Institutionalising anthropology in Australia and the Asia Pacific:
The role of anthropological societies, museums and other institutions of professionalisation, dissemination and display in the regional development of the discipline
Convenor: Greg Acciaioli, The University of Western Australia (acciaiol@cyllene.uwa.edu.au)
Panel description: Many treatments of the history of anthropology in Australia and other nation-states of the surrounding region have focussed on the role of particular individuals (e.g. Elkin, Koentjaraningrat, etc.), emphasizing how their theoretical perspectives and moral commitments have informed ethnographic practice and its impact. This panel seeks instead to focus on the institutions that have played a role not only in fostering communication among academics and professional practitioners, but also with the wider public. The panel welcomes papers dealing with the history and contemporary roles of such institutions as the various national professional associations that have functioned in the history of the discipline in Australia (including AAS!) and the Asia Pacific region, state anthropological societies, anthropological museums, and other institutions that have contributed to the development and dissemination of anthropology in the Australian and regional context. Particularly welcome are contributions that focus not only on historical trends in these institutions’ treatments of applied issues and academic topics, but also on how such institutions are responding to contemporary opportunities and pressures in their organisational priorities and presentations.
Abstracts
Daniel Leo, University of Queensland - The Protectors of Aboriginal Relics: The Institutionalisation of Queensland’s Vernacular Anthropology and Archaeology
Philip Jones, South Australian Museum - The Foundation and Early Years of the Anthropological Society of South Australia
Margaret Bullen, Melbourne - The Origins of the Archaeological and Anthropological Society of Victoria.
Greg Acciaioli, University of Western Australia - The Anthropological Society of Western Australia – From ‘Engagement with the Community’ to an Instrument of Professional Discipline
John E. Stanton, University of Western Australia - Would We Really Miss Anthropology in Museums?
Mark Busse, University of Auckland - Anthropology, Nation Building and the Papua New Guinea National Museum
