AGSA Meeting – February 16, 2012

ASA Update

• Undergrads are doing Anthropology week
  • First full week of March
  • Events planned (eg. cookies and milk, pizza w/ John)
    • Want joint bbq on Thursday
      • Contribute money and labor?
      • Can we contribute $100 to $150?
      • (estimate budget right now is $630)
  • Looking for teams (should have a graduate team)
• Got funding for Anthropology journal (annual for undegrads and grads)
  • 2 people from ASA in charge of journal
  • May want to publish papers from conference
• Undergrads willing to volunteer on day of conference

Treasurer

• Need to arrange to have the name on the debit card changed

TA Union Meeting

• About 400 people attended
• Recap of the January Meeting
  • We are negotiating for money
  • University administration has a current net zero increase in pay across campus
    • There have been raises on campus in other positions
• Total $18.414 million toward TAs across campus
• Push for more money?
  • Yes up to and including a strike.
  • Have to push sooner than later because of when the University budget is due
  • Strikes are helpful especially toward the end of the year.
• Legalities for strike
  • Call for a meeting, everyone who has TAed in the last year can attend
  • All current employees (currently TAing) to vote
  • Could take a month to start a strike
• From another year (2003), strikes would rotate across buildings, with picketing at a different building every day
  • People who run the physical spaces of UBC would be supportive of this.
  • Want to combine our union with other unions on campus (eg. phys. plant)
• Mentality of a strike
  • Other unions will join the picket, and show solidarity by not crossing the picket line
  • Pay for everyone is $200 a week during strike
• UBC likes to compare itself to Toronto
  • An undergrad marker at Toronto makes $3/hr more than a PhD at UBC
  • We are losing wages because of inflation and tuition increasing when wages don’t
  • Our pay has doubled since 1980
• Our position is that we want to be paid the same as a Toronto TA
• Are pushing for extended preference (preference for 5yr PhD, 3^rdyr MA TAs)
  • Won’t sign new agreement without the extended preference
• Next bargaining meeting is Feb. 29^th
• Have gotten:
  • UBC will be first TA union in Canada that has a policy on academic harm
• http://www.CUPE2278.ca
  • has full update of all bargaining issues

GSS update (include AMS)

• Elections were decently attended
  • Jamie won
• Academic External meeting
  • GSS split from AMS?
  • Would be a political nightmare
  • GSS does not have political autonomy at the moment, split would give GSS political and monetary autonomy
  • Fee structure is for AMS (90% goes to things we utilize)
  • Jamie has a pretty good relationship with higher-ups and can talk to undergrads.
• Will vote to auction off AMS art collection

Department Meeting

• Department review
• Hype around undergraduate enrollment
  • TA allocation based on undergraduate enrollment
  • Looking for creative ideas to attract undergraduates
    • Archaeology mythbusting
    • Flashy second year courses
    • Rename courses
    • Make region/topic specific courses
    • Experimental archaeology
  • ***Start Graduate GoogleDoc of suggestions
  • Revamp website - Cornel?
  • Go talk to high schools?
• Center for cultural research
• Reviewing new students (incoming)
  • 140 (?) applications for new graduate students
  • 39 people are applying for PhD, 5 of them are MA students here

AGSA talks

• Monday (Feb 27^th)
  • John Barker is talking about his research
  • Megan will make snack
• If this is continuing next year—someone should take it on
  • Invite people and put up posters
  • To get department funding, would be good to have everyone attend
  • Ale would help this keep going…
  • Mike Richards wants to incorporate it into 506

Next meeting will have elections for 2012-2013 year

• Nominate co-presidents
• Send nominations to anthgrads.ubc@gmail.com

Movie night on Monday (20^th)

• Walker

Should invite people for end of year social, invite all anth grads

Call for Papers: Culture and Change: Towards a Dynamic Anthropology

Call for Papers: Culture and Change: Towards a Dynamic Anthropology

The Anthropology Department at the University of British Columbia, Vancouver, is pleased to announce the 2012 graduate student conference to be held Friday, March 2nd, and Saturday, March 3rd, 2012.

Anthropologists recognize that cultures are dynamic and changing. Recent global events, such as the uprising in Egypt and the Occupy Movement, have pushed these notions of social dynamism to the forefront of public consciousness. How do global forces combine with local dynamics to shape the futures of communities around the world? Scholars from the traditional fields of anthropology, as well as geography, political science, law, and other disciplines are engaging with this question in new ways.

We cordially invite graduate and undergraduate scholars across disciplines including but not limited to sociocultural, linguistic, and museum anthropology, archaeology, sociology, geography, history, and political science, to join us for an exploration of these themes. Please submit paper and poster abstracts by January 31st, 2012 online at http://anthgradconf.alyanne.net/registration.html. Abstracts are limited to 150 words. Please include 3 or 4 keywords below the body of the abstract.

