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Anthropology: Democracy, Inclusiveness, Transparency

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Anthropology: Democracy, Inclusiveness, Transparency 2009 ANNUAL REPORT Anthropology: Democracy, Inclusiveness, Transparency AAA 2009 Undesignated #1 Association Committee on the Executive Board Theodore C Bestor Operations Status of Woman in Harvard University Committee Anthropology President Katherine Spielmann Elizabeth Tunstall Setha M Low Undesignated #2 Catherine Kingfisher The Graduate Center Charles L Briggs Audit Committee of the University of University of Edmund T Hamann Finance Committee New York California, Berkley Ed Liebow Awards Committee President-Elect Undesignated #3 George Armelagos Nominations Virginia R Dominguez Lee D Baker Committee University of Illinois Duke University Committee on Dan Segal Ethics Secretary Undesignated #4 Dena Plemmons Resource Dan Segal Ed Liebow Development Pitzer College Battele Seattle Committee on the Committee Research Center Future of Print Louise Lamphere Archaeology Seat and Electronic Nan Rothschild Undesignated #5 Publications Columbia University Katherine Spielmann Alisse Waterston AAA Commissions Arizona State Biological Seat and Chairs University Committee for George Armelagos Labor Relations Commission on the Emory University Ex-Officio Victoria Sanford Engagement of Section Assembly Anthropology with Cultural Seat Convenor Committee for the US Security Ellen Lewin Mary Gray Human Rights and Intelligence University of Iowa Indiana University Michael Chibnik Communities Rob Albro Linguistic Seat Committee on Laura Graham Minority Issues in Commission on University of Iowa AAA Committees and Chairs Anthropology Race and Racism Simon Craddock Lee Janis Hutchinson Minority Seat Annual Meeting Thomas Patterson Gwendolyn Mikell Executive Program Committee on Yolanda Moses Georgetown Committee Practicing, Applied Audrey Smedley University John L Jackson Jr and Public Interest Deborah Thomas Anthropology Commission Practicing/ Linda Bennett on World Professional Seat Anthropology Anthropologies T J Ferguson and Education Committee on Frances Rothstein Committee Public Policy Ida Susser Student Seat Mark Lewine Andrew Bickford Jennifer L Jackson Kathryn M Borman Barbara Koenig Labor Relations University of Toronto Commission Committee Louise Lamphere on Scientific Communication American Anthropological Association Ellen Lewin 2009 Annual Report Anthropology: Democracy, Inclusiveness, Transparency TablE of ContenTs Executive Board, Committees and Commissions inside front cover Statement of Purposes 2 Letter from the President and Executive Director 3 Military Commission Issues Final Report on HTS Program 4 Member Profile: Robert Albro 5 Advocating for Anthropology 6 SPoTLIGHT: Association for Africanist Anthropology 9 Association Briefs 10 Member Profile: Niel Tashima 11 AAA Photo Contest Results 12 AAA’s RACE Are We So Different—Public Education Program Year Three 13 2009 AAA Awards Winners 14 2009 AAA Section Award Winners 16 Statement of Financial Position 18 Statement of Activities 19 AAA Staff and Publications 20 2009 Donor Recognition inside back cover Democracy, Inclusiveness, Transparency 1 Statement of Purposes of the American Anthropological Association The purposes of the Association shall be to advance anthropology as the science that studies humankind in all its aspects through archaeological, biological, ethnological, and linguistic research; and to further the professional interests of American anthropologists, including the dissemination of anthropological knowledge and its use to solve human problems. Taken from the Articles of Incorporation & Bylaws, amended and restated in October 1983, of the American Anthropological Association. s the President and Executive Director of the American Anthropological Association, we are pleased to report that over the past year, our association has grown stronger, become more efficient, and continues to work toward our goal of becoming a more publicly engaged organization. Along this vein, we’ve accomplished many things—we’ve worked with Athe Executive Board (EB), AAA staff and democratic processes to, respectively, increase leadership to keep our finances strong, retain editors’ involvement with future changes Letter from the membership, and strengthen our publishing to AnthroSource and survey members with President and program—all while promoting greater Master’s degrees to learn more about their needs Executive Director democracy, inclusion and transparency and interests. throughout all of our institutional practices. In terms of inclusiveness, we’ve reached In an effort to make our internal governance beyond our national interests and boundaries practices more democratic, we have restructured to work with our anthropological partners the Section Assembly (SA) and its participation around the globe. Through the Commission in AAA governance. For the first time in our on World Anthropologies (CWA), we’ve laid a association’s history, the SA convener was foundation to engage in critical work as diverse given a seat on the EB and, in the future, AAA as journal translation and multidirectional Setha M Low President (2007-09) members will be able to vote for two seats on the knowledge exchange. We’ve also entered into EB that are specifically reserved for candidates direct relationships with the International coming from a pool of SA representatives. Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences (IUAES) and the World Council of Also in the past year, the association continued Anthropological Associations (WCAA). These its work on revising the AAA Code of Ethics, initiatives will not only make our annual meeting a process that more diverse, included soliciting but will also and incorporating William E Davis bring a much valuable input from Executive Director In terms of inclusiveness, we’ve needed global AAA commissions, perspective to committees, reached beyond our national interests AAA operations. sections and and boundaries to work with our members. While Finally, this the membership anthropological partners around the globe. past year we’ve voted on and continued to approved certain develop more changes to the Code of Ethics, the AAA Task transparency in the AAA decision making Force for Comprehensive Ethics Review has process. We’ve increased communication undertaken—in part because of feedback from to membership through monthly articles in the aforementioned partners—a comprehensive Anthropology News, made direct reports to review of the entire Code, and is expected to membership at the 2009 annual meeting, and make final recommendations next year. offered advice about how members can make the most of their AAA membership. Two AAA committees in particular—the Committee on the Future of Print and Electronic As AAA enters a new decade, we are pleased to Publishing (CFPEP) and the Committee report that the association is on firm ground, and on Public, Applied and Public Interest will continue its efforts to spread anthropological Anthropology (CoPAPIA)—developed new knowledge worldwide. Democracy, Inclusiveness, Transparency Setha M Low William E Davis 3 n December of 2008, the Executive Board of the American Anthropological Association asked the Commission on the Engagement of Anthropology with the US Security and Intelligence Communities (CEAUSSIC) to thoroughly review the Department of Defense (DoD) Human Terrain System (HTS) program, so that the AAA might then Iformulate an official position on members’ participation in HTS activities. In December 2009, during a press conference at the AAA Annual Meeting, the CEAUSSIC officially issued its report. Second, the current arrangement of HTS The report, which was widely covered in the includes potentially irreconcilable goals which, mainstream media, addressed a number of in turn, lead to irreducible tensions with key points. respect to the program’s basic identity. These include the HTS attempt to concurrently Military First, the fulfill a research function, serve as a data and Commission report noted intelligence source, and perform a tactical Issues Final that HTS function in counterinsurgency warfare. Given and similar Report on HTS this confusion, any anthropologist considering programs Program employment with HTS will have difficulty are moving determining whether or not s/he will be able to DoD staff photo to become a follow the AAA Code of Ethics. greater fixture within the US military. Given still outstanding Third, although HTS managers insist the questions about HTS, such developments program is not an intelligence asset, the report should be a source of concern for the AAA authors noted that the program is housed and also for any social science organization within a DoD intelligence asset, that it has or federal agency that expects its members or reportedly been briefed as such an asset, employees to adhere to established disciplinary and that a variety of circumstances of the and federal standards for the treatment of work of Human Terrain Teams (HTTs) “on human subjects. the ground” in Iraq and Afghanistan create a significant likelihood that HTS data will be used as part of military intelligence, advertently or inadvertently. Fourth, HTTs collect sensitive socio-cultural data in a high- risk environment while working for one combatant in DoD staff photo Given this confusion, any anthropologist considering employment with HTS will have difficulty determining whether or not s/he will be able to follow the disciplinary American Anthropological Association AAA Code of Ethics. 4 MEMBER PROFIlE: RoBERT AlBRo the Rockefeller Foundation, and the American Robert Albro received his PhD in socio-cultural
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