we believe, would engage with several of the wider
Conference issues and themes, particularly those of 'from simple societies
to the world-system: pathways and forms of political integration';
'socio-political and cultural-mental factors of social transformation';
and 'violence and non-violence in the history of political institutions'.

Our reasons for thinking this are as follows: the violent integration at
the end of the 19th century of the southern African sub-continent into the
wider world of European, largely but not entirely British, imperialism,
has long attracted the interest of historians and other scholars. Yet both
the long-term origins and the short-term causes of the South African
['Anglo-Boer'] War are still hotly debated. Amongst many possible
explanations for this continuing historiographical controversy is the fact
that the 'Boer' side, or sides, of the question has not been
systematically examined. We are convinced that a revision of the Kruger
[Transvaal / ZAR] state's standing in history is long overdue. President
Kruger's own crucial role as an innovator, especially with regard to his
insights and policies in connection with the economy of the ZAR, stands in
urgent need of thorough-going investigation. Reassessment of the pattern
of modernization of the ZAR and the part played by Kruger, is likely
wholly to recast interpretations of the coming of the South African War.
It will provide an opportunity to scrutinize critically, not least from a
wide range of international perspectives, those polarized views that have
seen the conflict as essentially one between Boer backwardness and British
civilization.


From jancius at ohio.edu  Fri May  9 01:04:05 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Fri May  9 00:05:25 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]CFP: Small Cities: The Sources of Urban Growth
Message-ID: <000501c8b189$bcd68370$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

Small Cities: The Sources of Urban Growth
Location: Indiana, United States

Call for Papers

The Center for Middletown Studies at Ball State University announces the 
sixth Small Cities Conference. It will explore the historical and 
contemporary sources of urban growth and economic development in smaller and 
mid-sized cities. The Conference organizers encourage papers that examine 
cities and urban systems in both the U.S. and abroad, including in 
non-western settings. They also welcome submissions addressing urban growth 
and development in the premodern as well as the modern era. Among its goals 
is the generation of a better understanding of the factors that have 
influenced the growth and prosperity of nonmetropolitan urban communities.

The Conference organizers expect a common set of questions to unite the 
diverse scholarship presented at the conference. Most fundamentally, the 
papers should consider what variables or historical circumstances account 
for urban growth and economic development in secondary cities. Within this 
broad theme papers might address more specific questions: How, and to what 
degree, has the position of a city (or cities) within economic, cultural, 
and administrative networks influenced its (or their) evolution? To what 
extent do the different conceptions of what constitutes a city in different 
cultures matter.
How much do the varying degrees of autonomy and power accorded to city 
governments in different political contexts determine the success or failure 
of a city in a global economy? Have there been development strategies, 
spatial patterns, political structures, demographic mixes, or other factors 
that have been especially conducive to urban growth in particular historical 
contexts? Presentations at the conference might also consider whether 
population growth is itself necessary to a healthy, economically viable 
city.

Rather than specify an arbitrary population range, the organizers of this 
conference will leave the precise definition of a small city open. We seek 
papers that examine a city or cities occupying secondary or tertiary roles 
in urban systems. In some cases the communities may be relatively 
large-several hundred thousand people or more-and in others they may be 
considerably smaller. We particularly encourage scholars of the pre-modern 
era and the non-West to reconsider their study of primary sources that do 
not provide definitive statistical data. Considering the questions posed 
above, scholars should attempt to identify and address textual and 
non-textual evidence of urban networking, whether local, regional, or 
international.

Proposals for individual papers as well as fully formed panels (two or three 
papers) are welcome. The conference organizers intend to circulate most 
papers to conference participants in advance.

The Conference will take place April 17 and 18, 2009 at Ball State 
University and Minnetrista, both in Muncie, Indiana. The deadline for 
proposals is October 1, 2008. Precirculated papers will be due February 23, 
2009.

Proposals and inquiries should be directed to:

James Connolly
Director, Center for Middletown Studies
Ball State University
Muncie, IN 47306
765-285-8037/ jconnoll@bsu.edu


From jancius at ohio.edu  Fri May  9 01:09:43 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Fri May  9 00:10:11 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]
 ANN: Closing of the Slave Trades: Transatlantic Perspectives, An
 International Symposium (UK)
Message-ID: <002b01c8b18a$855ee0d0$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

Closing of the Slave Trades: Transatlantic Perspectives, An International 
Symposium

QUEENS UNIVERSITY BELFAST
Thursday, May 29-Saturday, May 31, 2008

Co-sponsored by the Gilder Lehrman Center for the Study of Slavery, 
Resistance, and Abolition at Yale University and the School of History and 
Anthropology at Queen's University

The abolition of the international slave trades in the United Kingdom (1807) 
and the United States (1808) was perhaps only a small step for these 
nation-states, but created significant consequences for national identities 
and cultural developments within each sovereignty and spheres of influence. 
Millions of captured Africans were transported as unfree labor for European 
colonies. Emerging democracies in the New World, including Haiti, which 
pioneered emancipation for slaves, launched a new era for victims of the 
African diaspora.

Scores of commemorative events and programs have highlighted the anniversary 
of these watershed events in recent months. In May 2008 we will gather in 
Belfast to contemplate both trans-Atlantic perspectives on this renewed 
examination of the beginning of the end of the slave trade's dominance of 
the Atlantic World.  Museum curators, public historians, and scholars from a 
variety of disciplines and institutions will come together with a goal of 
creating an ongoing network of resources to highlight the ways and means of 
keeping antislavery commemorations in the forefront. In addition to a single 
day's series of panels, the symposium includes a roundtable (to be held one 
day in advance of the main program) highlighting new and emerging 
scholarship by graduate students: from the U.K., from the U.S. and from 
Africa.

Catherine Clinton
Queens University Belfast
Belfast, Northern Ireland
+44-2890375124
Email: catherineclinton@mac.com
Visit the website at http://www.yale.edu/glc/queens/index.htm 


From dhaines1 at gmu.edu  Fri May  9 13:02:45 2008
From: dhaines1 at gmu.edu (David Haines)
Date: Fri May  9 12:27:26 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]ICAES postponement/cancellation
Message-ID: <200805091603.m49G3VU0014017@ppoint1.cc.ysu.edu>

To SUNTA members and friends:

As some of you know, the July ICAES in Kunming
has been postponed. This raises some questions
for those of us who have organized sessions. One
possibility is an alternate venue--much as happened
when the AAA meeting in San Francisco was
cancelled/moved some years ago.

My purpose here is just to see if any others on this
list are also session organizers for Kunming and
might be interested in jointly considering options.

If you are also wrestling with what to do with
your session, please send a quick note to me
off-list. That's

	dhaines1@gmu.edu.

Best regards,

-- David Haines
    SUNTA President


From hecky at email.arizona.edu  Sat May 10 12:58:55 2008
From: hecky at email.arizona.edu (Ronald Hector A. Villanueva)
Date: Mon May 12 10:36:47 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]www.pangeaday.org
Message-ID: <20080510115855.d9bi884oc4o8sokk@www.email.arizona.edu>

Pangea Day is on! They've started to show the films. 
The current film is about refugees and war in Africa. Check out 
http://www.pangeaday.org. 
Anthropologist Donald Brown spoke about the "human universals (of language)",
which include the spoken and written word, gestures, facial expressions, social
memory, etc. 
24 films, 4 hours, 180 countries simultaenously showing the films...Bringing
the world through film...
-- 
Hecky Villanueva
PhD Candidate
Department of Anthropology
U. of Arizona

From jancius at ohio.edu  Mon May 12 11:53:10 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Mon May 12 10:54:43 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]ANN: Migration Matters Conference (Leiden, Netherlands)
Message-ID: <007401c8b43f$e943c090$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

Conference Announcement

The program of 6th MESEA Conference "Migration Matters" Leiden, The
Netherlands, June 25-28, 2008 has been posted on the MESEA website:
www.mesea.org . The program contains more than 250 papers and four
plenary lectures.

Conference Abstract
MIGRATION MATTERS: IMMIGRATION, HOMELANDS, AND BORDER
CROSSINGS IN EUROPE AND THE AMERICAS

Largely driven by economics, migration today is a global and globalizing 
phenomenon that renders
national borders obsolete and calls into question the viability of nation 
states and national identities. Yet
precisely because it undermines national structures, migration also has 
contributed to the reinvention of
the historically highly problematic concept of "homelands" and the 
reconstruction of increasingly
impenetrable borders. It is, moreover, in local situations and contexts that 
the impact of global migration is
experienced, debated, and contested most directly and urgently. This 
conference, then, aims to focus on
the ways in which migration matters locally as well as transnationally and 
globally, in the realms of
politics and culture, history and sociology, economics and law, language, 
literature and the arts in Europe
and the Americas. The following list of topics is meant to be suggestive 
rather than restrictive:

- Migration and the reinvention of (national and transnational, real and 
imaginary) "homelands" and/or
the reconstruction of (external and internal, national, ethnic and racial, 
cultural and mental, political and
economic) borders
- Global migrations and fluid geographies in terms of physical mappings and 
shifting
populations
- Migration and national/ethnic/cultural/aesthetic border crossings
- Migration and modernization
- Immigration debates in various national contexts
- Images of the host countries in countries/continents of migratory origin
- Immigration restrictions and human rights; legal and extralegal status of 
immigrants
- Circulation and impact of migrant peoples and cultures in specific rural 
and
urban spaces; cultural diversity in local societies
- New immigrant literatures as world and/or national literature; 
representation in and impact on
regional cultures, literatures, media, and arts
- Macrosociological analyses of migration and globalization processes; 
rethinking the sociology of literature
- Cultural production (literature, film, visual art, performance, music, 
blog-culture, web-art) by
or about migrants
- Migration and the reinvention of religious identities
- Emerging identities/identity fashioning; ethnic refashioning: conflict 
and/or reconciliation
- Historical case studies of migrancy and diaspora; evolving diaspora 
cultures
- Migration and gender
- Migration and race/racialization
- Forced migration and historical/contemporary slavery or bonded labor
- Migration and linguistic diversity
- Immigration and educational reformation(s)

At Leiden University a lot of research is done on migration. For an
overview of researchers and their work see: http://
www.let.leidenuniv.nl/history/migration/


From jancius at ohio.edu  Mon May 12 15:08:17 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Mon May 12 14:09:32 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]NEWS: Urban Farmers' Crops Go From Vacant Lot to Market
Message-ID: <002e01c8b45b$2a5c6120$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

Urban Farmers' Crops Go From Vacant Lot to Market
By TRACIE McMILLAN
Published: May 7, 2008
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/05/07/dining/07urban.html?pagewanted=1&_r=1

