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| Australian Anthropological Society | |
|---|---|
| Name | Australian Anthropological Society |
| Abbreviation | AAS |
| Formation | 1973 |
| Type | Professional association |
| Headquarters | Canberra |
| Region served | Australia |
| Fields | Anthropology |
| Leader title | President |
Australian Anthropological Society is a professional association for practitioners and scholars of Anthropology in Australia. It functions as a national forum connecting researchers across universities such as Australian National University, University of Melbourne, University of Sydney, and Monash University with practitioners in museums like the Australian Museum and cultural institutions such as the National Museum of Australia. The Society engages with Indigenous communities, government agencies, and international bodies including the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences and the British Museum to advance anthropological knowledge and practice.
The Society was founded in the early 1970s amid debates similar to those surrounding the American Anthropological Association and the Royal Anthropological Institute of Great Britain and Ireland. Key formative influences included leading scholars associated with University of Western Australia, James Cook University, and the research traditions of the Australian Institute of Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander Studies and the CSIRO. Early meetings addressed issues raised by fieldwork in Northern Australia, interchanges with researchers at the Smithsonian Institution, and legal contexts such as matters later reflected in the Native Title Act 1993. Over subsequent decades, the Society navigated shifts marked by intellectual currents from the Manchester School (anthropology), debates parallel to those at the Australian Academy of the Humanities, and methodological change influenced by partnerships with institutions such as the School of Oriental and African Studies and the Max Planck Institute for Social Anthropology.
The Society’s objectives include promoting research linked to ethnography at sites like Arnhem Land, urban studies in Sydney, and cross-cultural projects involving communities represented by Torres Strait Islanders, Pintupi, and Yolngu. Activities span supporting fieldwork comparable to projects undertaken at Flinders University and curatorial collaborations with the Museum Victoria. It facilitates public engagement through lectures delivered in venues such as the State Library of New South Wales and policy submissions to bodies like the Australian Human Rights Commission. The Society fosters comparative work tied to themes addressed by the Asia-Pacific Journal of Anthropology and networks with organizations such as the Pacific Islands Forum.
Membership comprises academics from institutions including the University of Queensland, Griffith University, and the University of Tasmania; museum curators from the Queensland Museum; and community researchers associated with the Aboriginal Legal Service. Governance structures mirror models used by the Academy of the Social Sciences in Australia and involve elected officers, an executive committee, and standing panels analogous to those in the Australian Research Council grant panels. Presidents and secretaries have been drawn from leaders with affiliations to centres such as the Centre for Aboriginal Economic Policy Research and departments at the University of New South Wales.
The Society organizes annual conferences hosted at campuses like the University of Adelaide and venues such as the University of Western Sydney and publishes proceedings and newsletters akin to outlets like the Anthropological Forum and collaborations with presses including ANU Press. Special issues and monographs reflect thematic intersections with journals such as Oceania, the Journal of the Royal Anthropological Institute, and the Australian Journal of Political Science. Conferences have showcased keynote speakers linked to institutions like Harvard University, University of Oxford, and University of California, Berkeley and have engaged with projects funded through mechanisms similar to the Australian Research Council Discovery Projects.
The Society administers awards recognizing excellence in ethnographic research, thesis prizes comparable to those awarded by the Royal Anthropological Institute, and lifetime achievement acknowledgments recalling honors from the Australian Academy of the Humanities. Recipients have included scholars affiliated with Macquarie University, La Trobe University, and international partners such as the National University of Singapore. Awards have been given for community-engaged projects in regions like Torres Strait and the Pilbara and for contributions to public anthropology alongside recognition schemes used by the British Academy.
Collaborations extend to Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander organizations, museums including the National Gallery of Australia, and research institutes such as the Lowitja Institute. The Society maintains ties with regional associations like the Pacific Islands Forum Secretariat, international scholarly networks including the European Association of Social Anthropologists, and allied bodies such as the Australian Sociological Association. Joint initiatives have involved archives at the National Library of Australia and field methodologies shared with teams from the University of Copenhagen and the Australian Centre on China in the World.
The Society has faced criticism over contested practices in fieldwork ethics reminiscent of disputes at the American Anthropological Association and debates about repatriation paralleling controversies at the British Museum. Critics have highlighted tensions between academic priorities at universities like the University of Melbourne and community obligations to groups represented by the Aboriginal Land Council and the Torres Strait Regional Authority. Controversies have also touched on governance decisions debated in forums similar to those of the Higher Education Research Data Collection and disputes over publication access raised in contexts like the Open Access movement.
Category:Anthropology organizations in Australia