[Anthropgrad] Anthropgrad Digest, Vol 69, Issue 16

[Chris Ballard]

A seminar of possible interest to the list:

DIVISION OF PACIFIC & ASIAN HISTORY
11am – 12 noon in Seminar Room A (Room 1002), Coombs Building
Tuesday – 28 October 2008

Carlos Mondragón – El Colegio de México

Dancing with Primordial Spirits: New Approaches to Rituals of Status 
Alteration of North Vanuatu

The purpose of this paper is to revisit ceremonial dancing and 
cosmological forces as evinced in the activities of the “secret 
societies” - commonly known as hukwe - of the Banks and Torres Islands 
in North Vanuatu. I will present new ethnographic data regarding the 
lehtemet, or ceremonial dancing and exhibition of headdresses (tamate), 
during which aspiring male candidates are given ritual rank and 
incorporated into the Torres sukwe. I will argue that, contrary to the 
predominant (since Codrington’s early description) interpretation of 
these ceremonies as “initiation rituals”, to do with secret power and 
knowledge, the lehtemet function as unique, and uncommon, events during 
which the process of incarnating primordial (pre-human) spirits allows 
local communities to make explicit - or totalise - the full panoply of 
relations that give rise to local forms of social reproduction.

Carlos Mondragón is Associate Professor in Social Anthropology and 
Editor-in-Chief, Centre for African and Asian Studies (CEAA), at El 
Colegio de México in Mexico City. His Cambridge PhD thesis was on the 
Torres Islands in north Vanuatu where he has done three years of 
anthropological fieldwork. He also works on Tibet and on the history of 
early Iberian expansion and culture contacts in Oceania. He is the 
editor of Mas allá de la Religiosidad: el cristianismo global en 
perspectiva comparada (México 2008) and the author of numerous book 
chapters and articles, including in the Journal of Pacific History and 
Oceania.


