• So that those who cannot attend the SMA Conference "Medical Anthropology at the Intersections: Celebrating 50 Years of Interdisciplinarity" can view the plenary presentations, full video of these events will be available, free of charge, on the conference website and via the AAA blog beginning in late September.
• Registration for the conference is full, and there will not be on-site registration (please do not come to the conference if you are not pre-registered). If you are registered or have an unused online registration permission but do not plan to attend the conference, please let the conference organizers (medanthro.conference@yale.edu) know so that we can give your spot to someone on the waiting list.
• We hope that providing a video option makes participating in the conference easier for medical anthropologists around the world!

The op-ed contributions in each issue of Medical Anthropology provide commentary and opinion on the human stories of health and illness. These timely responses highlight the social conditions and cultural frameworks central to health beliefs and medical behavior of individuals, of families, and of societies.

In 2008 Medical Anthropology announced the addition of op-ed contributions in each issue from experts and world-renowned scholars who recognize and explain the issues in health, illness, and medicine that matter in your life and the lives of others.

The first in this series by Dr. Hans A. Baer (Melbourne), examined the impact of global warming on health and human societies (27:1). Dr. João Biehl (Princeton) followed with a discussion of the relations between pharmaceutical commerce and public health care with respect to global AIDS treatment initiatives (27:2). In the current issue (27:3), Heather Battles (McMaster) and Dr. Lenore Manderson (Monash) comment on the “Ashley Treatment” and its implications in regards to the public debate on the care of children with profound and multiple disabilities. In the final issue of 2008 (27:4), Dr. Vincanne Adams (UC-San Francisco) and colleagues outlined the need for “Global Health Diplomacy” which attends to the “dual goals” of improving global health and bettering international relations, with special concern for “conflict areas” and “resource-poor environments.” Dr. Sarah Pinto (Tufts) kicked off 2009 (28:1) with commentary on the "challenges" that an ethical language of abandonment used in psychiatric hospitals in India poses for families.

In the current issue (28:3) a plague of medical anthropologists wade into the timely issue of the H1N1 flu. Dr. Mark Nichter (Arizona) and Dr. Charles Briggs (UC-Berekely) comment upon the flu and the discourse about biosecurity and global health citizenship that surrounds it. It is their opinion that medical anthropology is absolutely crucial for a better informed public able to determine the factors and actors involved in knowledge production used in 'fighting' pandemics such as H1N1. Dr. Merrill Singer (Connecticut) raises important questions concerning the capacity of medical anthropology to respond usefully to such disease outbreaks and their health and social consequences. Finally, Dr. Laëtitia Atlani-Duault (Nanterre Paris X University) and Dr. Carl Kendall (Tulane) consider the under-discussed social effects of a truly massive global catastrophe that include the issues of communication, responding to predictable inappropriate reactions, preparation of populations for these effects, or using local population resources in the epidemic.

Stay tuned to each and every issue of Medical Anthropology – a truly international forum for medical anthropology – for more exciting, timely, and crucial insights in the social and cultural conditions at home and worldwide that impact health and medicine.

• The conference schedule is now available (Excel format)
• See the conference website for more details

• Abstracts and papers may be in English or Spanish. The deadline for receipt of abstracts is October 15, 2009. A detailed description of the theme and the meeting venue may be found on the SfAA web page at www.sfaa.net and in the recent SfAA Newsletter at www.sfaa.net/newsletter/newsletter.html.
• The Society is an international association of applied social scientists. The annual meetings emphasize problem definition and resolution. The discussions are inter-disciplinary and informal. A special welcome is extended to non-members.
• http://sfaa.net/sfaa2010.html

• Oct 2nd, 2009 - Entry submission deadline: June 10th, 2009
• TIEFF is organized by the Taiwan Association of Visual Ethnography, a non-profit organization dedicated to greater public awareness of documentary and ethnographic films, and co-organized by the Institute of Ethnology at the Academia Sinica of Taiwan. TIEFF is more than a venue for screening films and videos; it is also a forum for education, discussion, and exchange. TIEFF considers every film selected to be equally valuable; therefore, there is no competition section in the event.
• This year's edition "Body and Soul" will invite curious audience to a multi-cultural investigation of medical/alternative healing practices. Possible topics that candidate films draw attention to can include, but are not limited to: Health care in the developing world/Indigenous, traditional, and alternative healing practices/Epidemics and infectious disease, suffering and care, etc. In creating the theme, the festival seeks stories and examples all around the world to cultivate common understanding of issues on physical and mental health beyond the confines of traditional medicines, in order to encompass heterogeneous, physical and spiritual practices which shape health care around the world.
• We’re looking to screen films in the following categories:
  A) Central Theme: Documentary works themed on MEDICAL/ALTERNATIVE HEALING, of any time
  B) New Vision: Cultural documentary works OF ANY SUBJECT, completed within 2007-2009

Please send us entries now, or recommend to us films that the program cannot miss this year!

