As the liaison to the American Anthropological Association (AAA), I was able to attend their most recent conference in Toronto in November. I am posting my report here for anyone who is interested.
Report from the annual meetings of the American Anthropological Association (AAA)
November 15-18, 2023, Toronto, Ontario
Sarah P.C. Dahlen
ACRL liaison to the AAA, 2023-26
The 2023 AAA meetings were held in conjunction with the annual meetings of the Canadian Anthropology Society/Société canadienne d'anthropologie (CASCA) in Toronto, ON. They took place in a hybrid format, with some presentations in person, some synchronously online, and others asynchronously online. This was an interesting combination, but not ideal due to the asynchronous presentations not being available after the conclusion of the conference.
As a first-time attendee, I had hoped that there would be more sessions related to instruction or pedagogy, but these were few and far between. I learned that there is a Teaching in Anthropology Interest Group (TAIG), and while they did not have designated slots for conference presentations, I have joined their listserv and attended one meeting (on zoom, unrelated to the conference).
One of my objectives for attending the AAA meetings was to network with anthropologists and to get a sense of where the overlap might be between their interests and those of librarians. Specifically, I was interested in gauging potential interest in workshop topics that I hope to propose for a future conference. The two potential topics I had in mind were OER and synthesizing information from sources, and what I learned was that while a number of anthropologists I spoke to were particularly interested in OER, there has been a fair amount of done already in this area by TAIG and the Society for Anthropology in Community Colleges (SACC) (see OER textbooks). I would not have much to add to the existing work and resources in this area.
Part of my networking plan was to distribute copies of a zine I created for faculty on teaching synthesis. While I was only able to distribute 26 zines (instead of my intended 30), they did serve as a good conversation starter. Based on their positive reception, I expect to propose a workshop on synthesis at next year's AAA meetings.
I will briefly summarize here some of the sessions I attended that have the most relevance for librarians.
Shhh! I'm a School Librarian Using My BA in Anthropology to Radically Transform the Library. Jain Orr, McCallum High School, Austin, TX
In this session, which is available on YouTube, librarian Jain Orr describes how she has used participant observation and inductive reasoning to improve services at the high school library where she works. Her insights have led to additions such as a prayer room, comfortable furniture, soft lighting, and free menstrual products.
Transitions to Project-Based, Transdisciplinary Learning: A Guide to Creating Virtual Collaborative Learning in Undergraduate Courses. Audrey Ricke, Indiana University
Dr. Ricke described using online tools to facilitate group projects in her in-person class in a way that is designed to reduce barriers to student participation. By providing a structure for group work, including online tools (Zoom, Google Drive, Google Chat) and a planning contract (group roles, communication plan, and ways to negotiate conflict), she sets up students for success with their group work.
UX is Not Dead, ChatGPT is Not Killing it: Embracing Conversational User Experience. Elizabeth Rodwell, University of Houston
This presentation argued that UX is more important than ever, with a "human-in-the-loop" necessary for the thoughtful design of chatbots. Engineers must partner with social scientists (as experts in the human/technology relationship) to design chatbots that do not reproduce existing power dynamics and inequities.
Affective Encounters: Unpacking Colonial Archives, Museums, and the Captured Displayed Object. Aarzoo Singh
This presenter gave several examples of museum exhibits that displayed objects likely acquired through colonial violence with no acknowledgement of that acquisition history. In this way, museums reinforce their national narratives while ignoring the legacies of colonialism.
In addition to many interesting presentations, I also attended a reception for the journal Anthropology Now. I had not previously been aware of this publication, and I learned that it is a venue for professional anthropologists to present their research to an audience of educated laypeople (it was compared to Psychology Today). It is a peer-reviewed publication, but not scholarly in the sense that it is not written for other anthropologists. Articles are free of jargon and shorter than many scholarly articles, making them accessible for undergraduate readers.
My activities at the AAA meetings relate to two of the objectives in ACRL's Plan for Excellence:
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Sarah Dahlen
Reference and Instruction Librarian
California State University, Monterey Bay
She/Her/Hers
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