HRAF Research Anthropologist Ian Skoggard attended the SAA 82nd Annual Meeting in Salt Lake City, Utah in March 2022. Continue reading for Ian’s report on the event and its highlights.
The 82nd annual meeting of the Society for Applied Anthropology convened in Salt Lake City this March 22-26. The theme of this year’s event was “The Revolutionary Potential of the Social Sciences: Transforming Possibilities.” It was a hybrid meeting with 144 sessions (95 were onsite, 48 online, and one prerecorded) altogether 1,122 submissions of paper, posters, roundtables and workshops. The venue was the Sheraton Downtown conference hotel, which provided an intimate setting with 22 conference rooms, all that was needed and easy to get around.
This year’s distinguished Bronislaw Malinowski Award was presented to Faye V. Harrison whose work has examined the African diaspora, social inequality, and antiracism. Dr. Harrison was on the advisory board of HRAF’s Encyclopedia of Diasporas. Dr. Brian Foster received the Sol Tax Distinguished Service Award and Dr. Amber Reed, the Margaret Mead Award for her book, Nostalgia after Apartheid: Disillusionment, Youth and Democracy in South Africa.
This year the Society for Anthropological Sciences hosted five paper sessions, a workshop on cultural consensus analysis, and a roundtable of undergraduate students who reported on the University of Northern Kentucky’s ethnographic field school in Belize. HRAF research anthropologist and member of the SAS executive board, Ian Skoggard, presented a paper on the work of community organizing that goes into accumulating social capital. Caitlyn Placek, another member of the SAS executive board, gave a paper on fasting during pregnancy among Hindi and Moslem women in South Asia. William Dressler examined the influence of cultural consonance on diet and health in Brazil.
The SAS also conducted a mentoring and ethnographic field and data analysis methods workshop, Nuts and Bolts. The workshop provided an opportunity for undergraduate and graduate students to ask seasoned anthropologists about next steps in their research and careers. Arturo Marquez, Jr. gave a paper on the business of social justice about Senegal immigrants in Spain who were able to protect themselves from police actions after launching a clothing brand that became popular across Europe.
One highlight of the meetings was Mark Schuller’s talk about his newly published book, Humanity’s Last Stand: Confronting Global Catastrophe. According to Dr. Schuller, an anthropological sensibility and outlook is paramount for humankind to overcome current global crises including climate change.
Ian Skoggard