DEADLINE APPROACHING – SUBMIT, SUBMIT SUBMIT!

Mark Edberg, Ph.D., M.A.,
Program Committee Chair, SfAA 2021

November 15 is the extended deadline for submitting abstracts and sessions, so now is the time to ramp it up, and to encourage academics, practitioners and students in your networks to submit! This hybrid meeting offers a wide range of opportunities for anthropologists and social scientists to participate even as travel at this time can be difficult. We are also encouraging submissions from our global colleagues through SfAA Global. Participation from global colleagues will actually be easier because of the hybrid format. As I have said before, this is an important time to showcase the work of applied anthropologists and social scientists on issues that are timely and critical. There are collaborations that will add new and interesting dimensions to the meeting, including with the Northeast Anthropological Association, anthropologists working on a range of issues with the military, the Council on Nursing and Anthropology (CONAA) which has raised serious concerns about frontline health workers during the COVID-19 pandemic, and the participation of a multidisciplinary organization that brings anthropologists together with other scientists around STEM education. There are ongoing discussions about potential Critical Conversation sessions, including one focusing on the Census, and we anticipate a number of productive workshops. Local events and collaborations, also in the planning stage, will likely include tours/presentations concerning historic Fort Monroe and Jamestown, the 1619 communities in the Norfolk area, and involvement from several of the Tidewater area’s seven Native American communities. There is also substantial interest in local, national and global climate change and related disaster issues, and the impact of these events on communities. 

We will be monitoring the COVID-19 situation, and if any change is necessary that decision will be made in late December, in order to allow plenty of time for changes in travel arrangements. For those planning to attend in person, the Marriott hotel in Norfolk has provided an extensive description of its own COVID safety procedures, and information will be available regarding COVID-prevention practices at local restaurants and attractions. 

Importantly, this meeting will allow SfAA to implement a range of virtual and hybrid formats for presentations, award sessions, and informal meet-ups that will serve as a model to draw from going forward, beyond the current pandemic. Keep tuning in for more updates on Norfolk 2021!  

NOTE: A few logistics and process issues. If you deferred your 2020 registration to 2021, you have already been registered. However, if you want to present papers and sessions from 2020 in the Norfolk meeting, you will need to resubmit those because there are additional questions to be answered (e.g., regarding paper/session format).