IN the shadows of the elevated tracks toward the end of the No. 3 line in 
East New York, Brooklyn, with an April chill still in the air, Denniston and 
Marlene Wilks gently pulled clusters of slender green shoots from the earth, 
revealing a blush of tiny red shallots at the base.
"Dennis used to keep them big, and people didn't buy them," Mrs. Wilks said. 
"They love to buy scallions."
Growing up in rural Jamaica, the Wilkses helped their families raise crops 
like sugar cane, coffee and yams, and take them to market. Now, in Brooklyn, 
they are farmers once again, catering to their neighbors' tastes: for 
scallions, for bitter melons like those from the West Indies and East Asia 
and for cilantro for Latin-American dinner tables.
"We never dreamed of it," said Mr. Wilks, nor did his relatives in Jamaica. 
"They are totally astonished when you tell them that you farm and go to the 
market."
For years, New Yorkers have grown basil, tomatoes and greens in window 
boxes, backyard plots and community gardens. But more and more New Yorkers 
like the Wilkses are raising fruits and vegetables, and not just to feed 
their families but to sell to people on their block.
This urban agriculture movement has grown even more vigorously elsewhere. 
Hundreds of farmers are at work in Detroit, Milwaukee, Oakland and other 
areas that, like East New York, have low-income residents, high rates of 
obesity and diabetes, limited sources of fresh produce and available, 
undeveloped land.
Local officials and nonprofit groups have been providing land, training and 
financial encouragement. But the impetus, in almost every case, has come 
from the farmers, who often till when their day jobs are done, overcoming 
peculiarly urban obstacles.
The Wilkses' return to farming began in 1990 when their daughter planted a 
watermelon in their backyard. Before long, Mrs. Wilks, an administrator in 
the city's Department of Education, was digging in the yard after work. Once 
their ambition outgrew their yard, she and Mr. Wilks, a city surveyor, along 
with other gardening neighbors, received permission to use a vacant lot 
across from a garment factory at the end of their block.
They cleared it of trash and tested its soil with help from GreenThumb, a 
Parks Department gardening program. They found traces of lead, so to ensure 
their food's safety, they built raised beds of compost. (Heavy metals are 
common contaminants in city soil because of vehicle exhaust and remnants of 
old construction. Some studies have found that such ground can be cultivated 
as long as the pH is kept neutral.)
They wanted their crops to be organic, a commitment they shared with many 
other farmers in this grimy landscape. They planted some marigolds to deter 
squirrels; they have not had rat problems, which can plague urban gardens; 
and they abandoned crops, like corn, that could attract rodents. They put up 
fences to thwart other pests - thieves and vandals - and posted signs to let 
people know that this was a garden and no longer a dump.
There were also benefits to farming in the city. The Wilkses took advantage 
of city composting programs, trucking home decomposed leaves from the 
Starrett City development in Brooklyn and ZooDoo from the Bronx Zoo's manure 
composting program. They got free seedlings from GreenThumb and took courses 
on growing and selling food from the City Farms project at the local 
nonprofit Just Food.
"The city really has been good to us," Mrs. Wilks said. "All of the property 
we work on, it's city property."
The Wilkses now cultivate plots at four sites in East New York, paying as 
little as $2 a bed (usually 4 feet by 8 feet) in addition to modest 
membership fees. Last year the couple sold $3,116 in produce at a market run 
by the community group East New York Farms, more than any of their 
neighbors.
Florence Russell is looking forward to this year's offerings. On a recent 
Saturday she watched from the end of Alabama Avenue as gardeners worked 
compost into beds at Hands and Hearts Garden, one of the sites where the 
Wilkses keep beds, along with 24 other growers. Fresh greens, she said, 
would be a welcome alternative to tough collards from the local grocery.
"This is something good happening here," Ms. Russell said.
The city's cultivators are a varied lot. The high school students at the 
Added Value community farm in Red Hook, Brooklyn, last year supplied Italian 
arugula, Asian greens and heirloom tomatoes to three restaurants, a 
community-supported agriculture buying club and two farmers' markets.
In the South Bronx a group of gardens called La Familia Verde started a 
farmers' market in 2003 to sell surpluses of herbs like papalo and the 
Caribbean green callaloo.
At a less established operation, the Brooklyn Rescue Mission's Bed-Stuy 
Farm, mission staff members began growing produce in the vacant lot behind 
their food pantry in 2004, and ended up with a surplus last year. So they 
enlisted their teenage volunteers to run a sidewalk farm stand selling 
collards, tomatoes and figs; this year they plan to open a full farmers' 
market.
The city's success with urban farming will receive international attention 
on Saturday when, during an 11-day conference in New York, 60 delegates from 
the United Nations Commission on Sustainable Development are scheduled to 
visit Hands and Hearts, the Bed-Stuy Farm and two traditional community 
gardens in Brooklyn.
There was not always so much enthusiasm for city farming, though.
John Ameroso, a Cornell Cooperative Extension agent who has worked with 
local farmers and gardeners for 32 years, said that when he first suggested 
urban farm stands in the early 1990s, city environmental officials dismissed 
the idea. " 'Oh, you could never grow enough stuff with the urban markets, " he said he was told. ' "That can't be done. You have to have farmers.' "
But local officials have come around.
Holly Leicht, an associate assistant commissioner at the city's Department 
of Housing Preservation and Development, helped provide two half-acre 
parcels of city land last year. One became Hands and Hearts and the other is 
in Ocean Hill-Brownsville, Brooklyn.
The Red Hook farm began in 2003 when the Parks Department gave the youth 
group Added Value permission to use an abandoned three-acre asphalt ball 
field. The group started with two raised beds, built a hoop house where it 
could start seeds, then laid down an acre of compost two feet deep on top of 
the asphalt. Last year the young farmers sold more than $25,000 in goods.
Urban agriculture has been an even larger undertaking in other cities, 
particularly those with weaker real estate markets and a declining 
population.
In Detroit, where locals refer to stretches of the city as urban prairie, 
food gardens are scattered through backyards, schoolyards and even more 
unlikely spots, including the floor of an abandoned roofless furniture 
factory and a vacant lot owned by a local order of Catholic friars. The 
number of gardens has grown to nearly 450 since the Garden Resource Program 
Collaborative began coordinating them in 2003.
The gardeners grow much of the food for themselves, but they have also 
organized a co-op, Grown in Detroit, to sell their surplus peas, onions, 
yams and greens. From farm stands in health center parking lots and at a 
prime booth in Eastern Market, the city's chaotic maze of wholesalers and 
local farmers, gardeners lure customers to take their first bite of a garlic 
scape, or compare their young spinach with that in a Del Monte box down the 
aisle. Next year two and a half acres that were waist high with weeds last 
summer will be set aside for market-bound produce.
City Slicker Farms in West Oakland, Calif., started in 2001 with a 
quarter-acre garden and a farm stand selling neighborhood favorites like 
collards and mustard greens. It has since persuaded local elementary 
students to volunteer and gotten owners of five additional vacant lots to 
let it grow food on their land.
Some operations have figured out how to make real money.
On a fringe of Philadelphia, a nonprofit demonstration project used densely 
planted rows in a half-acre plot and generated $67,000 from high-value crops 
like lettuces, carrots and radishes.
In Milwaukee, the nonprofit Growing Power operates a one-acre farm crammed 
with plastic greenhouses, compost piles, do-it-yourself contraptions, 
tilapia tanks and pens full of hens, ducks and goats - and grossed over 
$220,000 last year from the sale of lettuces, winter greens, sprouts and 
fish to local restaurants and consumers.
One key to financial success is having customers with the wherewithal to buy 
your goods. In New York, Bob Lewis, the head of the city office for the 
state Department of Agriculture and Markets, helped make this happen by 
getting 21 farmers at 16 sites approved to accept checks from the Farmers' 
Market Nutrition Program, a supplement to the Women, Infants and Children 
(WIC) and senior nutrition programs.
Sarita Daftary, the program director for East New York Farms, estimates that 
about 60 percent of the market's gross revenue came from the farmers' market 
checks. And by the end of this year, changes to WIC will give city residents 
another $14 million specifically for fresh fruits and vegetables.
But land and demand are not all that successful farmers need. They have to 
know how to run a business or a farm.
So Growing Power, the Milwaukee group, offers several training sessions each 
year, and Just Food's City Farms project holds an annual series of workshops 
on running farm stands.
For more formal training there is the Center for Agroecology and Sustainable 
Food Systems at the University of California, Santa Cruz. Founded in 1967, 
the center runs a six-month course for 39 students each year on its two 
farms.
Patricia Allen, the center's executive director, said roughly three-fourths 
of her students today were interested in urban growing.
"We're not looking at a back-to-the-land movement in any sense," she said.
Just ask Karen Washington. She began growing food in 1985, after a city 
program offering a house with a yard lured her, then a single mother of two, 
to the South Bronx from Harlem.
Though she works as a physical therapist, Ms. Washington always knew she had 
another calling. "When I was a little kid I used to watch the farm report," 
she said. "I always wanted to grow and be a farmer."
Wary of chemicals and their effect on her health, Ms. Washington was 
determined to farm organically. She learned how to deter pests with mild 
soapy sprays and marigolds, encourage natural pest killers like ladybugs, 
and turn food scraps into fertile compost. As her skills grew, so did her 
ambitions. First she helped turn a vacant lot on her block into the Garden 
of Happiness. Then she helped defend local gardens from developers, and 
later persuaded the resulting coalition, La Familia Verde, to run a farm 
stand and test the waters for a farmers' market.
"It's not about making money," Ms. Washington said. "We're selling so that 
people in our neighborhood have good quality. There's no Whole Foods in my 
neighborhood."
Like many markets that sell neighborhood produce, La Familia Verde's has 
attracted upstate farmers who did not venture into these areas until the 
locals showed them there was a market. The professionals do not compete with 
the amateurs though; they sell crops like corn and apples.
All this has not quenched Ms. Washington's agricultural ambitions. In April 
she took a six-month leave from her job and headed to the Center for 
Agroecology with two other city growers. She said she hoped to take notes 
and start an urban farm school in New York.
With that in place, Ms. Washington said, the possibilities could be endless.
"So that the next time we ask a kid where a tomato comes from," she said, 
"he won't have to say a supermarket. He can say, Here's an urban farm, and 
here is where I'm growing that tomato that you're talking about. How great 
is that?" 


From jancius at ohio.edu  Mon May 12 15:09:57 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Mon May 12 14:12:04 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]FUNDING: SSRC Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship
Message-ID: <005301c8b45b$69111550$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

Dissertation Proposal Development Fellowship (DPDF)

Request for Proposals - Faculty Opportunities

The Social Science Research Council, with funding from the Andrew W. Mellon
Foundation, is pleased to announce a call to faculty for interdisciplinary
research field proposals for the 2009 Dissertation Proposal Development
Fellowship (DPDF) program.

Established in 2006, the DPDF combines financial support and workshop
experience for early-stage graduate students engaged in predissertation
research and developing their dissertation proposals. The DPDF program is
designed to intervene at a critical moment in the career development of
graduate students in the humanities and social sciences by aiding their
transition from students to researchers. It provides complementary
interdisciplinary perspectives to students across the disciplines of the
social sciences and humanities.

Faculty applicants must be tenured at different doctoral degree-granting
programs at US universities and apply in teams of two. DPDF Research
Directors lead groups of 12 graduate student fellows in two four-day
workshops Research directors receive a stipend of $10,000 each. More
information about the program may be found at: http://programs.ssrc.org/dpdf

Research Fields

A research field refers to subdisciplinary and interdisciplinary domains
with common intellectual questions and styles of research. Research fields
can be topical in focus, transnational in scope, or comparative. They can be
organized around sources, or grounded in geographical regions.  The
Council is especially interested in innovative fields of study that may not
yet be adequately supported in academic departments. The 2008 research
fields were: Animal Studies, Human Dimensions of Global Environmental
Change, Muslim Modernities, Science and Technology Policy, Urban Visual
Studies. For 2009, the Council especially seeks fields touching on
environmental issues, religion, and visual culture. Full descriptions of the
2007 and 2008 research fields are available on the program Web Site:
http://programs.ssrc.org/dpdf

Research Directors

The DPDF Faculty Committee will select five research fields, each proposed
by two faculty research directors with different institutional affiliations
and, as relevant, different disciplinary specializations. With the
assistance of SSRC program staff, research directors run the spring and fall
workshops that bracket the predissertation research of the students.
Research directors should be tenured, experienced supervisors of
dissertation research. Each faculty member will receive a stipend of
$10,000; students will receive up to $5,000 for summer predissertation
research.

Application Requirements and Deadline

The DPDF program invites faculty to submit joint proposals for research
fields for the 2009 fellowship program. The application is available through
the SSRC's application portal, http://applications.ssrc.org/. Proposals
should describe the relevance of the research field, the kind of graduate
students who might be recruited, and the kinds of activities that would be
entailed in each of the two workshops, along with a short bibliography and
curricula vitae of the two research directors. Applications must be
submitted via the application portal by October 3rd, 2008.

Contact Details

Please direct any questions to program staff at dpdf@ssrc.org

Emily Burns
Social Science Research Council
From jancius at ohio.edu  Tue May 13 12:09:31 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Tue May 13 11:12:01 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]CFP: Travels Between Europe and the Americas (Berlin,
	Germany)
Message-ID: <006001c8b50b$5cccc310$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

Fifth International and Interdisciplinary Conference Alexander von Humboldt, 2009: Travels Between Europe and the Americas

at Freie Universit?t Berlin, Germany,
July 27-31, 2009

Call for Papers

Researchers from all disciplines, professors and graduate students interested in travels between Europe and the Americas are invited to submit abstracts of their papers for consideration.

Topics
- Alexander von Humboldt
- Travels Between Europe and Latin America (15th through 21st centuries)
- Travelling in Dictatorships: Colonialism, Caudillismo, Fascism, Communism
- Travel and Science: Measuring, Collecting, Imagining the World
- Contemporary Travel Writing
- Emigration and Exile
- Travelling, Gender, Sexuality
- Travel Cultures, Practices and Economies: Discoveries, Expeditions, Tourism
- Global Environments: Travels and Ecology
- Narrating Voyages: the Scholar-Traveller
- Theories of Mobility and Travel Literature

Additional Program
- In special sessions, travel writers and correspondents will read from their work.
- Cultural activities, excursions to historic sites and a guided tour in Berlin will be offered.
- The conference will end with an optional trip to Weimar.
- Papers will be considered for publication.

Languages
- Papers may be presented in English, German or Spanish.
- Participants who wish to speak in German or Spanish are asked to provide English versions of their papers to be projected onto screens during their talk.

Submission
- Presentations should not exceed 20 minutes (approximately 8 pages double-spaced, 2.000 words).
- Abstracts may be submitted in English, German or Spanish (250 words maximum).
- Please submit your abstracts online via www.humboldtconference2009.de.
- If you would like to suggest a panel, please send an e-mail to mail@ctw-congress.de with the title of your panel, the chair (name and contact
information) and the titles and reference numbers of each of the presentations which were submitted separately under "additional panels" in the online abstract system.
- The deadline for submissions is December 1, 2008.

Registration Fees
- 100 Euros for North American and European participants.
- 50 Euros for graduate students and Latin American participants.

Contacts & Information
- Lilianet Brintrup, Conference President: lib1@humboldt.edu
- Oliver Lubrich, Conference Vice President: lubrich@zedat.fu-berlin.de
- For detailed information please visit our website at 
< http://www.humboldtconference2009.de >

Organisers

Freie Universit?t Berlin
Peter Szondi Department of Comparative Literature Habelschwerdter Allee 45
14195 Berlin, Germany
< www.complit.fu-berlin.de >

Humboldt State University
Department of World Languages and Cultures 
Arcata, California 95521, USA 
< www.humboldt.edu >
From jancius at ohio.edu  Wed May 14 14:44:29 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Wed May 14 13:46:16 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]
 FUNDING: UK Social Policy and Migration Related PhD Studentships
Message-ID: <002901c8b5ea$406d9fc0$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

From: Pero Davide <Davide.Pero@nottingham.ac.uk>


Could you please circulate the this email to the list on my behalf. 
Applicant from anthropology are particularly welcome.

With many thanks,

Davide


Dr Davide Per?
Co-convenor
Identity, Citizenship and Migration Centre
School of Sociology & Social Policy
University of Nottingham
University Park
Nottingham NG7 2RD
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

The University of Nottingham

School of Sociology and Social Policy

THREE full-time ESRC/CASE PhD Studentships and
ONE full-time School funded PhD Studentship

Applications are invited for four '+3' full-time studentships, to begin in 
October 2008.

THREE full-time studentships are supported by the ESRC and various other 
agencies under the CASE studentship scheme for work on three innovative 
projects.

1. UK Migration Policy in Practice: The Role of Public and Civic 
Organisations

Supported by Migrants Rights Network (+3)

In recent years public policy bodies and civil society organisations have 
been drawn into the terrain of immigration and integration policy generating 
a new complex and uncharted scenario. This project aims to advance 
'integration' knowledge, theory, policy and practice by examining the role 
played by British public and civic sectors in the incorporation and 
accommodation of new migrants. The project will follow an 'anthropology of 
policy' approach and will be carried out through participant observation (at 
meetings, public events etc) and semi-structured interviewing (with public 
sector staff, civic activists, politicians, policy makers etc). The 
candidate is expected to have genuine commitment to the welfare of migrants.

The lead academic supervisor is Dr Davide Per? and Professor Saul Becker.

2. A Symbolic Interactionist Approach to Mental Health Assertive Outreach

Supported by Nottinghamshire Healthcare NHS Trust (+3, or exceptionally 1+3)

This project reflects growing interest in the application of exacting social 
sciences' methodologies to the real world of NHS mental health services. 
Embedded observations of community mental health team work, case note 
reviews and interviews with clients and staff  will be used to explore the 
determinants of patients' assumed and attributed identities from a symbolic 
interactionist perspective. In order to conduct their fieldwork the student 
will also hold an honorary NHS contract which will authorise them to work 
alongside members of a community mental health team. Clinical benefits will 
include insight into the unintended social harm that can result from contact 
with mental health services.

The lead academic supervisor is Dr. Hugh Middleton, Associate Professor and 
Professor Stephen Joseph.

3. Help Seeking behaviour in People with Psychological Distress: Identifying 
Barriers and Issues

Supported by Nottingham City Primary Care NHS Trust (+3)

This research involves a study of help seeking behaviours for psychological 
distress in Nottingham, professional perceptions of psychological distress 
and the services available to provide support. The aim is to better 
understand how professional views and service configuration may be 
influencing help seeking behaviour in Nottingham City and to indicate 
directions for service change. The methodology will involve a postal survey, 
use of vignettes and in-depth interviews.

The lead academic supervisor is Professor Ian Shaw and Dr Hugh Middleton, 
Associate Professor.

4. School Funded PhD studentship (+3)

The School of Sociology and Social Policy is a leading interdisciplinary 
centre for social science research.  Major interests include, amongst 
others, health, children and families, public and social policy, cultural 
sociology, social work and social care, citizenship, globalisation, human 
rights, migration and ethnicity.  This doctoral study opportunity is open to 
any of the School's research areas and is not tied to holding an ESRC 
recognised Masters.

The Studentships
All 4 studentships cover all tuition fees at the Home/EU rate (?4,200 for 
08/09). CASE students will receive an annual tax-free maintenance award that 
will be at least ?16,600 per year. The School funded PhD studentship will 
receive an annual tax-free maintenance award that will be at least ?12,600 
per year. The Studentships provide additional funds for research support 
costs.