• Entry form, regulations, and festival info at http://www.tieff.sinica.edu.tw/
  
• Inquiry – Please contact entry specialist
• Kirk Fong
  Taiwan International Ethnographic Film Festival
  Room 2610, Institute of Ethnology, Academia Sinica Nankang,
  Taipei 115, TAIWAN
  Tel: +886 2 2652 3452
  Fax: + 886 2 2785 5836 (ATTN: Room 2610)
  tieff@gate.sinica.edu.tw

• Los Angeles, California January 22-24, 2010 (Fri-Sun) at UCLA Neuroscience Research Building Auditorium, Room 132.
• This conference highlights the latest developments in psychiatric disorder/mental illness research and scholarship across many fields, including neurobiology, psychology, history, and anthropology. Registration is now open. For conference information, please visit: the conference website, or contact UCLA Central Ticket Office by email at cto@tickets.ucla.edu

• For example: The SMA Plenary Session: The Political Construction of Global Infectious Disease - there are numerous others - be sure to check them out!
]]> Mon, 04 Aug 2008 14:03:04 -0500 podcasted-sma-sessions-for-sfaa-2008 SMA Webmaster The American Anthropologist has accepted the idea that it should review important volumes of work that may not appear in usual published venues, e.g., gray literature or technical reports.

The Committee on Practicing, Applied and Public Interest Anthropology is interested in 1) volumes in medical anthropology that would be good to review, e.g., the WHO report on Social Determinants, and 2) potential reviewers. If you have suggestions for volumes, or are interested in serving as a reviewer, please contact Robert Hahn directly at rah1@cdc.gov

]]> Mon, 03 Nov 2008 13:02:17 -0600 research-review SMA Webmaster Sat, 03 Jan 2009 12:15:01 -0600 fulbright-scholar-grants SMA Webmaster Medical Anthropology at the Intersections Celebrating 50 Years of Interdisciplinarity
Sept 24-27 2009 - Yale University

For More Information: Conference Website - Conference Brochure
Announcing Early Closure of Registration - We are happy to report that we have had a much higher than anticipated level of abstract submissions and registrations! However, since venue size and local hotel availability are limited, this unfortunately means that we were forced to close registration for the conference at midnight (EST) on April 15th.
]]> Tue, 03 Feb 2009 12:15:31 -0600 medical-anthropology-at-the-intersections-celebrat SMA Webmaster The SMA sponsors a number of awards every year, and the deadlines are fast approaching:


• SMA Awards - Deadline July 1: see links for details
  

  • The Ellen Basker Memorial Prize
  • The New Millennium Book Award
  • The Hughes, Rivers, and Polgar Paper Prizes
  • The MASA dissertation Award, and the MASA Graduate Student Mentoring Award
• SMA Awards - Deadline Sept 1: see links for details
  

  • Career Achievement Award and George Foster Practicing Award

Rudolf Virchow Awards (given by the Critical Anthropology for Global Health caucus, a SMA special interest group). Deadline is July 15, 2009. The professional award honors a recent published article, and the graduate and undergraduate student awards honor recent student papers, all deemed by the judges to best reflect, extend, or advance critical perspectives in medical anthropology. (details in the link)

ADTSG (Alcohol, Drug and Tobacco Study Group) competition for the best graduate student paper in the anthropology of alcohol, drugs, or tobacco. Submissions from all anthropological subdisciplines are encouraged. The papers will be judged by a committee of ADTSG members. The author of the winning paper will receive a cash award of $250. The winner will be announced in Anthropology News and at the American Anthropological Association Annual Meetings. Deadline September 1, 2009 (see link for details)

]]> Fri, 19 Jun 2009 15:00:38 -0500 sma-award-deadlines SMA Webmaster