EASA Medical Anthropology Network / AAA Society for Medical Anthropology /
Universitat Rovira i Virgili Joint International Conference, Tarragona, Spain
June 12-15th 2013
Thematic focus
Encounters and engagements – it is hard to imagine anthropology of any
sort without them, and they are central to the practices and concerns
of medical anthropology in particular. While ‘encounters’ suggests
meetings and convergence, the question of when, where and on what terms
an encounter takes place may raise issues of conflict, displacement
and exclusion.
The consultation of clients and health professionals, patients
and healers, has been of central concern to medical anthropologists,
yet the domain of medical anthropology extends well beyond the
encounters that occur through healing work in health settings.
Encounters may involve the senses, feelings and emotions – desires,
disappointments, pleasure and suffering – or they may be dispassionate,
cold and clinical. Encounters can also involve quasi- or non-human
agents – microbes, spirits, pharmaceuticals, medical technologies,
experiments, governmental institutions, non-governmental organizations,
weapons and words (amongst many others). They may be real, virtual or
imagined, active or passive. And they may engender change of all
sorts, leading to new identities, forms and trajectories.
By ‘engagements’, we recall the rich history of medical
anthropologists’ engagement in change processes, in many different
roles, in some cases collaborating with biomedical institutions to
adapt their programs to social realities, in other cases engaging with
recipients by giving voice to their concerns. Through such engagements
with diverse actors, medical anthropologists have developed a host of
new ways of doing research. It is this positionality of the medical
anthropologist, and this mode of interaction with other disciplines and
actors, that makes our work unique and important.
A conference like no other...
This Joint International Conference is designed to foster intellectual
encounters between engaged/applied and academic medical anthropologists
from around the world. The location and format of this pioneering
conference will promote the exploration of convergences and divergences
between theories, practices, schools and regions across the broader
community of medical anthropology scholars and practitioners globally.
The conference is being organized by the American Anthropological
Association’s Society for Medical Anthropology (SMA), the European
Association of Social Anthropologists’ (EASA) Medical Anthropology
Network, and the Department of Anthropology, Philosophy and Social Work, Universitat Rovira i Virgili (URV), Tarragona, Spain.
Submitting abstracts: The
theme ‘encounters and engagements’ has been chosen not only for the
theoretical focus it offers, but to reflect the organisers’ aspirations
about what this unique conference will be like. Hence, rather than
soliciting pre-formed panels, or panel abstracts relating to particular
topics or themes, the organisers are inviting all contributors to use
the broad framework provided by the overarching ‘encounters and
engagement’ theme as a basis for developing their 250 word (maximum)
conference abstracts for a paper or poster. These should be based on
original research and/or analysis – be it theoretical or empirical. The
abstracts will form the basis for a more detailed program, which will
be designed to generate cumulative and inclusive discussions in ten
parallel thematic conference streams, each containing a number of
panels.
Streams: Abstracts will
initially be considered by a Scientific Committee who will allocate
them to one of ten emergent streams deriving from the content of the
submissions. Each stream will be led by a group of two scholars who
will use them to identify and organize a series of five panels in their
stream. Stream leaders will write an initial thinkpiece
which explains the debates they expect will take place in their stream
(based on their review of abstracts), and will work with panelists on
how to focus and refine their presentations (with the possibility of
resubmitting abstracts, if appropriate). Stream leaders will also
draw up plans for how to conduct their panels, aiming for a variety of
formats, including (but not limited to) fifteen minute presentations
and posters.
Uploading papers in advance (optional): In
order to encourage and enhance the level of discussion in the streams,
participants are encouraged to prepare their work and upload it on the
conference website for others to read in advance. We recognise that
some people may not be able to do this, hence it is an optional
element, but we strongly encourage participants to follow this approach
if they possibly can (and for others contributing to a particular
stream to read them!). Papers should be no more than 3,000 words in
length; presentations at the conference should be summaries and
reflections on these papers, not the papers themselves.
Summing up - challenges for the future: At
the end of the conference, the stream leaders will write brief endnotes
summing up the key points from their stream and their implications for
future trajectories and challenges in medical anthropology. This
approach, we hope, will bring together people from many different modes
of practice, schools and regions in what we hope will be mutually
inspiring encounters generating long-lasting engagements. Through the
reconnaissance of individuals, subjects and theories, we anticipate the
start of new and exciting agendas in the discipline.
Skills-sharing workshops: in addition the
conference will host a series of workshops allowing medical
anthropologists to share skills and exchange experiences with mixed
methods studies, participatory video methods, the use of spatial
methods and social media, network analysis, and the analysis of large
volumes of qualitative data.
Participation of scholars, young and old: The
conference will be preceded by the annual Medical Anthropology Young
Scholars network meeting, enabling postgraduate students to attend both
events if they wish. Bursaries for professional medical
anthropologists (and some advanced graduate students) living in low
income countries (sub-Saharan Africa, parts of Latin America and the
Caribbean, Oceania, South and South East Asia, and parts of Central
Asia) will be available through a generous grant from the Wenner-Gren
Foundation. Further information about these and all other aspects of
the conference, abstract submission, registration, accommodation,
transportation, special opportunities for visual anthropology and other
matters are available on the conference website. You can also reach it via links on both the SMA website (http://www.medanthro.net/) and the EASA Medical Anthropology Network website (http://www.easaonline.org/networks/medical).
The joint conference organising committee of the SMA,
EASA medical anthropology network and the URV invite you to join with
the spirit of the conference in order to create new agendas for medical
anthropology in the historic and convivial city of Tarragona,
Catalonia, Spain.
Deadline for abstracts: 15th February 2013
Deadline for notification of acceptance/rejection: 15th March 2013
Program uploaded on conference website: 12th April 2013
Deadline for uploading papers to conference website (optional): 31st May 2013