Candidates should have a good Honours degree in sociology, social policy, 
social work, public policy or a related discipline, and, for the +3 awards, 
have, or expect to have by autumn 2008, a Masters qualification from an ESRC 
recognised research training course or a Masters degree which includes a 
substantial research element or equivalent research experience in a work 
setting.

Further details of how to apply are available from Mrs Alison Haigh, 
Postgraduate Administrator, Tel: 0115 951 5354 or email: 
alison.haigh@nottingham.ac.uk

The closing date for applications is 5pm Thursday 12th June 2008.
Interviews will be held between 1st - 8th July 2008.


****************************************
Postgraduate Scholarships
for the MA in Migration and Transnationalism
School of Sociology and Social Policy

2008 Entry

v The School of Sociology and Social Policy is delighted to offer 3 x ?2,666
scholarships for students starting full-time or part-time study on the MA 
Programme - Migration and Transnationalism at the University of Nottingham 
in September 2008.

v The scholarship is open to Home, EU and International students

v Applications for the scholarships should be submitted to the School of 
Sociology and Social Policy by Friday 30th May 2008

v The scholarship winners will be notified by the end of June 2008.

v The University of Nottingham has an international reputation for 
excellence in teaching and research and for the environment in which 
students live and study.

v These scholarships contribute towards the tuition fee. In addition to the 
tuition fees for international students, we estimate that in 2008-2009 an 
international student unaccompanied by relatives will need approximately 
?700 per month for accommodation, maintenance, recreation and other expenses 
in the UK.

IT IS IMPORTANT TO NOTE THAT ONLY STUDENTS WHO HAVE BEEN OFFERED A PLACE AT
THE UNIVERSITY OF NOTTINGHAM ARE ELIGIBLE TO APPLY FOR A SCHOLARSHIP


School of Sociology and Social Policy
University of Nottingham * University Park * Nottingham * NG7 2RD * UK

Tel: +44 (0) 115 846 7551  *  Fax: +44 (0) 115 951 5232

Email: Kathryn.clay@nottingham.ac.uk

**************************************

The MA Migration and Transnationalism degree explores migration issues in a 
global context and provides students with advanced level sociological 
knowledge of debates on migration (including policy debates). It also 
provides a critical understanding of related concepts such as 'citizenship', 
'multiculturalism', and 'social cohesion'. Through a focus on these 
concepts, the MA will enable students to achieve advanced understanding of 
sociological debate and theory, and their intersection with debated and 
theory in other disciplines.

The MA in Migration and Transnationalism provides students with:

knowledge and understanding of how globalisation has affected migratory 
flows, and of the key issues and concepts connected to the movement and 
settlement of people in the contemporary world
awareness of what migration can mean for individuals and groups in terms of 
their ability to access human rights (social, economic and cultural as well 
as political and civil)
advanced level knowledge and understanding of refugee and other migrant 
groups' experience, and a capacity to critically deconstruct oppositional 
categories that have traditionally been used to classify migrants
knowledge and skills relevant to a range of careers in the field of 
migration, social cohesion and community relations (including those within 
refugee and migrant organisations, local authorities and other public 
bodies). Students will also gain the knowledge and skills relevant for a 
career in academia

Course Structure

The course is provided over 12 month period full-time. Students will take 
two core modules in the first semester, one of 15 credits, one of 30 
credits, and a further two core modules (adding up to 45 credits) in the 
second semester. They will also take an additional 30 credits of elective 
modules from an approved list, spread over the two semesters. Students will 
then continue to produce their dissertation (60 credits) over the summer 
vacation period. This course is also provided part-time.

All students must take the following core modules:

Migration, Mobility, Multiculturalism and Mobilisation (30 credits)
Transationalism (30 credits)
Research Methods and Dissertation Preparation (15 credits)
Civil Society: The role of NGOs (non-governmental organisations) (15 
credits)
In addition, students take a minimum of 10 credits and a maximum of 30 
credits from the following elective modules:

Globalisation, Citizenship and Identity (15 credits)
Human Rights and Modern Slavery (15 credits)
Non-Governmental Organisations (15 credits)
International Protection of Refugees (15 credits)
Globalisation and it Discontents (15/20 Credits)
Globalisation, Governance and Public Policy (10 credits)
Students may  take up to 20 credits from anywhere else in the University, 
subject to approval of the Course Director.

During the course we invite outside speakers who undertake research and/or 
advocacy work around human and citizenship rights in NGOs, international 
agencies, or media. There are good opportunities to undertake your own 
research. This can be achieved through both an independent project 
evaluating the work of a NGO of your choice, and through the dissertation. 
Your dissertation will be supervised by nationally and internationally 
renowned sociologists.

Assessment

The core modules are assessed by written work of between 4,000 words (for a 
15 credit module) and 6,000 words (for 30 credit modules).  Optional modules 
may be assessed in a variety of ways, including essays and examinations. A 
dissertation of between 15,000 and 20,000 words in length must be submitted 
by the end of the summer period.

Entry Requirements

A 2:1 honours degree in a social science or humanities subject or its 
international equivalent will be normally be required. Students without this 
formal qualification but with other relevant qualifications or employment 
experience will be considered on an individual basis.  International 
students whose first language is not English are required to have the 
following English language qualifications before they can register on an 
academic programme: IELTS 6.5 (no less than 6.0 in any element); TOEFL 
paper-based 573 (no less than 4.5 in TWE); TOEFL computer-based 230 (no less 
than 4.5 in essay rating); TOEFL iBT 88 (no less than 19 in any element).

However, applicants from certain countries may have these requirements 
waived subject to The University of Nottingham Policy for Waiving English 
Entry Requirements, see 
www.nottingham.ac.uk/quality-manual/recruitment-admissions/Policy-for-Waiving-English-Language

Applications

Apply online at https://pgapps.nottingham.ac.uk

Funding Opportunities

The School offers scholarships for this MA. Please see 
www.nottingham.ac.uk/sociology/postgraduates/scholarships.php
For further funding opportunities please see 
www.nottingham.ac.uk/international
Enquiries

Please follow this link for a downloadable (PDF) version of the above course 
details

For further information please contact:

Postgraduate Secretary for Taught Masters Programmes, School of Sociology 
and Social Policy, The University of Nottingham, University Park, 
Nottingham, NG7 2RD, UK

t: +44 (0)115 846 7551
e: Kathryn.Clay@nottingham.ac.uk  or socspa@nottingham.ac.uk
w: www.nottingham.ac.uk/pgstudy/sociology 


From dhaines1 at gmu.edu  Wed May 14 18:39:07 2008
From: dhaines1 at gmu.edu (David Haines)
Date: Wed May 14 17:53:21 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]Vote!
Message-ID: <200805142147.m4ELlPao015031@ppoint1.cc.ysu.edu>

To SUNTA members:

Just a reminder to vote.

The link is:

https://eballot3.votenet.com/aaa/login.cfm

Best regards,

-- David Haines



From jancius at ohio.edu  Fri May 16 13:40:21 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Fri May 16 12:41:14 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]ANN: Summer Immigrant Housing Rights Internship in NYC
Message-ID: <017101c8b773$8cc32360$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

From: Movement for Justice in El Barrio 
<movementforjusticeinelbarrio@yahoo.com>


Movement for Justice in El Barrio

Summer Community Organizing
Paid-Internship Opportunity!

Movimiento por Justicia del Barrio/Movement for
Justice in El Barrio is an immigrant-led multi-issue
organization fighting for justice in East Harlem, New
York. Movimiento was founded to fight against a
voracious trend towards gentrification that is
devouring low-income housing and displacing immigrant
families from their homes. 

Through strategies such as protests and direct action,
litigation, and media outreach, Movimiento has
organized tenants to achieve hundreds of repairs and
has successfully challenged attempts by aggressive
landlords and multi-national corporations to illegally
evict them from their homes.

Movement for Justice in El Barrio is offering this
exciting opportunity to young people committed to
social justice and interested in spending July and
August doing community organizing. The internship is
20 hours a week and pays $10 and hour.  Intern's
activities will include doing outreach in the
community, helping organize tenant associations and
community forums, and researching community issues.

Requirements:

-Interns MUST be bilingual English/Spanish
-Must be between ages 15-23
-Must be able to work evenings and maintain a flexible
schedule
-No organizing experience necessary

To apply please send us an email at
movementforjusticeinelbarrio@yahoo.com including the
following: 

-A one-page essay on why you would like to organize
for social justice
-A resume or a one-paragraph biography.  

For more information call: (212) 561-0555 or email
movementforjusticeinelbarrio@yahoo.com

Deadline for Applications is June 1st, 2008!!
From jancius at ohio.edu  Fri May 16 14:02:05 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Fri May 16 13:03:15 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]JOB: Senior Collaborative Coordinator for the Urban Youth
 Collaborative (NYC)
Message-ID: <029201c8b776$9eb6e770$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

From: Mediratta, Kavitha <Kavitha_Mediratta@brown.edu>


* Job Announcement *

*Senior Collaborative Coordinator of Youth Organizing, New York City*

The Annenberg Institute for School Reform (AISR) is looking for a highly 
experienced and effective organizer and manager to lead our youth 
organizing work in New York City, and to oversee the work of Urban Youth 
Collaborative (UYC). The Urban Youth Collaborative is a citywide 
youth-led coalition focused on building a strong youth voice to ensure 
that New York City high schools prepare students for college, for jobs 
that pay a living wage, and to work for justice. The position is based 
at the Annenberg Institute for School Reform (AISR) in New York City.

*Responsibilities:*

The Senior Collaborative Coordinator will provide leadership, research, 
and communications support to the Urban Youth Collaborative's campaigns 
for high school reform in New York City; direct AISR's annual Youth 
Organizing Institute for UYC high school-age youth leaders; assist in 
fundraising for the UYC and Youth Organizing Institute; and participate 
in events and forums nationally that raise the profile of the UYC and 
youth organizing for school reform.

* *

*Qualifications: *

? Five years direct organizing experience, with two years of work with 
youth in diverse urban communities (candidates who do not have 
experience in community organizing will not be considered);

? Experience in supervising staff, preferably as a senior staff person 
in a non-profit organization;

? Demonstrated leadership, communication, and interpersonal skills;

? Experience in research, media outreach, and web-based communications; and

? Strong writing, administrative, and computer skills.

*Salary:* $70 - 75,000 depending on experience. *Apply on line at: 
https://careers.brown.edu/*

From jancius at ohio.edu  Sat May 17 16:11:06 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Sat May 17 15:12:07 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]
 CFP: Tourism Landscapes and Luxury Consumption in the Caribbean and
 the Mediterranean (UK)
Message-ID: <008601c8b851$c673d1c0$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

 Conference announcement

Tourism Landscapes and Luxury Consumption in the
Caribbean and the Mediterranean
Institute for Advanced Studies @ Lancaster University
11th and 12th of September 2008

Conference organised by the Departamento de An?lisis Geogr?fico Regional
y Geograf?a F?sica, Facultad de Geograf?a e Historia. UCM, Spain
Departamento de Antropolog?a Social, Facultad de CC. Pol?ticas y Sociolog?a. 
UCM, Spain
and 'mediterranean mobilities' - CeMoRe, Lancaster University, UK
www.medmobilities.net

Keynote speakers:
   Jonathan V. Beaverstock, University of Nottingham, UK
   Ghislain Dubois, advisor to UNEP Blue Plan and IPCC. Limoges University, 
France
   Pau Obrador, Sunderland University, UK
   Rothanti Tzanelli, Leeds University, UK
   Ana Garc?a Silberman, Universidad Nacional Aut?noma de Mexico (tbc)
   Mimi Sheller, Swathmore University, USA (tbc)
   John Urry, Centre for Mobilities Research, UK.


Signs of conspicuous ostentation proliferate along Caribbean and 
Mediterranean landscapes. Megayatchs, private islands, ultra-expensive 
mansions, luxury hotels, and exclusive restaurants and country clubs speak 
of the prominence these regions are gainning in the transnational lifestyles 
of the super-rich.
Luxury has been no stranger to places like Antigua, Belize, Bahamas, 
Barbados, Saint Tropez, Mallorca, or Monte Carlo in the 20th century. Yet 
the scale and geographical scope of recent developments are a reflection of 
the rapid polarisation of wealth in the last two decades and the rising 
number of individuals engrossing the lists of the multi-millionaire, 
mega-rich and billionaire (increase of 200,000 people in 2003 totalling 7.3 
million globally).
Social scientists are beginning to map out the spaces and practices of the 
super-rich in metropolitan areas of industrial countries and examine their 
significance in altering city landscapes. Understanding these mobile elites 
requires also a closer escrutiny of their transnational lifestyles and the 
constelation of places interconnected through their consumption patterns. 
This workshop will examine luxury consumption in the Caribbean and the 
Mediterranean paying particular attention to the wider social, economic and 
environmental implications of elite lifestyles and their role in 
articulating flows of people, images, fantasies, objects and money.

The Caribbean and the Mediterranean are particularly interesting areas for 
the study of the new high-earners. The democratisation of tourism in the 
postwar period partially eclypsed their earlier image as playgrounds of 
elite consumption and witnessed the emergence of discourses about their 
environmental destruction in the hands of herd-like tourists. Today their 
image of places spoiled by mass tourism co-exists in stark contrast with 
landscaped enclavic resorts evoking a sense of distinction and ecology. This 
should not be seen as a completely new trend. Mass tourism has always 
involved a paradoxical combination of narratives about accessibility and the 
democratization of travel along with unavoidable rounds of distinction 
games. Yet an interesting question in the age of the risk society and global 
resource scarcity is the way in which the rising aspirations and 'luxury 
fever' of the middle classes animated by the extravagant lifestyles of the 
super-rich are being negotiated with concerns about environmental limits.

We invite papers and presentations on such topics as:
- Cultures and practices of elite consumption in the Caribbean and the 
Mediterranean from a historical perspective;
- Manifestations of the 'luxury fever' among middle classes in mass resorts 
today and historically;
- Changing perceptions of the 'mass' element in mass tourism in relation 
with elite consumption;
- New de- and re-naturalizations of landscapes taking place around elite 
consumpion;
- Media representations of luxury tourism;
- Effects of ostentation in cultures of hospitality and, more specifically, 
on the solidarities these conspicuous lifestyles are enabling or hindering 
among the 'ordinary' people;
- Significance of the consumer spaces and practices of the super-rich in 
articulating global flows of people, objects, money and ideas;
- Infrastructures enabling the transnational lifestyles of the super rich;
- Methodological challenges of researching the residential and consumer 
spaces/practices of the super-rich.
Abstracts should include a title, contact details of the author(s) (name, 
postal address, email), and a summary of no more than 300 words. Please 
submit abstracts to the organisers no later than the 1th of July.
The Workshop will be held in the Institute for Advanced Studies Meeting 
Rooms 2/3 at Lancaster University on 11-12 September. The event will run 
from 12 noon on the 11th to 4pm on the 12th. There are a limited number of 
places so please book soon to avoid disappointment.

Registration
The regular registration fee is ?50 and the unwaged registration fee is ?25 
to include all meeting costs, lunch in both days and tea/coffee. There will 
be a dinner in Lancaster on the night of the 11th (not covered by the 
registration fees). Please let us know if you would like to attend. If 
required, a range of overnight accommodation is available at own cost on 
campus and in Lancaster. Please visit the following link for registration
http://www.ecommercegateway.co.uk/lancs/store/shop/products.asp?func=prodvar&compid=3&deptid=22&prodtypeid=7&prodid=118
and contact Pennie Drinkall for any queries related with registration - 
p.drinkall@lancaster.ac.uk

We hope to see you in September.

