Dr. Chandana Mathur becomes the new Chair of the World Council of Anthropological Associations

Dr Chandana Mathur with the WCA Delegates
Sunday, May 1, 2016 - 11:45

Maynooth University anthropologist becomes the new Chair of the World Council of Anthropological Associations

 
At the biennial meeting of the World Council of Anthropological Associations (WCAA) in Dubrovnik on 2-3 May 2016, Maynooth University anthropologist Dr. Chandana Mathur was confirmed as the new Chair of the WCAA. She will begin to serve her two year term as WCAA Chair at the end of May 2016. In accordance with WCAA procedures, Dr. Mathur had been elected as Deputy Chair (2014-16) at the previous biennial meeting in Taipei in the expectation that she would go on to serve as WCAA Chair for the 2016-18 period.
 
The WCAA grew out of the “world anthropologies” movement, an intellectual challenge to the longstanding dominance of Anglo-American anthropology and the side-lining of anthropological traditions from elsewhere. Founded in 2004, the WCAA now consists of fifty-two national, regional and international anthropological associations from all continents, ranging from the largest professional groupings – such as the American Anthropological Association and European Association of Social Anthropologists – to small ones like the Anthropological Association of Ireland.
 
Referring to this history, Dr. Mathur said to the WCAA delegates gathered in Dubrovnik, “It seems rather paradoxical to say this about an organisation that is represented by fifty-odd Chairs and Presidents of anthropological associations from around the world, but the WCAA is a deeply subversive project. It disrupts business-as-usual in our discipline because it has established itself as a forum where representatives from marginal and dominant world regions, and marginal and dominant anthropological traditions, meet on an equal footing”.
 
An important WCAA initiative is the journal Deja Lu (or ‘already read’), which republishes key articles selected and sent in by editors of anthropological journals worldwide. Swimming against the tide of commercial academic publishing, Deja Lu provides an expanded readership for writings that may otherwise have gone unnoticed internationally. The most recent issue of Deja Lu, with 35 articles from around the world, is available at http://www.wcaanet.org/dejalu/
 
For the past three years, the WCAA and the IUAES (International Union for Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences) – as the two major global bodies representing anthropology -- have been trying to establish an ever-closer partnership. Indeed, the WCAA biennial meeting was held in Dubrovnik just prior to the IUAES Inter-Congress there from the 4th to the 9th of May, 2016.
 
Over a two day period at this Inter-Congress, the WCAA organised a panel stream for its Global Survey of Anthropological Practice, a research project that is attempting to uncover the true face of the anthropological profession today. Where are anthropologists employed in different parts of the world? What are the institutional and political contexts in which contemporary anthropology is being practised? The WCAA is uniquely positioned to gather this information through its member associations, all of whom collect some baseline data about their membership. An established worldwide professional community, the WCAA has re-imagined itself as a large-scale international research network for the purposes of this project.
 
Following up on an urgent concern identified by the WCAA’s Advisory Board, Dr. Mathur jointly facilitated an open forum session on ‘Anthropological Fieldwork and Risk in a Violent World’ with IUAES President Professor Faye Harrison on 6th May at the Dubrovnik Inter-Congress. The WCAA and the IUAES have resolved to work together to find ways to address this critical issue.
 
Regarding her two year term as WCAA Chair, Dr. Mathur observed that “Anthropology’s perspectives on human diversity are needed more than ever in today’s complicated world. It will be my priority over these two years to strengthen and intensify the WCAA’s network of networks and its advocacy of the voices of anthropology”.
 
Responding to the news, Dr. Mark Maguire, the Head of the Anthropology Department, said “I congratulate Dr Mathur on her appointment as Chair of the WCAA. The World Council is important as a scholarly network and as an advocacy body. Dr Mathur has already highlighted matters of importance, such as field research in conflict zones, and I look forward to her future contributions in this important position”.
 
In his message, Professor Philip Nolan, Maynooth University President, said “We at Maynooth University were delighted to hear that our colleague, Dr Chandana Mathur, has been elected Chair of the WCAA.  This prestigious and important appointment arises from her international reputation as a scholar and anthropologist, and her leadership in the field.  We congratulate her and wish her well”.