SOAN Newsletter December 2015

SOAN Newsletter December 2015

Graduate student highlight

Emily Harvey

Interview with Emily Harvey, Accelerated M.A. Student in Anthropology and Editorial Assistant for The Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology

The Journal is housed in the Department of Anthropology under the editorship of Prof. of Anthropology, Linda J. Seligmann.  Emily Harvey is the Editorial Assistant for the Journal and she told us a little about her experiences as a graduate student and editorial assistant.

Tell us a little about yourself and your research and goals in pursuing the Accelerated M.A. in Anthropology?

I graduated with my B.A. in Anthropology this past May 2015. As an undergraduate, I played for the Women’s Soccer team and I majored in Anthropology with minors in African and African American Studies, and Women and Gender Studies. I took a graduate class for undergraduate credit during the Fall of my Junior year, and that is what led me to consider the Accelerated M.A. in Anthropology along with the fact that I really enjoyed Mason’s Anthropology program as a whole. My Undergraduate research project led to the current research I am doing in the Accelerated program for my thesis. My thesis is looking into the effects that the Black Lives Matter social movement is having on Black students who attend Historically Black Colleges or Universities (HBCUs), in comparison to Black students who attend Predominantly White Institutions (PWIs). Pursuing an M.A. in Anthropology at Mason is not only giving me the opportunity to research areas I am passionate about, but it is also providing me with a sound anthropological foundation and opportunities such as the one I have now working with the Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology. I am also pursuing a Graduate Certificate in Women and Gender Studies where I also work as a graduate staff member. The main goals I am seeking in pursuing this degree are to complete a thesis project that is both informative and impactful, and to graduate with the knowledge and skills I need to practice applied anthropology and to continue on to pursue a PhD. in applied cultural anthropology.

What are your plans after you finish your degree?

After I finish my degree I plan to take a short break from school while I apply and visit universities who have PhD programs I am interested in. During this time I also plan on working to continue gaining professional experience.

What kinds of activities do you perform as the editorial assistant for the Journal of Latin American and Caribbean Anthropology?

As editorial assistant I perform a lot of the administrative tasks for the Journal. When manuscripts are first submitted I make sure they meet all of the basic requirements. I verify that reviewers and authors submit the correct materials and have everything they need for publication. Sometimes this means tracking down authors for a revision or giving a reviewer an extension. I am also in charge of organizing all the accepted manuscripts and getting them copy-edited and exported to the publisher on time.  

What are the most challenging aspects of your job?

 The most challenging aspect of working with the Journal is all of the moving parts. At any moment we have multiple manuscripts in the review process, revision process, or copy editing process, and each of these processes has its own set of tasks and correspondence that needs to take place in a timely manner.

What have you found most satisfying about your work?

I really enjoy the fact that this position gives me the opportunity to not only have an insider’s view on what it takes to run a large established journal, but I also have the opportunity to see what it takes to get published in such journal. Along with this I find a lot of the manuscripts really interesting and I enjoy reading them.

Are there insights into anthropology, both as a discipline and profession that you have gained from working on the Journal?

Through working at the journal I have gained insights into both anthropological theory and methodology. The topics and ethnographic work that comes through the journal displays the diverse work anthropologists do as well as the impact and potential for impact anthropological work produces.

Recent Publications

Anne Schiller

Schiller, Anne, and Rita Rowand. 2015. Published "Staff Exchange Programmes and Campus Internationalisation."  In the European Association for International Education Forum. December 10th 2015

Check it out here:  http://www.eaie.org/blog/staff-exchange-programmes-and-campus-internationalisation/

Cortney Hughes Rinker

Nahm, Sheena and Cortney Hughes Rinker, eds.  Published Applied Anthropology: Unexpected Spaces, Topics, and Methods. New York: Routledge. December 2015

This collection brings together recent innovative work in applied and practicing anthropology. Organised around the theme of unexpectedness, it examines some of the novel spaces, topics, and methods that anthropologists are involved with. The volume emphasizes non-traditional settings and demonstrates the important role of anthropology in addressing some of the pressing issues facing society today. The contributors offer detailed ethnographic examples from their own research and work that give students valuable insight and advice. Drawn mainly from the United States, the case studies illustrate the diverse arenas in which anthropologists operate, from law and finance to education and health care. Simultaneous consideration is given to practical applications, theoretical reflections, and professional experiences.

Johanna Bockman

 Professor Johanna Bockman's book Markets in the Name of Socialism: The Left-Wing Origins of Neoliberalism was recently reviewed in Historical Materialism (http://tinyurl.com/zn5p482) and discussed in Jacobin (http://tinyurl.com/oq67424), as well as previously reviewed in Dissent (http://tinyurl.com/htgkwpa). She has a new publication, "Home Rule from Below: The Cooperative Movement in Washington, DC," in Capital Dilemma: Growth and Inequality in Washington, DC (Routledge). 

Nawa Sugiyama

Professor Sugiyama N, Somerville AD, Schoeninger MJ (2015) Stable Isotopes and Zooarchaeology at Teotihuacan, Mexico Reveal Earliest Evidence of Wild Carnivore Management in Mesoamerica. PLoS ONE 10(9): e0135635. doi:10.1371/journal.pone.0135635

Recent Presentations

Nancy Hanrahan

Nancy Hanrahan presented "Musical Discovery and its Discontents" at the Musimorphoses Colloquium in Paris, France, November 11 - 13, 2015.

Check out the link below for the presentation. 

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1Nayd8EYqB8

Cortney Hughes Rinker

Dr. Rinker gave a presentation in Denver Colorado. Entitled:  Roundtable Participant, “The Varied and Changing Roles of the MA Thesis in Anthropology: A Cross-Sectional Roundtable,” American Anthropological Association meeting, Denver, CO (2015)

Awards/Media coverage

Nawa Sugiyama

Article in IFL Science

http://www.iflscience.com/plants-and-animals/remains-captive-carnivores-discovered-mexican-pyramid/

Article in  R&D Magazine

http://www.rdmag.com/articles/2015/12/new-world-and-early-carnivorous-wildlife-management

 

Announcements

Cortney Hughes Rinker

Dr. Rinker is now serving as a Steering Committee Member of the Ali Vural Ak Center for Global Islamic Studies at Mason. Congratulations Dr. Rinker!

 

Events

1) Save the date for upcoming SOAN Colloquium events:

  1. SOAN Colloquium: Smart Cities, Social Entrepreneurship, and Knowledge Economies

February 3, 2016, 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM 

Robinson Hall B, SOAN Conference Room, 313

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology is delighted to announce a presentation "Outsmarting Ourselves: Smart Cities, Social Entrepreneurship, and Other Artificially Intelligent Solutions to Social Problems in Emerging Knowledge Economies" by sociology professor John Dale. 

 

  1. SOAN Colloquium: The Rise of Resolutions and Self-Righteous Anthropology

March 2, 2016, 12:30 PM to 2:00 PM

Robinson Hall B, SOAN Conference Room, 313

The Department of Sociology and Anthropology is delighted to announce a presentation "The Rise of Resolutions and Self-Righteous Anthropology" by anthropology professor SusanTrencher.