Organisers:
Javier Caletr?o j.caletrio@lancaster.ac.uk
Matilde C?rdoba Azc?rate   m.cordoba@cps.ucm.es

 Co-sponsored by the CeMoRe - Centre for Mobilities Research 
http://www.lancs.ac.uk/fss/sociology/cemore
and the IAS - Institute for Advanced Studies 
http://www.lums.lancs.ac.uk/Research/Centres/ias 


From jancius at ohio.edu  Mon May 19 13:32:52 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Mon May 19 12:41:51 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]CFP: (Re)reading the African Urban Space
Message-ID: <005c01c8b9ce$095f6f30$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

postamble: (Re)reading the African Urban Space
Call for Papers Deadline: June 30, 2008


The postamble editorial collective is excited to announce its newest Call 
for Papers.Vol. 4. No. 2, which will focus on the African urban question.

Entitled (Re) reading the African Urban Space, this issue seeks to publish 
papers, photographic essays, book reviews, and other relevant submissions 
that critically engage with the socio-political, cultural and economic 
complexities of the African urban centres. We are interested in work that 
grapples with how African cities are configured within public and 
intellectual imaginations - both locally and globally - and the challenges 
and opportunities available to those living in, working in, or encountering 
African city spaces. More specifically, we are looking for work that engages 
with the following types of questions:

Can African cities be seen as dynamic sites of challenge to the contemporary 
and historical socio-political and economic world order?

What kind of new autonomies are emerging in African urban spaces, despite 
the often-harsh material conditions?

How can we begin to deconstruct African urban spaces in order to find ways 
of contesting the predominantly negative typecasting of African landscapes?

What theoretical, cultural, social and analytical tools do African urban 
spaces provide us with as we attempt to understand an increasingly urbanized 
world?

Can, in fact, African cities provide us with spaces in which newer, more 
cosmopolitan notions about urbanism and society can be discovered?

Submissions may vary in their subject matter and approach and will be 
assessed on their relevance to the edition's theme. For correct formatting, 
please see http://postamble.org/Submissions/Guidelines.aspx.
Submissions should be addressed to the Managing Editor, and emailed to 
postamble by no later than the end of June 2008. Submissions should be 
between 5000 and 8000 words, or 10 to 15 photographs, and contain a short 
abstract (200 words), biography (50 words), with relevant contact details.

postamble
Centre For African Studies
University Of Cape Town
Private Bag, Rondebosch
7701, South Africa

Email: cas-postamble@uct.ac.za
Visit the website at http://www.postamble.org 


From jancius at ohio.edu  Mon May 19 13:36:31 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Mon May 19 12:43:35 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]CFP: Edward Said's Legacy (Ottawa)
Message-ID: <006001c8b9ce$822a7040$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

COUNTERPOINTS
Edward Said's Legacy

October 31- November 2, 2008
University of Ottawa
Carleton University

Call for papers
(Deadline: July 15, 2008)

This bilingual English/French colloquium celebrates the works of one of the 
world's most compelling intellectuals, the Palestinian-American thinker 
Edward Said (November 1st 1935- September 23rd 2003), author of Orientalism, 
Culture and Imperialism, and Out of Place among other famous books. The 
colloquium revolves around the theme of "Counterpoint," extensively used by 
Said as the interplay of diverse ideas and various "discrepant" cultural 
experiences.

As Said writes in Culture and Imperialism: "As we look back at the cultural 
archive, we begin to reread it not univocally but contrapuntally, with a 
simultaneous awareness both of the metropolitan history that is narrated and 
of those other histories against which (and together with which) the 
dominating discourse acts."

Following Said's legacy this colloquium envisions a polyphonic, 
interdisciplinary engagement from fields as broad as comparative literature, 
sociology, anthropology, history, postcolonial studies, Diaspora studies, 
musicology, and political science with a special focus on Middle Eastern 
politics.

The organizers seek papers/ panel proposals drawing from or expanding on the 
following themes:

. Colonialism and Imperialism: A Middle Eastern Context
. Transnationalism and Reflections on Exile
. Overlapping Territories and Imaginative Geographies
. Language, History and the Production of Knowledge
. The Arab World: States, Territories and Refugees.
. Gender, Class and Orientalism
. Criticism and French Philosophy
. Otherness in the Arts
. Representations of the Secular
. Power, Politics and Truth


Please send a 200 word abstract of paper/panel proposals to 
counterpoints.conference@gmail.com

Deadline for paper/panel submission: July 15th, 2008

For more information please contact: may.telmissany@uottawa.ca or 
nahla_abdo@carleton.ca

Organizing committee:

Dr. May Telmissany. Assistant Professor, Arabic Studies
Department of Modern Languages and Literatures, University of Ottawa Dr. 
Nahla Abdo. Professor, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, Carleton 
University.
Stephanie Tara Schwartz
Department of Religious Studies, University of Ottawa
Darryl Leroux
Department of Sociology, Carleton University
Erica See
Department of Law, University of Ottawa


Please send a 200 word abstract of paper/panel proposals to 
counterpoints.conference@gmail.com
Email: counterpoints.conference@gmail.com 


From jancius at ohio.edu  Mon May 19 13:43:02 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Mon May 19 12:46:10 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]FUNDING: The Palestine Center Fellowship (Washingtong,
	D.C.)
Message-ID: <006801c8b9cf$6d63b940$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

The Palestine Center Fellowship

The Palestine Center awards two six-month fellowships annually. Fellows 
produce expert and specialized studies on various issues pertaining to the 
Palestine question and the Middle East. Fellowship applications can be 
submitted at anytime. For the fellowship guidelines, please go to 
http://www.thejerusalemfund.org/palestinecenter/images/PC_Fellowship_Guidelines.pdf. 
To receive an application packet, contact The Palestine Center at (202) 
338-1290 or email info@palestinecenter.org.

The Palestine Center is the educational program of the Jerusalem Fund for 
Education and Community Development, an independent non-profit organization 
based in Washington, DC. Established in 1991, the Center provides a 
Palestinian perspective on U.S. policy in the Middle East, with particular 
emphasis on Palestine and the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. For more 
information about The Palestine Center and the Fund's cultural and 
humanitarian programs, visit www.thejerusalemfund.org

The Palestine Center
2425 Virginia Ave., NW
Washington, DC 20037
(202)338-1290
Email: info@palestinecenter.org 


From jancius at ohio.edu  Tue May 20 01:43:56 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Tue May 20 03:18:50 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]
 Internship: Arcosanti Arcology summer internship (an experimental
 sustainable alternative to urban sprawl)
Message-ID: <001301c8ba34$1f5d67e0$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

Arcosanti Internship

Location: Mayer, Arizona, 86333, United States
Organization: Arcosanti & Cosanti Foundation

Area of Focus: Art, Architecture, Music, Energy Conservation and Green 
Living, Farming and Agriculture
Start date: May 11, 2008
End date: August 11, 2008
Last day to apply: July 1, 2008

Description: Live and work in an alternative sustainable living experiment: 
Arcosanti. Based on the designs and theories of Italian architect Paolo 
Soleri, Arcosanti is a prototype ARCOLOGY - the fusion of architecture and 
ecology.

Since 1970 the Arcosanti Workshops have combined academic and experiential 
learning as participants study Paolo Soleri's concepts and designs while 
contributing to the building of the Arcology (architecture+ecology). Soleri 
proposes a lean urban alternative which is a highly integrated and compact 
three-dimensional form rejecting the need for urban sprawl with its 
inherently wasteful consumption of land, energy, time and human resources.

3 month internships are available in the following departments:
Archives, Agriculture, Construction, Graphics, Facilities/ Maintenance, 
Landscaping, and Planning/ Drafting

See www.arcosanti.org for more information on our educational programs. 
Housing is included. Internship DATES are FLEXIBLE.

Application instructions: To apply, please contact the Workshop Coordinator 
at workshop@arcosanti.org or 928-632-6233. For more information about the 
position, please see www.arcosanti.org 


From jancius at ohio.edu  Tue May 20 01:33:40 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Tue May 20 03:22:56 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]Internship: Urban Justice Center, Human Rights Project
	(NYC)
Message-ID: <000501c8ba32$afa1d950$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

Summer Internship

 Location: New York, New York, 10038, United States
Organization: Urban Justice Center - Human Rights Project

Area of Focus: Human Rights and Civil Liberties
Skill(s): computer training
Starting Date: June 1, 2008
End date: August 31, 2008
Last day to apply: May 28, 2008


Description: The Human Rights Project of the Urban Justice Center (HRP) 
seeks one full-time undergraduate intern for the summer of 2008 to help us 
advocate for New York City's most vulnerable across a range of issues. The 
intern will provide organizational and documentation support for a project 
located in the West Harlem, and in return will learn a great deal about how 
the human rights framework can be used locally.

The intern should have a strong desire to support social justice movements 
in the community. In terms of technical skills, the intern should be able to 
use digital and video cameras to conduct interviews with youth in the West 
Harlem. The intern should also be able to use Microsoft Office, e.g. Word, 
Excel, Access, PowerPoint, and Outlook. We are looking for someone who likes 
to work with young people and with a good sense of humor.

HRP represents a unique model of human rights organizing because we work in 
collaboration with local organizations to attain proactive changes in 
securing human rights for all New Yorkers. In particular, HRP advances human 
rights in the U.S. through organizing, documentation, and education. 
Ultimately, HRP serves as a link between organizations and activists using 
human rights as the common thread.

For more information, please visit http://www.hrpujc.org.

Application instructions:  Applications for the full-time, summer internship 
are due by May 28th, 2008. The internship will start June1st and continue 
for at least 10 consecutive weeks. To apply, please e-mail a cover letter 
and resume to Tatiana Bejar at tbejar@urbanjustice.org 


From jancius at ohio.edu  Tue May 20 01:38:38 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Tue May 20 03:32:43 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]
 Summer Fellowship: Community Planning and Design on the US Gulf Coast 
Message-ID: <000f01c8ba33$64eed010$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

Summer Fellowship: Community Planning and Design on the US Gulf Coast

Area of Focus: Community Building and Renewal
Skill(s): public relations, public speaking, writing
End date: August 1, 2008
Start date: May 30, 2008
Last day to apply: May 30, 2008

Sponsors:
Gulf Coast Community Design Studio (GCCDS) and
Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC)
(Funding provided by a grant from the Ford Foundation)

Location: Gulf Coast Community Design Studio, Biloxi, MS
(With some travel required in the Gulf Coast region of MS, LA, AL)

Dates: Summer 2008 - (approximately 10 weeks)

Stipend: $5000


Description:  GCCDS and ISC are seeking highly motivated applicants for a 
summer fellowship to be based on the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The fellow will 
conduct research and complete a report on community-based planning and 
design in small to medium sized Gulf Coast cities affected by Hurricane 
Katrina. The research will contribute significantly to a Gulf Coast 
community needs assessment and project planning effort currently underway, 
with the ultimate goal of strengthening community engagement, planning, and 
design in the region.

Fellow will:

. Work with sponsors to organize and consult with a small project advisory 
committee to design a research study;
. Compile information and materials, conduct in-person and telephone 
interviews and other research as needed to prepare written report that 
includes case studies, research summary and analysis, and recommendations;
. Organize focus/group roundtable discussion to review and finalize research 
recommendations.

Research goal: Develop an in-depth understanding of pre and post-Katrina 
community-planning and design capabilities and approaches in small to medium 
sized Gulf Coast communities. Types of questions that sponsors are seeking 
to answer are as follows:
. How did target communities handle planning and design pre-Katrina (i.e., 
what staffing/structures/processes were in place to deal with land use 
planning, community design and growth/development?)
. How did Katrina impact communities' understanding of importance of local 
planning and design?
. What resources have been available to communities since Katrina to meet 
planning and design needs related to rebuilding and redevelopment? Are these 
resources adequate? What else is needed?
. How have citizens been involved in planning processes? How effective where 
these efforts and what role did stakeholder organizations (i.e., 
non-profits, churches, community organizations, businesses, etc.) play?
. To what extent (and how effectively) are communities incorporating 
sustainability practices (environmental sustainability, smart growth, green 
building, etc.) into their post-Katrina planning and design?
. What role can funders, policymakers, and national and local agencies 
(government and non-governmental) play in strengthening awareness and 
practice of community planning and design?

Several case studies will be compiled by fellow to illustrate community 
planning and design challenges and solutions.


Qualifications: Graduate student or recent graduate with Master's Degree in 
urban planning/community design with:
. Outstanding interpersonal and research skills
. Ability to work independently
. Experience working in diverse communities.
. Excellent research, writing and communications skills
. Desire to make a significant contribution to the long-term redevelopment 
of the US Gulf Coast.

About the sponsoring organizations:  Institute for Sustainable Communities 
(www.iscvt.org)
The Institute for Sustainable Communities (ISC) is an independent nonprofit 
that helps people get the tools, resources, and skills they need to make 
their communities better places to live. Headquartered in Montpelier, VT, 
ISC also has offices in Washington, DC, China, Serbia, Ukraine and 
Macedonia. Since our founding in 1991 by former Vermont Governor Madeleine 
M. Kunin, we have led projects in 18 countries. ISC brings well-tested 
practices and a network of technical expertise in the areas of civic 
engagement, advocacy, institutional capacity building, and sustainable 
community development. ISC's Gulf Coast Renewal Project was launched shortly 
after Hurricane Katrina. We have been working with the city of Moss Point, 
MS on a multi-sector project focused on long-term redevelopment. We are also 
helping several community-based organizations on the Coast more effectively 
access and manage resources and contribute to the recovery process. We are 
currently planning the next phase of our Gulf Coast project and working with 
a variety of partners to more broadly address issues of community capacity, 
planning, design and environmental sustainability

Gulf Coast Community Design Studio www.gccds.org
The Gulf Coast Community Design Studio (GCCDS) is a professional outreach 
program of Mississippi State University's College of Architecture, Art, + 
Design. The GCCDS was established following Hurricane Katrina to provide 
architectural design services, planning assistance, and leadership to 
communities and organizations that are working to rebuild and revitalize 
low-income neighborhoods along the Mississippi Gulf Coast. The mission of 
the GCCDS is threefold: 1) to work with non-profit and municipal partners to 
increase the community's ability to address housing and neighborhood 
development needs by providing design and planning expertise; 2) to provide 
leadership both locally and nationally on sustainable, well-designed, 
community-based redevelopment projects; 3) to educate students and train 
interns to work in community design.

