Sociology and Anthropology at (and around) CASCA-AAA 2019

It is a busy week for the department as our faculty members prepare for the joint American Anthropology Association (AAA) and the Canadian Anthropology Society (CASCA) conference.

The conference takes place in Vancouver from Wednesday, November 20th to Sunday, November 24th. Our faculty is highly involved in this year's conference: being part of the local organizing committee, giving presentations, and hosting tributes and receptions. Some are also organizing workshops and seminars outside of the conference, taking advantage of their fellow academics congregating in the region. This year's conference highlights our small yet engaged faculty—a group that is involved, dynamic and influential in the field of anthropology.

Here is a list of what everything that our faculty are doing in and around the conference:

Noel Dyck will also receive this year's prestigious Weaver-Tremblay in Applied Anthropology award. He has also organized the session "The Order(ing) of Good Cheer: The Study(ing) of Happiness" (Sat 10:15–12:00 PM), to discuss the consequences of differing definitions of "happiness". He also chairs the session, "Sports Movement and The Senses" (Sat, 8–9:45 AM), to discuss movement and the everyday moments in becoming a person of sport.

Dara Culhane is an organizer for three sessions that involve other members in our department, at SFU and beyond.

She has organized "Transforming Methodologies: Embodied Pedagogies" (Fri,12:15–14 PM), which explores and invites participants to engage in multi-sensory teaching activities. This session also includes Bascom Guffin, term lecturer, Jeremy Waller, MA Anthropology student and Simone Rapisarda, affiliated faculty member, .

Her second session, "Hallucinating Ethnography" (Fri, 12–4 PM) is a multimodal installation with a series of exhibits, performances, papers, and more that speak to lived multisensorial experiences. This session is organized by her, Cristina Moretti, affiliated faculty member, and Denielle Elliot, a former SFU Anthropology PhD alumni.

Participants from SA in this session include Dany Lacombe, Lindsey Freeman and affiliated faculty member, Simone Rapisarda. Download the schedule of the Hallucinating Ethnography installation.

Her third session, "Messenger of Stories: A Tribute to Kwakwaka'wakw Filmmaker Barb Cranmer (1960–2019)" celebrates the work of Barb Cranmer, one of the most prolific and acclaimed Indigenous documentary filmmakers of her generation. This session also includes affiliated faculty member, Simone Rapisarda.

The Centre for Imaginative Ethnography, curated by her, Cristina Moretti and others will be receiving the highly regarded General Anthropology Division's New Directions Award.

Dara will also be participating in "Experiments in Arts and Ethnography" (Sat, 10:15 AM) organized by affiliate member Simone Rapisarda as well as "Ethnography Fringe Salon" (Sat, 4:00 PM)

Parin Dossa will present at, "Anthropology of Aging and Life Course Interest Group" (Fri, 12:15–1:45) discussing her books, Racialized Bodies and Disabling Worlds and the co-edited Transnational Aging and Reconfigurations of Kin Work.

She will also present at "The Days After: Ethnographic Explorations of Post-Threshold Event Generative Practices" (Fri, 8–9:45 AM) which explores social ruptures and the days after as critically generative moments, departing from the practice of looking at the effects of social rupture long after.

Lindsey Freeman will participate in "Hallucinating Ethnography" with "Cosmonaut in the Post Office" (Fri 12:15–12:40 PM). She explores thinking zonally, considering the ideas, memories, facts and feelings of a place, focusing on the Chernobyl Exclusion Zone.

Bascom Guffin will participate in "Transforming Methodologies: Embodied Pedagogies."

Michael Hathaway will present at "Indigeneity in China? Ancestors, Traditional Knowledge and Sacred Landscapes among Ethnic Minorities" (Wed, 2:15–4 PM) to discuss global indigeneity and the region's ethnic minorities.

He will also be part of "Anthropology and Environment Society Dissertation Mentoring Event 1" to give PhD students constructive criticism, share ideas and provide an opportunity to network.

Dany Lacombe will participate in "Hallucinating Ethnography" (Fri 1:15–1:40 PM) where she presents the problematic victim narrative of incarceration and reform.

She will also take part in CASCA's Chairs Breakfast (Sat, 7:30 AM) to discuss the future of anthropology in Canada and elsewhere.

Kathleen Millar will be participating in Society for the Anthropology of Work (SAW) Board Meeting (Thu, 8–9:45 AM) to discuss the future of the section.

She will also present at the talk Weathering the "Tropical Trump": Precarious Rights & Resilient Justice in Brazil´s Climate of Authoritarian Populism, (Fri, 2–3:45 PM)

Stacy Pigg will present at "Making ethnography in graphic form: productive tensions, creative engagements, uncertain knowledges" (Thu, 8–9:45 AM) to discuss the making of ethnography in graphic form the use of comics, graphic novels, and drawing in their fieldwork, dissemination of research and teaching.

She has also helped organize the fifth "Cascadia Medical Anthropology Seminar", taking place at UBC (Nov 19th–20th), to explore cutting-edge medical anthropology topics. Visit cascadiaseminar.org, for more information.

Jenny Shaw will present at "Spectres of Obligation: Visual Inroads to Connecting Care and the Unseen" (Fri, 8–9:45 AM) to explore various continuums of "care" and providing for others in a variety of contexts, seen and unseen.

Pam Stern is part of the local organizing committee and has also organized CASCA's Women's Network Wine & Cheese Reception (Thu, Nov 21, 4–6 PM)

She is also hosting a guided walking tour of Chinatown and Black Strathcona (Sun, Nov 24, 9–11:30 AM). Visit here for tickets.

Jie Yang has organized "Indigenous Psychology in China: New Twists on Both Tradition and Western Psychology" (Fr, 10:15 AM–12 PM) and will present and discuss local psychological practices in China during the last four decades.

She has also organized the workshop, "'Indigenous' Psychology and Mental Health in China" taking place at Harbour Centre (Nov 23–24) to further her discussion and to understand the state of mental health practices at the ground level in China, 6 years after the government's "Mental Health Law." 

Joint Sessions

Michael Hathaway, Stacy Pigg and Parin Dossa will also take part in the "Anthropology Editorial Board Meeting" (Thu, 12:15–1:45 PM)

Michael Hathaway and Stacy Pigg will host the reception, "American Ethnologist Celebrates Peer Reviewers / Meet-the-Editors" (Thu, 8–10 PM) to celebrate the generosity and dedication of peer reviewers for anthropology journals.

Affiliate Faculty Members of SA

Marianne Boelscher Ignace will present at "Honoring First Nations' Anthropologists" (Fri, 4:15–6 PM)

Susan Erikson is a discussant at "Biofutures" (Thu, 2–3:45 PM)

Eugene McCann will present at "Reconceptualizing Urban Policy Mobilities: a dialogue with critical geography" (Fri, 2–3:45 PM)

Ronald E. Ignace present at "Building Strong Communities: Conjoining the Agendas for Indigenous Language Work" (Sat, 10:15–12 PM)

Cristina Moretti is a presenter at "Hallucinating Ethnography" as noted above

Simone Rapisarda participates at multiple levels in "Transforming Methodologies", "Hallucinating Ethnography", "Messenger of Stories" and "Experiments in Arts and Ethnography". He will screen his movie Zanj Hegel La/Hegel's Angel (Fri, 16:45–18:15) as part of "Hallucinating Ethnography.”