Minority Issues & Farewell

PATSY EVANS (PATSY@AAA.MHS.COMPUSERVE.COM)
Wed, 26 Jul 1995 12:16:55 EDT

Unfortunately, for budgetary reasons here at AAA, I am going to have to
unsubscribe to anthro-l, but I wanted to make a pitch that anyone with
minority issues should forward them to me, via snail mail or e-mail.
(See address at end of message) Please don't forget me. I will be
available on regular e-mail and I will be reading anthro-l via digest
form. Dave Givens, the AAA director of Academic Relations, will still be
on the list and if I have an overwhelming urge to comment on some
subject, he'll pass along my words to you. Before I go, however, I'd
like to mention for those who don't know, what in part is important to
know about minority affairs and AAA initiatives:

NB: Thursday morning of the AAA Annual Meeting, the AAA Commission on
Minority Issues is having a session this year on Race, Cultural Pluralism
and the Promise of Anthropology, organized by Robert Alvarez and George
Bond, featuring papers by Leo Chavez, Faye Harrison, Roger Sanjek, Walton
Johnson, Bea Medicine, Patricia Zavella, Sylvia Rodriquez, and Steven
Gregory, with discussion by Renato Rosaldo. It should be interesting...
The time has come for talking about the anthropological perspective,
diversity, theoretical issues, raced and gendered representations,
contested meanings, social dominance, the "subjects", etc...

I'm working on funding, logistics, planning issues for a AAA-sponsored
conference through its Commission on Minority Issues for American
Indians/ Native Anthropologists to talk about the issues which face them
in the profession.

My office, the Office of Minority Affairs, periodically sends out stuff
to lists I'm forming of self-identified minority folks, who are
predominantly African American, Asian American, Latino American, American
Indian, MiddleEastern American, and some interesting non-European foreign
folks, as well as EuroAmericans who identify with things I've talked
about. We are also solicited CV's for our minority CV bank... useful for
many purposes: bibliography compilations for an ambitious intern,
forwarding to NSF for panel formation, suggestions as people are looking
for experts, etc...

The AAA has a project on creating a book diversity that will be a joint
effort of the Commission on Minority Issues, SANA, ABA, ALLA, and the
Committee on External Relations... In its nascent stage, so more on that
in the the future.

Finally, I am also trying to compile a biblio on insider/outsider issues
in anthropological research since this often affects minorities trying to
get approval for projects, establish credibility in the academy in terms
of status, tenure and subsequent mentoring for other minorities
following, achieve recognition for community based or other applied
projects, etc...

You can always reach me, still on e-mail, just not via subscription or
participation on lists.... I wish, but alas, dollars speak loud. I am
investigating costs and feasibility to pay for a private subscription
through some providers -- I'll probably resurface on my own aol account,
but that will be after awhile!

Au revoir- Ciao - Baa Maa Pii

Patsy Evans
Director, Minority Affairs
American Anthropological Association
4350 North Fairfax Drive
Arlington, VA 22203-1621
703/528-1902, ext. 3024; FAX 703/528-3546
e-mail: patsy@AAA.MHS.compuserve.com