To apply: Submit cover letter, resume, 3-5 page writing sample and 
references by email to:
Christine Gaspar, Gulf Coast Community Design Studio, 
cgaspar@gccds.msstate.edu 


From jancius at ohio.edu  Wed May 21 11:46:52 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Wed May 21 10:48:43 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]FUNDING: NEH 2008 Summer Stipend Awards
Message-ID: <00c301c8bb51$9acefa60$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

NEH 2008 Summer Stipend Awards

Contact Information: Leon Bramson
Senior Program Officer
NEH Division of Research Programs
Washington DC 20506
Email: LBramson@neh.gov

URL http://www.neh.gov/grants/guidelines/stipends.html

Level of Study: Established Anthropologist Eligibility Requirements: The 
Summer Stipends program accepts applications from researchers, teachers, and 
writers regardless of their institutional affiliations. Applicants with 
college or university affiliations, however, must be nominated by their 
institutions. All applicants must have completed their formal education by 
the application deadline. While applicants need not have advanced degrees, 
individuals currently enrolled in a degree-granting program are ineligible 
to apply. Applicants who have satisfied all the requirements for a degree 
and are awaiting its conferral may apply, but such applicants need a letter 
from the dean of the conferring school attesting to the applicant's status 
as of October 1, 2008. This letter must be faxed to the Summer Stipends 
program at 202-606-8204. U.S. citizens are eligible to apply. Foreign 
nationals who have been living in the US or its jurisdictions for at least 
the three years prior to the application deadline are also eligible.

Fellowship Amount: $39,599.00

Areas: anthropology, Native American studies, archaeology, folklore, 
interdisciplinary, history, languages, religion, political science, 
government, area studies and others

Description: Summer Stipends support individuals pursuing advanced research 
that is of value to scholars and general audiences in the humanities. 
Recipients usually produce articles, monographs, books, digital materials, 
archaeological site reports, translations, editions, and other scholarly 
tools. Summer Stipends support full-time work on a humanities project for a 
period of two months. Summer Stipends support projects at any stage of 
development. Summer Stipends are awarded to individual scholars. 
Organizations are not eligible to apply. Summer Stipends may not be used for 
research for doctoral dissertations or theses by students enrolled in a 
degree program; specific policy studies or educational or technical impact 
assessments; the preparation or publication of textbooks; studies of 
teaching methods or theories, surveys of courses and programs, or curriculum 
development; inventories of collections; works in the creative or performing 
arts (e.g., painting, writing fiction or poetry, dance performance, etc.); 
projects that seek to promote a particular political, philosophical, 
religious, or ideological point of view; or projects that advocate a 
particular program of social action. 


From valentina.marinescu at hotmail.com  Thu May 22 00:22:34 2008
From: valentina.marinescu at hotmail.com (valentina marinescu)
Date: Thu May 22 10:15:33 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]conference ATHENS extended deadline 15 JUNE
Message-ID: <BLU118-W272D35B01E1394273F5857FAC70@phx.gbl>


From: 

"katharine sarikakis" <k.sarikakis@leeds.ac.uk>



 





 
CALL FOR PAPERS
We invite papers for a one-day symposium on the global sexually explicit imagery on 30 September 2008, in Athens . 
 
The symposium is intended as a forum that will explore the ways in which the sexually explicit imagery is socialised through technological, political economic, cultural and other processes. The symposium aims at bringing together scholars working on the broader field of pornography in order to explore, analyse and articulate the need to review and revisit academic, political and cultural understandings of pornography and analyse law and policy based responses to its changing nature, as a global media industry, a form of cultural product with global reach and power to shape meaning and values, as well as an actor affecting public policy. The symposium aims to facilitate the possibility for collaborative research agendas and policy analysis and intervention and is organised within the framework of the British Academy funded project, managed by Katharine Sarikakis ( University of Leeds ) and Liza Tsaliki ( University of Athens ).
 
We welcome contributions from scholars from around the world and various backgrounds (political science, media and cultural studies, sociology, anthropology, gender studies etc.). We are interested in papers that involve theoretical, empirical work or work in progress, comparative or case studies, meta-analytical as well as speculative approaches. 
 
Topics can address a number of areas, including:
 
-socialisation of youth through porn and porn-defined popular culture and genres (. pornorap; suggestive advertising etc) -political economic dimensions of the global pornography industry: labour conditions,; mergers, new geographies of production and consumption
- intellectual property and control over image/profits related issues
- processes of mainstreaming of pornography: tactics, strategies, channels, profits, connection to mainstream media and culture
- conditions of production and consumption and impact on citizenship and democracy
- links to the broader sex industry: human trafficking, sexual slavery, human vulnerability and prostitution, sex clubs etc
- policies and laws on ANY of the aforementioned issues as linked to the production and consumption of the sexually explicit imagery/pornography in national and global contexts -theoretical/analytical interventions on terms, conceptualization of problematique, frameworks of policy and law -possibilities, strategies and practices of resisting the spread, impact and effects of the pornography industry -women?s and children?s position in the context of global imagery trade; class and gender, technology and power 
 
Please send a 500 word abstract and a short biographical note, accompanied by contact details and affiliation by 15 JUNE 2008 to Dr. Katharine Sarikakis , Institute of Communications Studies , University of Leeds (k.sarikakis@leeds.ac.uk ), and Dr Liza Tsaliki, Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens (etsaliki@media.uoa.gr). 
 
There are limited places for this symposium. 
Symposium fees: 80 Euros. 
 
The symposium is organised by the Faculty of Communication and Media Studies, National and Kapodistrian University of Athens and the Centre for International Communications Research at the Institute of Communication Studies , University of Leeds , UK
_________________________________________________________________
News, entertainment and everything you care about at Live.com. Get it now!
http://www.live.com/getstarted.aspx
From jancius at ohio.edu  Thu May 22 11:31:24 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Thu May 22 10:32:10 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]
 ESF Conference: The Right to the City: New Challenges, New Issues (Sweden)
Message-ID: <003001c8bc18$86b51330$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

ESF Research Conferences

THE RIGHT TO THE CITY: NEW CHALLENGES, NEW ISSUES

Dates:  11-15 October 2008
Location: Klosterhotel, Vadstena, Sweden

Preliminary Programme: As it has been largely documented, modern states are 
facing political rescaling processes in which the roles and functions of the 
different levels of government are evolving. Thus city-regions are becoming 
central economic and political territories in which a new division of labour 
is occurring between the states and the local authorities. This tendency has 
been particularly analysed by the economic literature but also by geography, 
sociology and political science. At the same time, there is a large 
literature on the general tendency towards the pluralization of urban 
decision systems in different institutional, cultural, political and 
economic contexts. To say it briefly, these processes (i.e. political 
rescaling and participative democracy at local level) generate a new "right 
to the city": the capacity to influence the agendas of urban public 
institutions by using "appropriate" demands based on the formulation of 
rights recognized as legitimate by urban institutions. The on-going process 
of the constitution of an "urban citizenship" involves a set of social 
demands which are, by definition, contradictory in that sense that the 
"right to the city" must be linked to the social groups and classes using it 
in order to organize themselves, to generate collective identity and 
collective action. The work program of the Conference addresses a number of 
empirical subjects, all vectors of a "right to the city". Its objective is 
to compare the effects of these dynamics on the content of urban policies 
and on the transformation of citizenship regimes.

ESF Research Conferences provide the opportunity for the world's leading 
scientists and other participants, including young researchers, to meet 
informally for discussions at the highest level on the most recent 
developments in their fields of research. They act as a catalyst for 
creating new synergistic contacts throughout Europe and the rest of the 
world. This conference will be of interest to academic and policy 
researchers in the field of higher education and to researchers in other 
relevant social science fields, e.g. science policy, regional development, 
governance, social equity.

The conference will take place at Vadstena Klosterhotel, located in a lovely 
natural setting on the shores of beautiful lake V?ttern, offering 
comfortable accommodation in a historic environment. During the Middle Ages, 
Vadstena was the location of a catholic monastery for monks and nuns of the 
Birgittine order and nowadays the conference center and hotel is largely 
located in the same medieval buildings that were once the monastery.
For more details about the sciencific content of this conference, please 
download the additional document here: 
http://www.esf.org/fileadmin/be_user/activities/research_conferences/Docs_NEW/2008/2008-264add.pdf.

Preliminary Programme PDF (339 KB) Last Updated 18-January-2008
http://www.esf.org/fileadmin/be_user/activities/research_conferences/Docs_NEW/2008/2008-264pp.pdf

Conference Flyer PDF (324 KB) Last Updated 11-April-2008
http://www.esf.org/fileadmin/be_user/activities/research_conferences/Docs_NEW/2008/264_Flyer.pdf

To apply, fill in an Application Form.
http://www2.esf.org/asp/esfrcaf.asp?confcode=264&meetno=1

Closing date for application (as well as for abstract submission): 6 June 
2008

Conference Fees: EUR 730 conference, meals and twin OR double room; EUR 520 
non-resident: conference, meals (no room).

ESF Contact:
Ms. AnneBlondeel-Oman
Email: http://www.esf.org/contact/contacts-email-form/cid/161799.html
Phone: +32 (0)2 533 2024
Fax: +32 (0)2 538 8486
Please quote 08-264 in any correspondence. 


From jancius at ohio.edu  Thu May 22 11:39:15 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Thu May 22 10:40:15 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]
 CFP: Socio-political Meanings of Human Rights in Cultural Contexts
 (Nova Southeastern U)
Message-ID: <004401c8bc19$9db8d700$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

Socio-political Meanings of Human Rights in Cultural Contexts
Date: June 27, 2008
Location: Florida, United States

The Culture and Conflict Group (CCG) at the Department of Conflict Analysis 
and Resolution at the Graduate School of Humanities and Social Sciences at 
Nova Southeastern University invites you to a one-day academic symposium: 
Socio-political Meanings of Human Rights in Cultural Contexts

The event will take place on June 27, 2008 - 9:00 A.M. - 5.00: P.M. at Nova 
Southeastern University (Fort Lauderdale-Davie, Florida; Knight Auditorium, 
Carl DeSantis Building)

We wish to invite academic experts in the field of human rights as well as 
speakers who have suffered human rights violations, to present and discuss 
their cutting-edge research and/or experiences on broad facetted aspects of 
human rights. We also hope to include outstanding student 
papers/presentations into the sessions. We encourage attendance by scholars, 
students, and groups/individuals interested in human rights.

*****

CALL FOR PAPERS:

In our current world the majority of our societies are facing different 
forms of structural violence, i.e. the ongoing and institutionalized 
deprivation of needs of survival, well-being, identity and freedom (Galtung, 
1969). The physical manifestation of structural violence can be seen in 
broad forms of assaults to human rights on different levels and in different 
contexts: wars, torture, political violence, personal revenge, 
confrontations, disappearing of individuals are examples of how far human 
beings can go in order to obtain power, recognition, wealth or domination. 
Moreover, contemporary societies often function on the basis of sharp 
antinomies such as inclusions/exclusion, right/wrong or moral/immoral. 
Consequently societal structures determine which groups' and individuals' 
worldviews and ways of living are acceptable and which ones are 
discriminated against.


Scholars are critically examining human rights from different disciplinary 
perspectives through a myriad of cultural, geographical, philosophical, 
ideological, historical and social lenses. Whereas human rights are declared 
universal, state agents as well as out-of-state actors have harmed 
individuals and groups in the name of peace, in the defense of national 
territory, for a national idea, in the name of religion, etc. The clashes in 
Tibet, the crisis in Darfur, the Bedouins in Israel are extraordinary 
examples of how different cultural and political dynamics lead to 
ever-changing interpretations of human rights. State agents as well as out 
of state actors have also attempted to reconcile and preserve human rights 
as 'neutral' third party interveners such as the United Nations Convention 
Against Torture or the Convention on the Prevention and Punishment of the 
Crime of Genocide. Any of these examples of human rights violations and 
negotiations raise issues of sociocultural relativity: whether individual 
rights take precedence over group/communal rights, how previously colonized 
societies exert self-determination to rise out of humiliation, and the 
highlighting of the continuum of injustice to justice.

Our contention is that a rigid thus limited interpretation of human rights 
that fails to address cultural differences and nuances weakens the claim for 
universally accepted human rights.

Our symposium proposes to re-examine assumptions of universal human rights 
by discussing different interpretations of human rights in diverse cultural 
context. In particular we are interested in - but not limited to - 
addressing issues of human rights in relation to minorities, resistance 
(violent and nonviolent), LGBT, social identities, environment, violence and 
terror, pre-emption, expression, refugees/immigrants, self-defense, 
morality, perpetrators/supporters/bystanders and nationalism. We encourage 
interdisciplinary approaches (e.g. conflict analysis and resolution, 
anthropology, sociology, law and social psychology) that further academic 
debate, social theorizing and develop new understandings of human rights 
discourse. Given the fact human rights discourses are underlying factors to 
the field of conflict analysis and resolution, problematizing these notions 
is essential for strengthening this and other academic fields.

*****

Visit: www.culture-conflict.org for the proposal submission form, additional 
information and regular updates on the symposium.

You can also download the form directly at:
http://www.culture-conflict.org/symposium/proposal_form.pdf

DEADLINE FOR SUBMISSION OF PROPOSALS: 05/26/08

*****

Seating is limited. To secure your seat please register soon by sending an 
email with your name and affiliation to symposium@culture-conflictorg.

DEADLINE FOR REGISTRATION: 06/13/08. 


From jancius at ohio.edu  Thu May 22 13:37:17 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Thu May 22 12:38:35 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]
 Applied Research Job: Staff Consultant for RefugeeWorks (Baltimore, MD USA)
Message-ID: <001401c8bc2a$1e082e00$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

Staff Consultant for RefugeeWorks

Education: Bachelor (BA, BS, etc.)
Location: Baltimore, Maryland, United States
Posted by: Lutheran Immigration and Refugee Service
Job Category: Activism & Organizing, Project management
Language(s): English
Job posted on: May 12, 2008
Area of Focus: Human Rights and Civil Liberties, Immigration
Type: 75%
Last day to apply: July 11, 2008
Last updated: May 12, 2008

Position Objective:
To assist in implementing and coordinating programmatic efforts to
achieve RefugeeWorks' goals; to strengthen refugee
service provision in the field by carrying out technical assistance,
training and research development specific to professional
recertification for refugees.

Qualifications include...
1. Commitment to LIRS's core mission and values and an ability to
model those values in relationship with colleagues and
partners; commitment to refugees and immigrants
2. Bachelor's degree; advanced degree preferred
3. Excellent oral and written communication skills
4. Training or teaching experience, minimum one year
5. Research experience, minimum two years
6. Ability to work under tight deadlines
7. Outstanding organizational skills
8. Ability to handle multiple projects involving several staff simultaneously
9. Excellent software skills including Word, Excel, Access, Windows,
e-mail and the use of the Internet for research purposes
10. Ability to travel extensively as necessary, which may include weekends
11. Experience with employment or programs serving refugees,
immigrants or limited English speakers preferred

Responsibilities include...
1. Conduct research that supports the mission and activities of
RefugeeWorks, including best practices in professional
recertification, labor market analyses, trends and related issues.
2. Coordinate the data collection, analysis and distribution for
refugee recertification and related information, and creation of
publication materials derived from the gathered data.
3. Function as a primary instructor for RefugeeWorks' training
activities for recertification, which includes designing
programs and developing new curriculums for emerging refugee
populations and refugee-related employment issues for
RefugeeWorks' trainings and various national conferences.
4. Function as the lead organizer for a national conference on refugee
recertification and other workshops and conferences
5. Conduct site visits and provide consultation for individualized
technical assistance as requested.
6. Contribute recertification material to the RefugeeWorks'
newsletter, including research, drafting articles and editing content
7. Assist in writing quarterly reports, needs assessments, site visit
reports and technical assistance materials.
8. Carry out network-building activities such as conference calls and
listservs with all sectors of refugee employment network.
9. Maintain clear and consistent communication with the senior
consultant; ensure that program activities fall within the
parameters established by the senior consultant; keep the senior
consultant aware of major developments and trends in the
industry; and ensure the senior consultant's support for major project
activities and fund-raising.
10. Contribute to and, when appropriate, propose initiatives that
involve cross-departmental collaboration; participate in
agency wide task forces; and assist with events that foster community
among LIRS staff.
11. Perform other job-related duties as assigned.

