108th AAA Annual Meeting - THE END/S OF ANTHROPOLOGYDecember 2-6, 2009Philadelphia, PAhttp://www.aaanet.org/meetings/Conference Title: THE END/S OF ANTHROPOLOGYWhat is the relevance of anthropology in today's world? Where does our discipline stand in the age of hyper-science and the genome; during an era in which ethnography “ as a method and form of textured representation “ is being mobilized with vigor and confidence by those working in other disciplinary formations; at a moment when the questions we're asking are also being answered by others in the humanities, social sciences, and media (and often with much more popular recognition)? Does anthropology still provide a unique contribution? What are its contemporary goals, and are they different from those of previous intellectual generations?The 2009 meetings of the American Anthropological Association will provide a critical space to tackle these scholarly, theoretical, and political concerns head-on as we examine our academic and public roles in relation to the most pressing problems confronting our world today. We intentionally offer the double entendre of "ends" (as both conclusions and purposes) in order to focus attention on anthropology's changing relationships to other disciplines and to a variety of publics. Perhaps thinking collectively about our traditional subjects, objects, and projects would allow us to find new sources of energy for anthropological work. We hope to generate serious conversation about these issues as we continue to reinvent anthropology for this new millennium. Themes we hope to explore include, but are not limited to, the following: 1. The end/s of relativism? While cultural relativism has been one of anthropology's foundational tenets, it has been under direct attack because the rhetorics and realities of global terrorism over-determine public discourse today. How have anthropologists balanced their investments in relativism with their understandings of their roles as cultural critics, and how might we continue to redefine (and defend) the basic truths of cultural relativism in such a hostile political environment? 2. The end/s of identity? Contemporary anthropologists have been pioneers of scholarly analyses about how identities are forged and politicized, and have been particularly vocal in demonstrating how cultural identifications pass themselves off as natural. However, in decrying the essentialisms mobilized by previous generations of social scientists, we still struggle to make sense of the complex relationships between identity and power. For example, deconstructing racial identity has been a necessary project, but is it sufficient in our quest to challenge people's robust investments in racial and racist ideologies? Is denaturalization enough to challenge the continued deployment of identity categories as mechanisms of social control? 3. The end/s of publics? While it has become commonplace to link the concerns
