Interdisciplinary Conference at York University, Toronto, Canada
November 21, 2009
Playing the Field
playingthefield2009@gmail.com
www.playingthefield2009.wordpress.com
Throughout much of the history of socio-cultural anthropology, fieldwork,
particularly that involving extended periods of participant observation, has
been touted as the discipline's methodological hallmark. However, the
established tendency to conceptualize 'the field' as the site where
'fieldwork'
is conducted, and 'the fieldworker' as the actor who conducts it,
obscures the
complex and multiple milieux informing their mutual constitution. This
conference encourages participants to interrogate, complicate,
demystify, and
possibly re-enchant the concepts and practices of field/work/er, with
special
focus on their privileged, albeit shifting, contributions to the domains of
knowledge making within anthropology and other disciplines. Alongside
theoretical interrogations, we welcome submissions that speak to
participants'
ongoing experiences, obstacles and successes as workers in the field.
The Social Anthropology Graduates' Association (SAGA) cordially invites
fellow
graduate students, activists and applied scholars to participate in an
interdisciplinary and interactive forum on Saturday, November 21, 2009
at York
University in Toronto, Canada.
We invite conference contributions in the following formats:
- Academic papers (presentation time: 15 minutes) and panels
(presentation time:
75 minutes)
- Alternative media presentations (posters, video, poetry, other
creative works)
Possible topics include, but are not limited to:
- What and where is the field?
- How is it constituted, entered, and exited by fieldworkers?
- Who is a fieldworker? How is she or he constituted by the practice of
fieldwork?
- Where is the 'work' in fieldwork?
- How is fieldwork arranged and conducted?
- What are the experiences of fieldworkers?
- How does the experience of the 'field' sometimes surprise fieldworkers?
- What kinds of interesting stories come out of fieldwork? Do these
stories make
it to the final draft?
- What is the relationship between disciplinary, regional, and performative
fields?
- How is the face and place of fieldwork changing in academia?
To propose a paper, please submit a cover page with your name; institutional
affiliation; contact information (mailing address, phone number, and
email) and
a 250 word abstract of the paper. Presentations will be limited to fifteen
minutes.
Panels of 3-4 presentations are especially welcome. To propose a panel,
please
submit a cover page including the title of the panel and the names of
presenters; a panel abstract of 150 words; a separate page with the names of
presenters, their contact information (mailing address, phone number, and
email) and institutional affiliation(s), the titles of their
presentations; and
a 250-word abstract for each paper. Panels will be limited to one hour and
fifteen minutes, including discussion periods.
Keynote address by Trent University Professor Anne Meneley:
http://www.trentu.ca/anthropology/meneley.php
Submission deadline for abstracts, proposed panels, and media
presentations is
September 25, 2009. Please send abstracts and all other inquiries to
playingthefield2009@gmail.com. Successful submissions may be assembled for
later publication. Note: travel bursaries are NOT available.