Reporting Relationship
The staff consultant for RefugeeWorks reports to the senior consultant
and national coordinator for RefugeeWorks.

Supervisory Relationships
The staff consultant for RefugeeWorks does not currently supervise any
other positions.

How to Apply:
Send cover letter, including salary requirements, with r?sum? to...
hrmail@lirs.org (preferred)
Human Resources Department
LIRS
700 Light Street
Baltimore MD 21230
Fax: 410/230-2844


Permalink: http://www.idealist.org/en/job/279149-115
From jancius at ohio.edu  Tue May 27 11:20:40 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Tue May 27 10:21:27 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]CFP: Traditions & Transformations: Tourism, Heritage &
	Cultural Change in the Middle East and North Africa Region (Jordan)
Message-ID: <005f01c8c004$db7306d0$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

Traditions and Transformations: 

Tourism, Heritage and Cultural Change in the Middle East and North
Africa Region


4 - 7 April 2009, Amman, Jordan

Tourism is a well established phenomenon across the Middle East and
North Africa (MENA) Region and despite political instabilities it
demonstrates remarkable resilience. As well as being a major economic
force and a key driver for development, tourism is also an important
mechanism for social exchange and identity building at both the
individual and regional/national levels. Over recent years the rate of
tourism development has increased substantively. Multi-national
investments in hotels, resort complexes and infrastructure, together
with major heritage conservation projects are catalysing significant
social changes (such as shifting patterns of labour migration and the
testing of 'traditional' values and practices), environmental changes
(at the aesthetic level and in terms of physical change), and political
changes (re-orientation of alliances and new globalised relationships). 

The aims of this major international and multi-disciplinary conference
are: To critically explore the major issues facing the MENA region with
regard to the development of tourism and its relationships with heritage
and culture; To draw upon ideas, cases and best practice from
international scholars and help develop new understandings and research
capacities regarding the relationships between tourism, heritage and
culture in the MENA Region and; To provide a major networking
opportunity for international scholars, policy makers and professionals.

CALL FOR PAPERS

In this major conference we seek to examine the phenomenon of tourism
across the Middle East and North Africa Region and its changing
relationships with heritage and culture. We wish to promote dialogue
across disciplinary boundaries and thus we welcome papers from the
following disciplines: anthropology, archaeology, architecture, art and
design history, cultural geography, cultural studies, ethnology and
folklore, history, heritage studies, landscape studies, linguistics,
museum studies, political science, sociology, tourism studies and
urban/spatial planning.

Key themes of interest to the conference include:

*   Histories, mobilities, and the symbolic / political economies of tourism 

*   Tourism in the construction of places / spaces / nations

*   The role of archaeology in contemporary tourism

*   Structures / infrastructures of international tourism -
building/ architecture/ design for tourism & tourists

*   Tourism and the role of the museum

*   The conservation of heritage for tourism

*   The practices and performances of 'tradition'

*   Tourist art and art for tourists

*   Intangible heritage and its role in tourism

*   Rural and urban tourism practices

Please submit a 300 word abstract including title and full contact
details as an electronic file to Prof Mike Robinson
(ctcc@leedsmet.ac.uk). You may submit your abstract as soon as possible
but no later than 30th September 2008.

Conference Organisers: Centre for Tourism and Cultural Change, Leeds
Metropolitan University, United Kingdom, and the Council for British
Research in the Levant, Amman, Jordan. 

For further details on the conference please visit:
www.tourism-culture.com or www.cbrl.org.uk or contact us at: 

phone +44 (0) 113- 2838541 or email ctcc@leedsmet.ac.uk

 

=====

Daniela Carl
Centre for Tourism and Cultural Change
Faculty of Arts & Society
Leeds Metropolitan University
Old School Board
Calverley Street
Leeds
LS1 3ED
UK

phone +44 (0)113- 283 8541
fax +44 (0)113- 283 8544
www.tourism-culture.com

From bmm202 at nyu.edu  Sun May 25 17:03:50 2008
From: bmm202 at nyu.edu (Blagovesta Momchedjikova)
Date: Tue May 27 16:46:48 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]CFP: Urban Culture (6/20/08; MAPACA, 10/30-11/1/08)
Message-ID: <f25782645ddd.48398de6@mail.nyu.edu>

Urban Culture Area, Mid-Atlantic Popular Culture/American Culture Association, Niagara Falls, ON, Canada, October 30th-November 1st, 2008. 

Small neighborhood cafes and stores are closing down, giving way to new condo buildings and chain stores; favorite parks dwindle in size, giving way to various markets and corporate businesses?Pedestrians smile to the tunes coming from their i-pods but not to each other?What is becoming of our cities? What is becoming of us, the residents of these cities? This year, the Urban Culture area of MAPACA aims to understand the production, negotiation, and loss of public space in the metropolitan city, in light of current conditions such as the proliferation of technology, the effects of natural disaster, gentrification, and globalization. Presentations about unique, ordinary, temporary, and permanent public places are welcome as are presentations about the formation, sustenance, and disappearance of public self, itself a function of public place, in the context of the city. We seek historical or ethnographic studies of public sites and events, poetic accounts of personal geographi
es through cities, and explorations of highly orchestrated or surprisingly improvised events in designated areas in the city. 
If interested in participating in a workshop on ?writing the urban,? in addition to presenting a paper, please, indicate so. 

Please, send your 1-page paper abstracts and 1-paragraph recent bios as virus-free, Word attachments to Blagovesta Momchedjikova, bmm202@nyu.edu, by June 30th, 2007. This year, the Mid-Atlantic Popular Culture/American Culture Association meets in Niagara Falls, ON, Canada, October 30th to November 1st, 2008. Check: http://www.mapaca.net/confer/conferHome.html. 

Blagovesta Momchedjikova, PhD
New York University
Expository Writing Program
411 Lafayette, 4th Floor
New York, NY 10003
bmm202@nyu.edu


From jancius at ohio.edu  Fri May 30 10:19:11 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Fri May 30 09:20:37 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]NEWS: Why I want to teach anthropology at the Army War
	College (Brian McKenna)
Message-ID: <00c801c8c257$c2f860a0$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

http://www.counterpunch.org/mckenna05282008.html

May 28, 2008
Why I Want to Teach Anthropology at the Army War College
What Would Smedley Butler Do?
By BRIAN McKENNA

"To wage war, become an anthropologist." That's the opening line from a 2007 
article in the U.S. Army War College journal "Parameters." The feature, by 
Oxford educated historian Patrick Porter, says, "from the academy to the 
Pentagon, fresh attention is being focused on knowing the enemy."
Today anthropologists are busy at work for the CIA and Pentagon. The CIA 
recently funded an effort - the Pat Roberts Intelligence Scholars Program - 
to train up to 150 analysts in anthropology, each of whom receive a $25,000 
a year stipend, tuition support, loan paybacks and other benefits with the 
proviso that they work for an intelligence agency for 1 ? times the period 
covered by financial support. These are secret scholar-spies circulating in 
our anthropology departments. They cannot reveal their funding source. Then 
there are the Cultural Operations Research Human Terrain Teams in which the 
military actively recruits anthropologists to provide counterinsurgency data 
for its occupying armies. As private contractors anthropologists can make up 
to $300,000 a year for their service.

That's not fair! As an anthropologist, I want equal time in the War College. 
In the February 2008 edition of the Society for Applied Anthropology 
Newsletter, Captain Nathan K. Finney, an anthropologist with the Human 
Terrain System, called for informed discussion with his anthropology 
critics. "Let us open our minds as our anthropology professors instruct in 
Anth 101 and objectively discuss each other's ideas and concerns in order to 
find the best way forward together" (Finney: 8).

OK. I'd like to take Finney up on his offer and have access to the military 
and its soldiers directly. I have a ten-point curriculum. I'll get to that 
in a minute. First, a bit more background context-after all, that's what 
anthropologists do.
About Face, Forward March

I agree with the idea that "to wage war, become an anthropologist." The 
trouble is that it turns out that we are on different sides of the war. 
"Human Terrain" anthropologists are with imperialism. I'm with Gramsci. You 
remember Gramsci, that Italian Communist revolutionary who wrote 
spellbinding theories of culture in his "Prison Notebooks," while rotting 
away in Mussolini's jail. Importantly Gramsci spoke of two wars. The "war of 
position" generally referred to a tactic of informal penetration (a passive 
revolution, a war of education) that was necessary when open warfare or a 
"war of maneuver" (armies across borders) is not advised or possible.

Gramsci's enemies were capitalists and fascists. Who are the enemies of the 
U.S. Army War College? According to Porter it's "Marxist revolutionaries, 
Palestinian nationalists, and Hezbollah net-warriors" (Porter: 57). That 
wide net would include Gramsci. In short, the CIA/Human Terrain military 
anthropologists have aligned themselves with a national security state 
apparatus in wars of position and maneuver against critical anthropologists 
and indigenous peoples.

Let's be clear about what CIA anthropologists and the Human Terrain 
anthropologists are NOT doing: "studying up" at power. This leaves the 
troops vulnerable. Enlistees need informed consent before signing on the 
dotted line. Soldiers need actionable intelligence so they can decide 
whether the cause is right.

Only a fourth of my students, on average, can even identify Iraq on a map. 
With such widespread ignorance it is easy to see how Reverend Jeremiah 
Wright can be demonized for his claims that 911 represented an occasion when 
the chickens came home to roost. The public knows little about the chickens.

The Military anthropology of my youth

When I went to graduate school, in anthropology, in the early 1980s at 
Temple University, the emphasis was on Marxist anthropology and social 
revolution. My mentor, Peter Rigby, was fond of saying, "Men make 
revolutions. Anthropologists are men. Therefore anthropologists make 
revolutions." Rigby was a brilliant Cambridge educated Africanist who 
studied and advocated for the Maasai. On his curriculum were Antonio 
Gramsci, Rosa Luxemburg, Stanley Diamond, Kathleen Gough, Laura Nader, 
Bernard Mugabane, Levi Strauss and Samir Amin.
Following Rigby's precepts, we understood, came with risks. In 1983, my 
anthropology student friend Richard Cross, 33, a freelance photojournalist, 
was killed on the Honduran border while covering the U.S. supported Contra 
War against the Sandinistas (along with Los Angeles Times correspondent Dial 
Torgerson). Back then we led or participated in antiwar demonstrations (El 
Salvador, Grenada, Panama, first Iraq War etc.) raised money for medical 
relief in Nicaragua and wrote for newspapers including the New York 
Guardian, the Philadelphia City Paper and the University City Review. We 
spent a good deal of time at the House of our Own bookstore on Pine Street 
in West Philly, educating ourselves, as Mother Jones said, for the coming 
conflicts. During the Central American wars we felt a vital sense of urgency 
to "stop the Pentagon, serve the people," as one activist group was named at 
the time. This was good applied anthropology.

What Would Smedley Butler Do?

My first days of classes at the US Army War College would be dedicated to 
Smedley Butler. He'd no doubt place education - truthful military education 
with all its contradictions- at the forefront of social life, most 
especially in the military itself! Ultimately the military rests on 
well-trained soldiers who have the capacity to make ethical judgments. Here 
he is on war:

"War is just a racket. . .It is conducted for the benefit of the very few at 
the expense of the masses. . .There isn't a trick in the racketeering bag 
that the military gang is blind to. It has its 'finger men' to point out 
enemies, its 'muscle men' to destroy enemies, its 'brain men' to plan war 
preparations, and a 'Big Boss' Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism." Butler is 
one of only two Marines ever to hold double awards of the Navy issue Medal 
of Honor. Butler laid his reputation on the line with this searing 1933 
speech. "It may seem odd for me, a military man to adopt such a comparison. 
Truthfulness compels me to. I spent thirty-three years and four months in 
active military service as a member of this country's most agile military 
force, the Marine Corps. . . .I helped make Mexico, especially Tampico, safe 
for American oil interests in 1914. . .In China I helped to see to it that 
Standard Oil went its way unmolested. . . .I suspected I was just part of a 
racket at the time. Now I am sure of it. Like all members of the military 
profession, I never had a thought of my own until I left the service. My 
mental faculties remained in suspended animation while I obeyed the orders 
of higher-ups. This is typical with everyone in the military service."

My US Army War College Course.

In my anthropology teaching in the university I always encourage U.S. war 
veterans to speak before the class whether they were in favor of the given 
war (Vietnam, Grenada, Nicaragua Somalia, Bosnia, Iraq I, Iraq II and so on) 
or not. It is compelling, experiential knowledge from engaged participant 
observers that rivets the attention of others. It is an excellent corrective 
to media representations.
A central purpose of anthropology is to help citizens recognize their 
ethnocentrism so that they can think more clearly about the world. So, if I 
had a chance to teach "Introduction to Anthropology" at the War College, 
here is how I might do it.

Day 1: Orientation: Discussion. Introductions. Overview of Course. Where are 
you from? How long have you been here? What's the best thing about the 
military? What's something you'd like to see changed? Film screening: In the 
Valley of Elah

Day 2: Smedley Butler Day. Review and discussion of War is a Racket Speech; 
View and discuss Eisenhower's farewell address. Read Uri Avnery's "The 
Military Option" in CounterPunch. Film screening and discussion: Ghosts of 
Abu Ghraib

Day 3. NACIREMA: Discussion Where is this? What is capitalism? Discussion of 
Marx's labor theory of value. George Carlin on Football & Baseball.

Day 4: Fieldtrip to US Veteran's administration hospital. Tour Guide: 
Wheelchair veteran Bobby Muller from Vietnam Veterans against the War

Day 5 Iraq Veterans Against the War Day; How to file CO, information on war 
resisting. Film screening and discussion: Hearts and Minds

Day 6. How to keep from Dying: Are you safe? Discussion of April 17, 2008 
RAND report which details 101,000 U.S. casualties a year. See "Invisible 
Wounds of War: Psychological and Cognitive Injuries, Their Consequences, and 
Services to Assist Recovery. Other Readings: Grand Theft Pentagon:
How they made a Killing on the war on Terrorism.

Day 7: Rod Ridenhour and the My Lai Massacre. Discussion of war hero 
Ridenhour who was a whistleblower against this war crime. Discussion of 
Geneva Convention. Film screening: In the Year of the Pig

Day 8: Hitler and Totalitarianism: Can it happen here? Film screening: Seven 
Days in May

Day 9: Debate on Iraq War. Two teams of four students per team will debate 
the question "Is the War in Iraq a Just War?" Like college debate, students 
will be responsible for arguing both sides of the issue in two debates.