anthropgrad-request at anu.edu.au wrote:
> Send Anthropgrad mailing list submissions to
> 	anthropgrad at anu.edu.au
>
> To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit
> 	http://mailman.anu.edu.au/mailman/listinfo/anthropgrad
> or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to
> 	anthropgrad-request at anu.edu.au
>
> You can reach the person managing the list at
> 	anthropgrad-owner at anu.edu.au
>
> When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific
> than "Re: Contents of Anthropgrad digest..."
>
>
> Today's Topics:
>
>    1. Pre-Field Seminar by Elise Adams on Friday, 24 Oct 08
>       (Sin Wen Lau)
>    2. Anthropology versus Archaeology Cricket Match 2008 (Liz Walters)
>    3. teaching position (Fay castles)
>    4. Anthropology seminar, Wednesday 29th October (Melinda Hinkson)
>
>
> ----------------------------------------------------------------------
>
> Message: 1
> Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:46:23 +1100
> From: Sin Wen Lau <SinWen.Lau at anu.edu.au>
> Subject: [Anthropgrad] Pre-Field Seminar by Elise Adams on Friday, 24
> 	Oct 08
> To: anthropgrad at anu.edu.au
> Message-ID: <48FEA20F.3030302 at anu.edu.au>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=windows-1252; format=flowed
>
> Anthropology Friday Seminar Series, Semester 2, 2008
> Milgate Room, AD Hope
> 24 October 2008, 3 pm
>
> 'Aboriginal Employment in Sydney: Barriers and Support'
> Pre-Field Seminar by ELISE ADAMS, PhD Candidate, Department of 
> Archaeology and Anthropology
>
> The mainstream Australian media alarmingly portrays an all-encompassing 
> welfare dependency enveloping Australia?s Indigenous population, 
> presenting stereotypic ideas that Aborigines cannot manage regular 
> employment. I want to research the experience of employment for 
> self-identifying Aboriginal persons in Sydney. This presentation will 
> focus upon two themes central to my proposed research: the ?moral 
> economy? and assertions of its centrality to Aboriginal ways of life, 
> and questions of identity. Many Aborigines have been characterized as 
> living in terms of a ?moral economy?. I will explore this notion 
> critically and comparatively, and describe the way it has been used with 
> respect to Aborigines. I intend to investigate the extent to which it 
> may be appropriate to understand urban Aboriginal household and wider 
> social interaction in terms of such a notion. And secondly, I want to 
> understand the lives of self-identifying Aboriginal people who have been 
> relatively successful in finding and keeping employment in the urban 
> context: To what extent do the lifestyles and practices of my research 
> subjects resemble or differ from those of the mainstream population? How 
> do these people understand themselves and live as Aborigines in the 
> urban context? To what extent do they see practices as Aboriginal and 
> more or less characteristic of themselves and others? I plan to answer 
> these questions by exploring the dimensions of social and kin 
> relationships and the barriers and supports they may present to employed 
> Aboriginal persons in Sydney when obtaining and maintaining employment.
>
> ==================================================================
> Lau Sin Wen
> Department of Anthropology
> Research School of Pacific and Asian Studies
> The Australian National University
> Canberra ACT0200
> Australia
>
> Telephone : +61-2-6125-3271
> Fax	 : +61-2-6125-4896
> Email	 : sinwen.lau at anu.edu.au
> Website	 : http://rspas.anu.edu.au/anthropology
> ==================================================================
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 2
> Date: Wed, 22 Oct 2008 14:54:17 +1100
> From: "Liz Walters" <Liz.Walters at anu.edu.au>
> Subject: [Anthropgrad] Anthropology versus Archaeology Cricket Match
> 	2008
> To: <anthropgrad at anu.edu.au>, <archaeograd at anu.edu.au>
> Cc: Fay.Castles at anu.edu.au, Sharon Donohue <sharon.donohue at anu.edu.au>
> Message-ID:
> 	<2C879E56B4B09549ACD38F7EA0C7748DB675D6 at foa.artsfleet.anu.edu.au>
>
> FORGET THE AUSTRALIAN TOUR OF INDIA!
>  
> THE REAL CRICKET ACTION IS ABOUT TO TAKE PLACE 
> RIGHT HERE ON CAMPUS. 
>
> Who will win the prestigious Cricket Shield? 
> Will the anthropologists turn the statistics around and level the
> scores? 
> Or will the archaeologists extend their current lead of 4 matches to 3? 
> Let's just hope it isn't another rain forced draw.
>
> Team selection is under way, with volunteers welcome from Archaeology
> and Anthropology staff, visiting fellows, postgraduate and honours
> students across the campus. All others are welcome to come and support
> their team and enjoy the drinks and BBQ that will be held at the end of
> the first innings.  Cricket equipment, food and drinks will be provided.
>
>
> So come along for the cricket match of the year! 
> 2PM Friday 21st November on Fellows Oval (next to Chifley Library). 
>
> For further details or to sign up for one of the teams please contact:
> Archaeology - Bec Parkes Rebecca.Parkes at anu.edu.au
> Anthropology - Magne Knudsen Magne.Knudsen at anu.edu.au
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------
> ----
> Liz Walters
> Graduate Student Officer
> School of Archaeology and Anthropology
> ANU College of Arts and Social Sciences
> AD Hope Building #14
> The Australian National University
> Canberra ACT 0200 Australia
>
> T: +61 2 6125 4350
> F: +61 2 6125 2711
> W: http://online.anu.edu.au/AandA/
> CRICOS Provider # 00120C
>  
> Please consider the environment before printing my email 
>
>
>
>
> ------------------------------
>
> Message: 3
> Date: Thu, 23 Oct 2008 08:55:04 +1100
> From: Fay castles <fay.castles at anu.edu.au>
> Subject: [Anthropgrad] teaching position
> To: anthropgrad at anu.edu.au
> Message-ID: <48FFA138.1070501 at anu.edu.au>
> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=iso-8859-1; format=flowed
>
> NATIONAL UNIVERSITY OF SINGAPORE
> SOUTHEAST ASIAN STUDIES PROGRAMME
> The Southeast Asian Studies Programme of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, National University of Singapore, seeks applications for a tenure-track position at the level of Assistant Professor in the area of religious experience in Southeast Asia. Preference will be for those with a research focus on Indonesia, the Philippines, or Vietnam. Applicants must be committed to working and teaching in an interdisciplinary environment with an area studies perspective. They should be actively engaged in research, be fluent in at least one Southeast Asian language, and show evidence of a strong publications record, or the potential to develop one. They should also have relevant teaching experience, as the successful applicant will be expected to teach at both the undergraduate and postgraduate levels.
> Scholars willing to make a long-term commitment to the Southeast Asian region, including those with strong links to the region's academic community, are especially encouraged to apply. A Ph.D. is required at the time of appointment, which will begin in July 2009.
> Further information on the Southeast Asian Studies Programme can be obtained from www.fas.nus.edu.sg/sea.
> To apply, please submit a full CV and a statement describing your research and teaching interests. In addition, please arrange for three reference letters to be sent directly to the Chair of the Search Committee under confidential cover. Inquiries and completed applications should be sent to:
> Chair of the Search Committee
> Southeast Asian Studies Programme
> National University of Singapore
> 3 Arts Link, Singapore 117570
> Fax: (65) 6777-6608
> Email: seasec at nus.edu.sg
> Applications close on 25 November 2008. Only short-listed candidates will be notified of the selection committee's decision, and they may be invited for a campus visit
>
>