CALL FOR PROPOSALS: Anthropologies of Conflict in a New Millennium Conference

Anthropologies of Conflict in a New Millennium

American Ethnological Society and 

Association for Political and Legal Anthropology

Spring Conference 2013

April 11-13, 2013

Chicago, Illinois

From the events of September 11 to the war in Iraq, from the Arab spring to Greek riots, from the invasion of Afghanistan to the occupation of Wall Street, the opening of the new millennium has witnessed a burst of new forms of conflict around the world. For anthropologists, these events have raised profound questions both about the nature of human conflict and about the place of our discipline within it. How should anthropologists understand the new forms of conflict that increasingly dominate the world stage? In what ways do we need to rethink our accustomed notions of power, of nation, of technology, and of the relationship between individual and group? And how do we situate ourselves, scientifically and morally, amid the contending groups whose cultures we study?

In April of 2013, the American Ethnological Society and the Association for Political and Legal Anthropology will explore these questions at our joint Spring Meeting in Chicago, Illinois.  We look forward to special plenaries by Susan Coutin, Sally Merry, Katherine Verdery, and Carolyn Nordstrom.

We invite proposals for papers, panels, workshops, and special events that interrogate the place of conflict in anthropological thought and practice. Possible subjects might include, but are not limited to:

• Anthropologists in conflict zones
• Meanings of power in the contemporary world
• The ethics of anthropological engagement with military authorities
• Law and violence
• The meanings of protest on the international stage
• Practices of conflict resolution, repair, and reconciliation
• The changing role of the nation-state
• Religion and power in contemporary conflicts
• The role of the legal process in times of conflict
• Conflict and the surveillance state
• Changing understandings of religious fundamentalism
• Anthropological ethics in a time of violence
• The role and influence of diaspora populations in conflict
• Ethnography of specific conflict arenas  – e.g., the Occupy movement, Iraq, Afghanistan, Darfur, the Arab Spring, the European austerity revolts, the War on Terror, the Tea Party movement

As always, paper and panel proposals on topics unrelated to the meetings theme are also welcome.

Proposals for workshops and special events should be submitted through the online portal by January 18, 2013. Proposals for panels and individual papers should be submitted through the online portal by January 25, 2013.