Day 10: The Deceptions of Military Recruiters. What did they tell you? Read 
"Lies Military Recruiters Tell" by Ron Jacobs.

A "Butler Brigade" of Military Anthropologists

I asked two leading anthropologists and war scholars, Barbara Johnston and 
David Price, "If you taught anthropology at the US Army War College (or West 
Point), what would you teach?" Johnston is the author of numerous books 
including, "Half-Lives & Half-Truths, Confronting the Radioactive Legacy of 
the Cold War (2007) and "Consequential damages of nuclear war- the Rongelap 
report" with Holly Barker (Left Coast 2008). Price is author of the 
groundbreaking, Threatening Anthropology: McCarthyism and the FBI's 
Surveillance of Activist Anthropologists (2004).

"I just gave a lecture at the University of Hawaii in a class of ROTC 
students a few weeks ago," said Johnston. "Part of what I taught was the 
lingering and intergenerational consequences of nuclear war. Students/future 
military officers were less interested in that than in my description of the 
complicated and difficult work to build rights-protective space that allow 
reparations and the right to remedy to emerge in Guatemala. This got their 
attention. So I would teach a course on 'waging war, making peace' that 
specifically examines current efforts to remedy the ugly, ulcerating messes 
we humans have made in the name of 'security' The anthropology of war - the 
study of human histories, motivations, experiences and outcomes - is, 
unfortunately, quite an evolved field of study. It is very easy to make war. 
It is hugely difficult to bring about a true and lasting peace. Even in 
those cases where peace is declared, through political negotiations and 
formal legal instruments, the distance between reparation and remedy is 
often too vast to achieve a meaningful and lasting peace."
Price would employ classic anthropology in helping students to get around 
false patriotism. "I'd do a mix of readings like Levi Strauss on kinship, 
Marshall Sahlins on the original affluent society, Harris & Wagley on race, 
Geertz on thick descriptions, Nader on studying up. But I would add some 
works focusing on power and ideology. I think Cathy Lutz's Homefront or 
David Vine's forthcoming book on the military displacement of the peoples of 
Diego Garcia would be a nice book to use. One of my favorite essays to use 
in intro classes of any sort is Boas' 1917 essay on patriotism: 'I believe 
that the purely emotional basis on which, the world over, patriotic feelings 
are instilled into the minds of children is one of the most serious faults 
in our educational systems, particularly when we compare these methods with 
the lukewarm attention that is given to the common interests of humanity'" 
(Boas 1917). "Rather than using anthropology to solve problems of occupation 
and insurgency," said Price, "we should use anthropology to keep us out of 
these situations in the first place. But promises of functional 
anthropological counterinsurgency (even false promises) only encourage 
civilian and Pentagon planners to envision more of these invasion fiascoes 
as problems that anthropologists can solve after the mess has been made."

The Military-Industrial-Academic Complex

In order to answer Price's call, we need to form broader alliances. In his 
urgent book, "The University in Chains: Confronting the 
Military-Industrial-Academic Complex," (2007) social theorist Henry Giroux 
carefully documents how a new form of authoritarianism has swept the 
country - largely unnamed and unrecognized - turning the university into a 
"hypermodernized militarized knowledge factory." He credits President 
Eisenhower for sounding the alarm in his famous 1961 farewell address, in 
which the President eloquently made the case against the "misplaced power" 
and "unwarranted influence" of the military in civic life. Giroux sums up 
Eisenhower's position as a fear that, "by making war the organizing 
principle of society [we] had created a set of conditions in which the very 
idea of democracy, if not the possibility of politics itself, was at stake" 
(Giroux: 14).

Giroux reminds us that Eisenhower actually had used the phrase the 
"military-industrial-academic-complex," deleting it just before his 
television talk. Later Senator Fulbright captured the essence of the fear. 
"In lending itself too much to the purposes of government, a university 
fails its higher purpose" (Giroux: 15). Giroux charts layer upon layer of 
sophisticated methods which the National Security State brings to bear upon 
a university system that presently looks like a deer caught in the 
headlights. He is blunt, "Given the seriousness of the current attack on 
higher education by an alliance of diverse right-wing forces it is difficult 
to understand why liberals, progressives and left-oriented educators have 
been relatively silent in the face of the assault (Giroux: 185)."
The future of the university as a democratic public sphere is at stake. It 
is one of the last places where citizens can feel free to question authority 
and utter dangerous thoughts, he argues. Giroux asks universities to 
consider severing all relationships between the university and intelligence 
agencies and war industries. This includes military recruiters.

Returning Fire

Porter spends a great deal of time discussing the military's "cultural 
turn," and their "cultural counter-revolution" currently in place after "the 
revolution in military technology" left occupying armies flat footed in 
Iraq. "A return to an anthropological approach to war it is hoped, 'will 
shed light on the grammar and logic of tribal warfare,' and create the 
'conceptual weapons necessary to return fire'" (Porter: 48).

It's significant that the army is now appropriating theories from a Marxist 
revolutionary who died in prison. These days it sometimes feels to me that 
the
U.S. military is establishing beachheads into the universities, while we 
retreat to the prisons. This past year (August to May) I taught 
"Introduction to Anthropology" to 37 women in a maximum-security prison in 
Michigan. I did it for free since the state does not pay for university 
education there. My work is part of the Gramscian "cultural turn" against 
domination. Some women were military veterans. When asked about her military 
experiences one said, "It was lie upon lie upon lie. I was promised I'd have 
a safe job but the next thing you know I was ordered into a combat zone." 
She feared for her life. And yet, as of a few weeks ago, felons, like these 
women, are eligible to enlist to go to Iraq. Even though she is against the 
war, one inmate is thinking about it, since it's so hard for a convicted 
felon to get a decent job.

In my experience, military recruits, soldiers and college students are 
overly blind to "actionable intelligence" like history and anthropology. 
This ignorance makes them easier prey for U.S. imperial engagements. A young 
man or woman thinking about military enlistment needs to deeply reflect on 
Butler's idea of "Big Boss Super-Nationalistic-Capitalism" before they sign 
on the dotted line. At boot camp, soldiers need a proper military education 
so they can actively know how to resist immoral orders, report abuse and 
leave the military as a C.O., and university students require critical 
military education it in order to help lead civic engagements against the 
national security state.

That's why I and many of my fellow anthropologists want access to the US 
Army War College.

Richard Cross, as a journalist, was a public anthropologist serving the 
people. He diagnosed the "culture, resources and power" dynamics in an 
imperialist war to generate knowledge to further democracy. Free speech 
trumped imperial speech. The only way I can see anthropologists having 
anything to do with the US military, is to do the same. Butler apparently 
felt that way too. "I wouldn't go to war again as I have done to protect 
some lousy investment of the bankers. There are only two things we should 
fight for. One is defense of our homes and the other is the Bill of Rights. 
War for any other reason is simply a racket."

Brian McKenna can be reached at mckenna193@aol.com

References
Blum, William. A Brief History of U.S. interventions 1945- Present, Z 
Magazine, 1999.
Boas, Franz. "Patriotism." Originally read at Columbia University, March 7, 
1917. Published in, Race and Democratic Society, by Franz Boas, p 156-159, 
New York: J.J. Augustin Publisher, [1917. orig.] 1945.
Butler, Smedley. War Is a Racket. Los Angeles: Feral House, (1935; reprint, 
2003).
Finney, Nathan K. The Military and Anthropology, SfAA Newsletter 19:1, pp. 
7,8, 2008
Giroux, Henry. The University in Chains, Confronting the 
Military-Industrial-Academic Complex. Boulder: Paradigm, 2007.
Gramsci, Antonio. Selections from the Prison Notebooks. New York: Intl. 
Publishers, 1971.
Johnston, Barbara Rose, ed. Half-Lives & Half-Truths: Confronting the 
Radioactive Legacies of the Cold War. Santa Fe, New Mexico: School for 
Advanced Research, 2007.
Miner, Horace. Body Ritual among the Nacirema. American Anthropologist 58:3, 
1956.
Porter, Patrick. Good Anthropology, Bad History: The Cultural Turn in 
Studying War. Parameters, Summer 2007, pp. 45-58, 2007.
Price, David. Threatening Anthropology: McCarthyism and the FBI's 
Surveillance of Activist Anthropologists. Durham, N.C.: Duke University 
Press, 2004.
Rigby, Peter. Persistent Pastoralists. London: Zed, 1985.
A version of this article appeared in the Newsletter of the Society for 
Applied Anthropology, May 2008. 


From jancius at ohio.edu  Fri May 30 10:30:39 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Fri May 30 09:31:25 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]FUNDING: Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study
Message-ID: <00f501c8c259$5cb96170$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study

Description: The Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study at Harvard 
University awards approximately 50 fully funded fellowships each year. 
Radcliffe Institute fellowships are designed to support scholars, 
scientists, artists and writers of exceptional promise and demonstrated 
accomplishment, who wish to pursue work in academic and professional fields 
and in the creative arts. Applicants must have received their doctorate or 
appropriate terminal degree by December 2007 in the area of the proposed 
project. Radcliffe welcomes proposals from small groups of scholars who have 
research interests or projects in common. Please check the Web site for more 
information. The stipend amount is $70,000. Fellows receive office space and 
access to libraries and other resources of Harvard University. During the 
fellowship year, which extends from early September 2009 through June 30, 
2010, residence in the Boston area is required as is participation in the 
Institute community. Fellows are expected to present their work-in-progress 
and to attend other fellows' events. Applications must be postmarked by 
October 1, 2008. For more information, visit our Web site at 
www.radcliffe.edu. Write, call, or e-mail for an application: Radcliffe 
Application Office 8 Garden Street Cambridge, MA 02138 ph: 617-496-1324 fax: 
617-495-8136 fellowships@radcliffe.edu

Eligibility Requirements: Scholars in any field with a doctorate or 
appropriate terminal degree at least two years prior to appointment (by 
December 2007) in the area of the proposed project are eligible to apply. 
Only scholars who have published at least two articles in journals or edited 
collections or one refereed journal are eligible to apply.

Contact Information:
Jeff Potts
Email: jpotts@radcliffe.edu
URL http://www.radcliffe.edu/fellowships/apply.aspx 


From jancius at ohio.edu  Fri May 30 10:41:04 2008
From: jancius at ohio.edu (Angela Jancius)
Date: Fri May 30 09:41:56 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]
 REV: Rosenfeld on Taraki ed., Living Palestine: Family Survival,
 Resistance and Mobility under Occupation
Message-ID: <00fb01c8c25a$d409b3f0$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>

[forwarded from H-Levant@h-net.msu.edu]

Lisa Taraki, ed. Living Palestine: Family Survival, Resistance and Mobility 
under Occupation. Syracuse: Syracuse University Press, 2006. xxx + 296 pp. 
Notes, bibliography, index. $45.00 (cloth), ISBN 978-0-8156-3107-1.

Reviewed by: Maya Rosenfeld, Department of Sociology and Anthropology, The 
Hebrew University of Jerusalem.

Published by: H-Levant (April, 2008)

Palestinian Social Research and the Ongoing Crisis in the Occupied 
Palestinian Territories

This volume is a timely addition to the disturbingly slender body of 
academic research on Palestinian society during the current, ultra-violent 
phase of the Israeli military occupation. One may have assumed that the 
October 2000 disruption of the Palestinian attempt--short-lived and 
circumscribed as it was--at state-building, and the unprecedented upsurge of 
Israeli military aggression that followed thereafter, which carried in its 
wake devastation and destruction for all aspects of Palestinian social, 
economic, and political life in the Gaza Strip and West Bank, would have 
given rise to a large body of "crisis and disaster focused" social research 
and literature. Such an expectation was all the more apt if one took into 
consideration the wealth of social, political, and historical research that 
was triggered by the first Intifada (1987-93) and the diversity of scholars, 
in terms of both disciplinary specialization and nationality, who took part 
at that time in the enterprise of in-depth inquiry and knowledge production. 
But the more than seven years that have elapsed since the outbreak of the 
second Intifada (and Israel's first attempts to suppress it) in October 2000 
appear to have yielded a very different scholarly reaction.

Certainly, one is overwhelmed by the volume, high quality, and 
comprehensiveness of crisis and catastrophe-centered research that has been 
(and is continuously being) carried out and published by a host of 
international and local organizations and agencies. These include a dozen or 
so UN organizations, first and foremost the Relief and Works Agency for 
Palestine Refugees in the Near East (UNRWA) and the Office for the 
Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (UNOCHA), the World Bank, the 
Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS) (an agency of the 
Palestinian Authority), a long list of international and Palestinian NGOs, 
and a number of Palestinian, Israeli, and international human rights 
organizations. Indeed, the abundance of data on poverty, declining standards 
of living, unemployment, labor market contraction, and other crises in the 
public and private sectors that is found in the periodical and annual 
reports by the aforementioned organizations is probably sufficient to 
sustain hundreds of research projects in the social sciences. However, it is 
a distressing fact that the incorporation of this raw data and its partially 
processed findings into broader sociological, anthropological, and 
historical studies is lagging far behind.

Living Palestine, a collection of research essays that explore relatively 
recent trends in urban culture, marriage patterns, emigration and class 
formation, the organization of and changing relationships within family 
households, and women's economic participation in contemporary occupied 
Palestine is therefore a welcome contribution, if only for its capacity to 
supplement "facts and figures" with sociohistorical analysis. All six 
contributors to this volume, five female and one male, are West Bank-based 
Palestinian academics practicing various social science disciplines, 
including sociology (Jamil Hilal, Lisa Taraki, Eileen Kuttab), public health 
(Rita Giacaman), and gender studies (Lamis Abu Nahleh, Penny Johnson). 
Furthermore, all have previously written extensively on Palestinian society 
and politics in the Occupied Territories, some for nearly three decades. The 
five women contributors are all affiliated with Birzeit University, three 
with the Institute of Women's Studies (IWS), one with the Institute of 
Community and Public Health, and one with the Department of Sociology. The 
sixth contributor is a research fellow at the Palestinian Institute for the 
Study of Democracy in Ramallah, who has also worked in collaboration with 
Birzeit's IWS.

In addition to the authors' shared institutional affiliation, another 
connecting link renders Living Palestine into a joint venture, rather than a 
mere collection of topically related articles. All of this volume's 
contributors relied heavily on the findings of a survey of two thousand 
Palestinian households in nineteen communities in the West Bank and Gaza 
Strip designed by the Institute of Women's Studies at Birzeit University and 
conducted in the summer of 1999. The authors also made use of various 
publications of the Palestinian Central Bureau of Statistics (PCBS), 
primarily statistical data compiled from the 1997 census and from annual 
surveys conducted from 1995 to 2000. Only two research essays relied 
extensively on fieldwork and relevant statistical data from more recent 
crises, that is, since 2001. This implies that, somewhat contrary to the 
initial impression its contents convey, this collection elaborates more upon 
developments of the 1990s than upon those of the post-Oslo years, a point to 
which I will return. In what follows I offer a critical reading of two 
essays in the collection: Lisa Taraki and Rita Giacaman's "Modernity Aborted 
and Reborn: Ways of Being Urban in Palestine," and "Living Together in a 
Nation of Fragments: Dynamics of Kin, Place and Nation" by Penny Johnson.

