Category Archives: From the Editor

University Presses Under Fire

Having just read an excellent overview of the state of university presses I’m reminded of the Hydra—the multi-headed monster that terrorized the people of Greece. The Hydra had the body of a serpent and many heads which could never be harmed by any weapon, and if one head did manage to get severed, another would grow in its place. The challenges in scholarly publishing are many. And no sooner do we adjust to one challenge than another arises in its place… read more…

  • dateMay 13, 2014
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  • posted byAnne
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Ethnography and its Promises, Uncertain or Otherwise: Highlights from CASCA 2014

The cupcakes have been eaten, the rhino gone to bed, and CASCA 2014 has come to an end. This year’s organizers should be proud at the stellar lineup they put together. Conference-goers had plenty of options to keep busy. After all was said and done, though, it was ethnography that kept emerging as the major preoccupation of the conference—what is it, how does one do it well, and, in the end, does it matter? read more…

  • dateMay 5, 2014
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  • posted byAnne
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Announcing a New Anthropology Book Series

Despite a stubborn polar vortex that just doesn’t want to go away, we’re focused on spring and the renewal it promises. So it seems an auspicious time to formally launch our new series designed for undergraduate teaching. Anthropological Insights will feature very brief books (80 to 100 pages or 35,000-50,000 words) that introduce students to contemporary anthropological research. read more…

  • dateFebruary 10, 2014
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  • posted byAnne
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Flipping Anthropology: Take Two

It wouldn’t be right to close out the year without somehow addressing / acknowledging / assessing the huge amount of energy and attention that was given over in 2013 to discussions of flipped learning (as opposed to MOOCs, which faced a pretty healthy backlash in the second half of the year). I contributed to this energy sink as well… read more…

  • dateDecember 31, 2013
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  • posted byAnne
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Post-AAA Post

Another year, another AAA come and gone. It felt like one of the busiest yet—from the frenzy of pre-conference tweeting about the role of scarves in an anthropologist’s wardrobe, to the crazy long lineups for coffee in the Chicago Hilton, to the lively conversations that were brimming with creative ideas for new books and new ways of thinking about how to approach teaching. We’re exhausted, but in a good way. And we’re excited about turning some of these ideas into reality in the near future. read more…

  • dateNovember 26, 2013
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  • posted byAnne
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