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At the request of the Members’ Programmatic Advisory and Advocacy Committee (MPAAC), AAA is offering a “Virtual Attendance” pilot project in conjunction with the 2019 Annual Meeting in Vancouver this November.
The purpose of the pilot project is to gauge whether people who otherwise would not take part in Annual Meeting activities might be interested in participating in a subset of activities remotely, without having to incur the time and travel expense of attending in person. Specifically, we hope to address equity of access for students and others facing economic precarity as well as family/work obligations and our commitment to the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). This also represents an opportunity to continue considering how to reduce our carbon footprint and increase the visibility of anthropological research in general.
The package will feature six sessions, the Keynote by Douglas Cardinal, and the President’s Address. The cost of attendance is set at $50 for students, $75 for all other AAA members and Department Services Program partners, and $100 for nonmembers.
The six sessions include the following (please note the times listed are all Pacific Standard Time):
Making Ethnography in Graphic Form: Productive Tensions, Creative Engagements, Uncertain Knowledges, November 21, 2019, 8:00 a.m.–9:45 a.m. (PST)
Cite Black Women: Race, Gender, Justice and Citational Politics in Anthropology, November 21, 2019, 10:15 a.m.–12:00 p.m. (PST)
MPAAC: Precarious Policies: Migrant Health in Times of Crisis and Rising Xenophobia, November 22, 2019, 10:15 –a.m.–12:00 p.m. (PST)
A Moral Commitment to the Gift: Sharing Knowledge through Anthropology Now, November 22, 2019. 2:00 p.m.–3:45 p.m. (PST)
Indigenous Language Media and Community Radio: Stories, Solidarities, and Social Change, November 23, 2019, 10:15 a.m.–12:00 p.m. (PST)
Reimagining and Remapping Environmental and Racial Justice in the Face of a Trumpian Attack, November 23, 2019, 2:00 p.m.–3:45 p.m. (PST)
Registration for the Virtual Attendance Pilot Project will open in late October. Stay tuned for more details.
This is the first year the AAA is offering virtual meeting attendance options. The pilot project is a response to concerns registered by our members and ongoing deliberations between select members of the AAA Executive Board, MPAAC, invited experts, and AAA staff.
We encourage attendees in this virtual pilot project to participate in a post-attendance poll, so we can generate insights that will assist the expansion of this program next year.
If you have questions or comments about this topic, please send your feedback directly to our virtual attendance representatives Taapsi Ramchandani ([email protected]), Krista Billingsley ([email protected]), and Jeff Martin ([email protected]).
We will continue to provide updates as this pilot project progresses.
Cite as: AAA Virtual Attendance Working Group. 2019. “Virtual Attendance Pilot Project Slated for 2019 Annual Meeting.” Anthropology News website, October 8, 2019. DOI: 10.1111/AN.1280