FALL 2018 CU BOULDER ANTHROPOLOGY GRADUATE STUDENT CONFERENCE
Back to the Futures: A Conference on Anthropology and Time
September 28-29, 2018 - University of Colorado, Boulder.
Abstracts due June 8 - submit online here
CONFERENCE THEME AND KEYNOTE SPEAKER
What role do futures play in anthropological research? While some scholars
have pointed to anthropology’s longstanding preoccupation with the past,
memory, and tradition (Appadurai 2013), interdisciplinary movements such as
indigenous futurisms, queer futures, and science and technology studies
challenge us to consider time in a different register (Muñoz 2009). Adams
et al (2009) suggest that the current moment is characterized by
anticipation, or speculative forecast of what the future might hold, and
Taussig et al (2013) read scientific projects such as the Human Genome
Project in terms of their potentiality, or the quality of something that
does not yet but might one day exist. Black feminist futurity, on the other
hand, actively imagines a future anterior, the "performance of a future
that hasn't yet happened but must" (Campt 2017).
While allowing for radical imagination and political action, the future
might also lead us to ponder what will become of the informants and topics
we expose through our work. But how does the future engage with the
increasingly interdisciplinary and intersectional nature of our discipline?
Futures, in a plural configuration, focus on the multiple intertwining of
desires and realities.
In this conference, we will consider the multitude of applications of
futures within anthropology and the social sciences. We might apply this
framework, for example, to energy futures, the future of human migration
and displacement, the technological futures of robotics, or the future as a
structure of feeling (Williams 1977). We seek to engage in the ever-present
question of the direction of the discipline: What are the futures of
anthropology and its methods? How does an anthropology keenly aware of its
futures remain engaged with an ever-changing world?
Dr. Sarah Vaughn
(Assistant
Professor of Anthropology at the University of California, Berkeley) will
deliver the keynote address. We will also hold two interactive workshops
for all attendees.
CONFERENCE DETAILS
Back to the Futures is a two-day conference organized by graduate students
in the Department of Anthropology at the University of Colorado, Boulder. We
invite submissions from current and incoming graduate students (MA or PhD)
in all subdisciplines of anthropology and related social sciences (such as
sociology, geography, STS, ethnic studies, etc).
Meals will be provided for visiting panelists throughout the conference.
There will also be opportunities to hike and explore beautiful Boulder,
Colorado. Additionally, our goal is to provide free lodging (hosted by
local graduate students) for all participants. However, space may be
limited, and we will accommodate lodging for panelists on a first come,
first served basis. Please indicate your need for housing by filling out
the housing form on the Submit Abstracts page. Feel free to contact us with
any questions at ucboulder.anthrograds@gmail.com.
PRESENTATION FORMATS AND ABSTRACT SUBMISSION
Back to the Futures is pleased to invite presentations in three different
formats: a) traditional, 15-minute long papers, b) multimodal
installations, and c) roundtable submissions. Please choose one of the
following formats, based on your interests and current work.
Abstracts (100-150 words) can be submitted through the conference website
and
are due by Friday June 8, 2018.
Option A: Conference paper (15 minute presentation)
· Submit a 100-150 word abstract with the title and topic of your paper.
Conference paper presenters will be assigned to thematic panels with
moderators.
Option B: Multimodal installation (length varies)
· Submit a 100-150 word abstract with the description and title of your
installation, and indicate the format (e.g., photography, film, VR, poster
presentation, audio, or other installation). Please also indicate your
space and audiovisual needs.
Option C: Roundtable participation (5-7 minute research presentation and
moderated discussion with other roundtable presenters)
· Submit a 100-150 word abstract with a description and title of your
presentation and indicate which of the following roundtables you are
interested in. Your abstract should make clear how your work fits into the
selected theme:
o Energy and environmental futures: environmental anthropology,
human/non-human interactions, the Anthropocene and its future
o Human migration: displacement, dispossession, refugee futures,
humanitarian interventions, borders beyond the state
o Technology: automation, robotics, virtual worlds, data, surveillance,
cybersecurities
o Critical race theory: indigenous futurisms, critical mixed race
methods, intersectionality, subjectivities
o Applied anthropology: future of museums, UX design, community-based
research, collaborative filmmaking, applied medical and environmental
anthropology
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