Tribute to Prof. Antoun and anthro roundup (#AAA09)

last updated: 09 Dec 09- 11:30

I have seen the news of Prof. Antoun being stabbed to death a few days ago but honestly I could not get any more background to this terrible news. At the end of this post I have a collection of news but one should particularly check Maximilian Fort (Professor Richard Antoun, murdered Fri. Dec. 4, 2009: We Will Miss You, May God Bless You, who was a student of him.

In the mean time, news emerged from the AAA meetings that Anthropologists were critical of war and cooperation with the military. Twitter hashtag #AAA09 was promising (but I expect more will happen next year) and we could follow what anthro people were up to….

A super post:

How to Improve the AAA Meetings

from An Eye on the Culture Wars by Dr. K

Now I remember why I dislike academic conferences so much:
1. I don’t like having papers read to me (does anyone?).
2. I don’t like having one image projected on a screen and never changed for the 15 minutes when someone is reading to me.
3. I don’t like time hogs who use up discussion time: there is never time for discussion
4. I don’t like constant references to failed technology or unfamiliarity with projectors, computers, presentation software, or DVDs.
5. I don’t like that most presenters have no clue how to construct a text slide: your squinting audience is not proof that they are intensely interested. The fact is they can’t see what you wrote in your 12 point type.
6. I don’t like …, well, you get the idea.