Taking as their starting point "the abrupt abortion [in 1948] of Palestine's 
urban modernity as embodied in the coastal cities of Jaffa and Haifa and in 
the inland city of Jerusalem" (p. 1), Lisa Taraki and Rita Giacaman set out 
to explore prototypes of urban history and of contemporary urban life in the 
West Bank, where the continuity, rather than the rupture, of communities 
prevailed. The authors' choice to focus on the cities of Nablus, Hebron, and 
Ramallah reflects an attempt on their part to encompass the marked diversity 
of urban development within this small part of historical Palestine. 
However, due to the relative scarcity of existing sociohistorical research 
on the three cities and the paucity of primary sources available to the 
authors, the reconstructed "city profiles" that emerge, while instructive, 
are based on considerable speculation and border on stereotypes. Thus Hebron 
and Ramallah are depicted as polar opposites, antipodes on the continuum of 
modernity and development. Hebron, the service and commercial center for 
Jabal al-Khalil, which retained attributes of a semi-rural town throughout 
the twentieth century, is characterized as the stronghold of traditionalism, 
conservatisms, localism, and narrow-mindedness. In contrast, Ramallah, 
currently the political and administrative "capital" of the Palestinian 
National Authority, is essentialized as the cosmopolitan home of students, 
intellectuals, and professionals, as well as local and international NGOs.

And finally, Nablus, which has historically served as the region's economic 
and cultural capital, and is home to a distinctive urban (yet "traditional") 
elite that has long played a significant role in the Palestinian national 
movement, is afforded an intermediate position in the aforementioned 
hierarchy. Conspicuously absent from this typology, however, is an attempt 
to incorporate the impact of four decades of Israeli military occupation and 
the equally long period of resistance to that occupation in the framework of 
the Palestinian national movement. In other words, the single most 
significant factor contributing to occupied Palestine's general economic, 
social and institutional underdevelopment, its arrested urban development, 
the consequent homogenization of socioeconomic conditions and reshaping of 
social structure, and the emergence and consolidation of political 
consciousness in this territory, was inexplicably left out of the analysis.

The absence of these key analytical determinants becomes all the more 
problematic in the second part of the essay, in which the authors use the 
reconstruction of their three historical profiles in an attempt to explain 
contemporary demographic and social characteristics of the three cities. To 
this end they mobilize a body of statistical data--most of which was 
extracted from the PCBS 1997 census--on fertility, marriage, education, 
employment, occupational differentiation, patterns of consumption, and other 
elements of lifestyle in the three urban areas and their corresponding rural 
districts. One salient finding that emerges from the abundance of data 
presented here and in other parts of this collection, is that, on the eve of 
the twenty-first century, the districts of Ramallah, Nablus, and Hebron 
exhibited relative similarity in terms of major socio-demographic 
indicators. These include an ever increasing rate of female enrollment in 
institutions of higher education, a significantly low rate of female 
participation in the labor force, a very high rate of kin marriages, a very 
low median age of women at the time of their first marriage, and a 
correspondingly high fertility rate. Another salient finding is that the 
city of Ramallah, at that time (1997) home to less than 20,000 residents, 
constituted a marked exception when compared to both its rural hinterland 
and to the other two cities. This was especially so in terms of Ramallah's 
relatively high concentration of students, adults with post-secondary 
education, professionals, persons employed in medium and higher management, 
recent emigrants from other parts of Palestine and from the Diaspora, and 
households with private cars, computers, and other amenities.

However, rather than tracing the processes that yielded both the exception 
(Ramallah) and the rule (all other urban and semi-urban communities in the 
West Bank), the authors attribute contemporary socio-demographic disparities 
between the cities to distinct, immanent "social universes" (p. 31), 
"cultural universes" (p. 33), or "urban paradigms" (p. 40) that allegedly 
breed distinct value systems. Thus, the significantly higher percentage of 
adults with higher education in Ramallah is attributed to the great 
valorization of education by the Ramallawis as well as to their "modernist 
dispositions" (p. 48). Conversely, we are told that the slightly higher 
rates of child labor in Hebron and Nablus reflect the fact that "in Hebron 
and Nablus some sectors within the population appear to believe that their 
children can manage their lives without much education" (p. 37), and the 
greater prevalence of amenities in Ramallah households is deemed indicative 
of the distinctive "life agendas" adopted by particular individuals and/or 
families. One cannot escape the feeling that this essay was written as a 
song of praise for the Ramallah-based Palestinian middle class and the 
supposedly (post?) modernist "ethics" it upholds, a sociopolitical stand in 
marked contrast to the radical orientation that characterized Palestinian 
social science just two decades ago. However, my main problem is rather with 
analysis that reproduces Ramallah, Hebron, and Nablus as self-contained 
entities divorced from the political economy of the Israeli occupation as 
well as from Palestinian politics. One is tempted to ask if, as is claimed, 
Ramallah is a "cultural universe" of its own, how do we explain the results 
of the parliamentary (PLC) elections of 2006, which demonstrated the fact 
that popular support for Hamas did not stop at the gates of this city? And 
what sense do we make of the fact that, for many years, the student movement 
at Birzeit University, perhaps "the" symbol of the "Ramallawi spirit," has 
been dominated, in whole or in part, by factions affiliated with Islamist 
political parties?

Researched and written by Penny Johnson, the second essay in the collection 
attempts to explain the persistence and pervasiveness of endogamy (marriage 
inside the kinship group, or kin-marriage, as it is termed here) in the 
Occupied Territories in the face of the profound social and political 
transformations that Palestinian society underwent during its prolonged 
subjection to Israeli military occupation. The high incidence and marked 
stability of endogamy are revealed in the ample statistical data that 
Johnson presents, and which are worth dwelling upon at some length. I will 
confine my remarks to the most salient data items: according to the IWS 
survey, in 1999 the prevalence of marriage between first cousins--the form 
of marriage to which the highest cultural preference is accorded--among 
women who had ever been married stood at 21 percent in the northern West 
Bank, 26 percent in the central West Bank, 27 percent in the southern West 
Bank, 30 percent in the Gaza Strip, and 32 percent in Jerusalem, with the 
cross-regional average standing at 27 percent. A PCBS survey taken in 2000 
yielded comparable results, and found that an additional 19.3 to 21 percent 
of women who had ever been married were in fact married to more distant 
relatives (distant cousins from the same hamula). Most importantly, the data 
revealed that the prevalence of first cousin marriage bore little relation 
to classic indicators like age, urban vs. rural residency, locality, or 
educational level (pp. 67-68). Of further interest is the wide gap between 
parents' declared preferences with respect to marriage partners for their 
children and actual practice. Parents of prospective brides and grooms 
commonly express negative views about marriage to relatives, occasionally 
employing a "modernist discourse" of genetics for that purpose. Yet, more 
often than not, they end up marrying off their daughters and sons to close 
or distant cousins.

As Johnson acknowledges, a prevalence of kin marriage is not unique to 
Palestinian society. It is, in fact, rather common in all contemporary Arab 
societies, with the incidence of first cousin marriage in the 1990s reaching 
24 percent in Egypt, 31 percent in Saudi Arabia, 35 percent in Syria, and 43 
percent in Libya (p. 66). Moreover, endogamy is, alongside patrilocality, 
patrilineality, and patriarchy, among the cultural practices and structural 
features that have received the most scholarly attention from 
anthropologists, sociologists, and social historians. Scholars have offered 
varying explanations for endogamy's historical origins, its social, economic 
and cultural "functions," its interaction with other components of the 
sociopolitical system, and the reasons for its persistence against a 
backdrop of changing socioeconomic conditions. However, there is a broad 
scholarly consensus that endogamy is an embodiment of patriarchal control 
exercised by older male members of the family (and the broader kinship 
group) over young, unmarried family members, particularly unmarried 
females.[1] It is because of this linkage that the high incidence of 
endogamy is commonly employed as an indicator of social conservatism as well 
as of the lower social status of women in a given society. Conversely, the 
apparent aim of Johnson's analysis is to free endogamy from its 
interconnection with patriarchy, at least as far as the contemporary 
practice of kin marriage in occupied Palestine is concerned. Indeed, nowhere 
in the text does Johnson note the ways in which endogamy, as a particular 
form of family-arranged marriage, enacts and reproduces patriarchal 
relationships within the families of the (hundreds of thousands of) 
Palestinian women whose experiences are the basis of the data she utilizes. 
Therefore, it is unsurprising that Johnson eschews explanatory schemes that 
indicate connections between the persistence of endogamy, the preservation 
of property relations, the reinforcement of social conservatism, and the 
repression of women.

Rather, Johnson selectively employs the theoretical apparatus of Pierre 
Bourdieu, particularly his concept of "economies of symbolic goods" and his 
conceptualization of kin and family relations as a relatively autonomous 
sphere, one not explicitly determined by the economic and political 
structures within which it is embedded. Thus armed, she asserts that 
"everyday practices of marriage and 'kin work' are sites where Israeli 
colonialism is contested and identity is constituted" (p. 52). The main 
thrust of Johnson's argument is that marriage between relatives (and 
occasionally, between unrelated members of the same community) is a means by 
which Palestinian families and the individuals they comprise fulfill 
essential social and emotional needs that they have been consistently 
denied, first by the Israeli occupation regime, and subsequently by the 
failure of the PNA to restore basic services or otherwise alleviate the 
devastating consequences of the siege and fragmentation that Israel imposes. 
In communities where permanent insecurity reigns, where people's ability to 
work and make a living, stay on their land, access health care, and travel 
is frequently disrupted or denied altogether, the persistence of endogamy 
indicates the importance that people accord to "closeness." In other words, 
it is their acknowledgement that, especially during periods of social 
instability, the similarity, indeed the "familiarity" or even "sameness" 
shared by prospective spouses is deemed a most valuable social asset (pp. 
76-77). In short, Johnson interprets "the dynamics of sameness in marriage" 
(p. 87) as a means by which parents seek to protect their children and 
improve the latter's future prospects, a process yielding enhanced social 
solidarity and greater empowerment of the individuals involved.

In the absence of a modern state and the entitlements and services that such 
sovereign entities regularly confer, one is likely to find increased 
dependence on the family and other kinship ties for security, stability, and 
other forms of support. This is doubly true under the conditions wrought by 
military occupation. Moreover, a rich and varied body of ethnographic 
research conducted in the occupied Palestinian territories, including my own 
work and Lamis Abu Nahleh's contribution to this volume, provides us with 
analysis of household economies and other "mechanisms" that enable families 
to survive prolonged crises like severe, chronic poverty, irregular income 
patterns, and the multitude of daily pressures caused by the occupation.[2] 
However, along with the crucial support it provides, greater reliance on 
family and kinship ties usually entails increased subjection of individuals, 
particularly young, unmarried women, to patriarchal control. It is in this 
context, I believe, that one should interpret evidence documenting the 
persistence of kin marriage in occupied Palestine. Specifically, the fact 
that such a significant number of Palestinian parents continue to arrange 
their children's marriages is an indication of the low place young, 
unmarried men and women occupy in the hierarchies of their families and the 
larger society.

In the history of the Palestinian national movement "social agendas" always 
lagged far behind the national issue. Nonetheless, until quite recently, the 
secular organizations that constituted the national movement in the Occupied 
Territories, particularly the leftist organizations and their affiliated 
women's committees, considered themselves progressive alternatives to 
conservative, reactionary social forces and institutions, including the 
patriarchal family. This position found natural expression in the critical 
attitude that political activists adopted to kin marriage, an issue to which 
I became exposed during my field research in the Dheisheh refugee camp 
(between 1992 and 1996). The parents of young male and female activists 
often attempted to arrange their children's marriages to first cousins or 
more distant relatives. Many resisted such attempts and mobilized 
"organizational resources" to that end: senior members of organizations 
repeatedly assumed intermediary roles, intervening on behalf of junior 
activists in an effort to call off arranged marriages or obtain parents' 
approval of their children's marriage choices. Resistance to the occupation 
was thus coupled, even if only to a modest degree, with resistance to the 
family's patriarchal control over its young members.

The Palestinian political arena has changed profoundly since the early 
1990s. Popular political structures have all but evaporated, as has the 
power of leftist parties and organizations. Women's political committees 
have either been dissolved or supplanted by NGOs, and what remains of the 
secular national movement faces fierce competition from Islamist 
organizations. Hardly any political formation challenges the traditional 
family's authority, while rising religious forces champion traditional 
values and institutions. This retrogression is another factor explaining the 
persistence and prevalence of kin marriage in the Occupied Territories.

Notes
[1]. Suad Joseph, "Gender and Family in the Arab World," in Arab Women: 
Between Defiance and Restraint, ed. Suha Sabbagh (New York: Olive Branch 
Press, 1996), 194-202.
[2]. Maya Rosenfeld. Confronting the Occupation: Work, Education and 
Political Activism of Palestinian Families in a Refugee Camp (Stanford: 
Stanford University Press, 2004).
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Sciences Online. For any other proposed use, contact the Reviews editorial 
staff at hbooks@mail.h-net.msu.edu. 


From wellman at chass.utoronto.ca  Fri May 30 11:29:30 2008
From: wellman at chass.utoronto.ca (Barry Wellman)
Date: Fri May 30 10:39:31 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]army at war redux
Message-ID: <Pine.SGI.4.40.0805301025320.4520676-100000@origin.chass.utoronto.ca>

Re the US military recruiting social scientists, this was done in a big
way in the 1960s-1970s under Project Camelot. It didn't work well. In
addition, many academics actively opposed it. See Irving Louis Horowitz,
_The Rise and Fall of Project Camelot_.

Re students forbidden to reveal their military source of funding. There's
an easy partial solution: Require all students to list all of their
funding and to issue a sworn declaration that there are no hidden sources.
Penalty for contravention would include expulsion.

 Barry Wellman
 _______________________________________________________________________

  S.D. Clark Professor of Sociology, FRSC              NetLab Director
  Department of Sociology                        University of Toronto
  725 Spadina Avenue, Room 388                  Toronto Canada M5S 2J4
  http://www.chass.utoronto.ca/~wellman            fax:+1-416-978-3963
  Updating history:     http://chass.utoronto.ca/oldnew/cybertimes.php
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From fkeles at maxwell.syr.edu  Sat May 31 01:07:56 2008
From: fkeles at maxwell.syr.edu (Fethi Keles)
Date: Sat May 31 08:53:59 2008
Subject: [URBANTH-L]book request
References: <00c801c8c257$c2f860a0$1effa04c@D7ZX4M91>
Message-ID: <77FB233D27EF484D8F5E445D014C8C719FF4F6@SUEXCL-03.ad.syr.edu>

Dear all,

I have been trying to find a copy of the following to no avail: Negotiating Power and Place at the Margins (Selected Papers on Refugees and Immigrants, vol 7) Triliene G. Tipson and Lucia Ann McSpadden, Editors. 1999. 

It's one of the only two volumes (the other being vol.II, edited by MaryCarol Hopkins and N. Donnelly. 1993) in the Selected Papers series I couldn't obtain from AAA.

Any help/suggestions (including offers to sell either or both) will be appreciated.

Thanks,

Fethi Keles