In addition, we encourage works that fall under the realm of visual anthropology. This includes 10 to 12 minute documentary/ethnographic film submissions, photographic and other artistic works that address the dynamic shifts occurring in various communities influenced by political, economic and social forces. Please submit film and artwork synopsis no longer than 150 words and related photos or 1 to 2 minute film clips by January 31st, 2012, online at http://anthgradconf.alyanne.net/registration.html.

Topics could include, but by no means should be limited to, the following:

• Social revolutions
• Mobility/immobility and circulation
• Methodologies addressing change and transition
• Changes in research methods
• Reflexivity
• Performance

Check back soon at the conference website at for updates, including keynote speaker, registration information, program, and schedule.

Please circulate widely to interested parties and direct any questions to anthconfubc@gmail.com Thank you, and we look forward to seeing you on March 3rd!

Thank you very much!

UBC Anthropology Graduate Conference Committee

AGSA Meeting – December 1, 2011

1. Treasurer election for new year

• Maggie stepping down
• Keep rack of what is spent, reimburse people
  • Vancity, can only withdraw twenties
• Helps with conference; fronts money for conference food
• Nominate Christina
  • Second, third, accepted.

2. ASA (Hillary and Nelissa)

• Work with us for a side panel at conference
  • Volunteers and presenters
  • Contact Cate to get involved with conference
• Pub nights every first Friday of the month
• 9 January: back to school themed cookies and milk night
  • ask Dr. Menzies for his SFU undergrad id photo
• 11 January: anthropology field school info night
• Collaborate on a BBQ at the beach?

 3. Holiday Party

• Check on whether minors are permitted to attend
• Bake sale profits: $114.55
  • Will cover booze
• Need to set up/clean up
• • Post 500 papers set-up party
  • Megan has Christmas lights, hanging lanterns
  • End time is at 10pm.
• Non-alcoholic beverages
• Who is getting stuff?
  • Social committee
  • Ale has car

4. Department review

• Meet at Morgan’s at 5pm, 2 December 2011 to discuss
• Hand it in to both external review and department
• 4-5 pages, single spaced
• Department worries are mostly in agreement with AGSA thoughts

5. Diana (AMS/GSS)

• Casas: federal lobbying power
  • AMS opted out, GSS stayed in as own entity as full members
• GSS considering leaving AMS as an organization
  • Worry is that AMS does not consider GSS as constituents of AMS
  • Hire someone to look at what this would legally/fiscally/individually mean for GSS and graduate students
• Gage South Project
• Put in new bus loop
• New SUB
  • Increasing levels of student fees to pay this off
  • GSS will have more access/space
• Also want to put in new townhouses for faculty and graduate students: rentals (“affordable” at 5% below market price)
• Talk to Dr. Menzies about housing on campus
• Remaking/Rebranding AMS logo and AMS
  • Rebranding all the restaurants in the SUB – $35,000 or more
• Worried about desire to increase number of international students
• Having trouble to support current students…
• GSS

• DOF funding: funding for department events, that we can apply for
  • 50cents per graduate students at event
• shoe drive for installation piece and then given away for further use by people who need them—if you have shoes you want to donate… (end 2 December 2011)

6. AGSA talks

• Need Graduate Students to sign up for talks
• Also need snack people
• 12-1 on Mondays

AGSA Meeting Mintues – 27 Oct. 2011

AGSA MEETING NOTES – 27 October 2011

TA update:  we have two execs at the meeting

•  Still negotiating
• Old agreement in place until the new one is accepted
• TA is work, not funding

GSS/AMS/External committee update

GSS

• Lost representative, we are only allowed one now
• Actually have two because AMS to GSS is in Anthro
• Sacha is new representative
• Grad Pub: have to straighten out the closing of the pub
• Then looking for outside company to run the pub
•  Try to streamline the pub and make money
• March is the earliest time it could open again (more realistically will open in September.
• UPass can be sent to you if you make an argument at the correct office (not here defined)
• Sacha will be looking that up.
• Streamlining non-academic-misconduc
  - (get in trouble on campus that is not academically related)
  - Go and fill out paperwork, which goes to a committee and then decides whether or not the
  case should go to a hearing.
  -  Students involved in activities off campus CANNOT be tried on campus.
• External committee
  - Work on making a database for getting TAships across departments

 AMS

• Trying to represent graduate student interests in the creating study spaces; want to charge fees, and that is going to cause some problems
• Want to make these useful for interdisciplinary grad areas
•  Approved research for using postal codes to see how long it takes and how much it costs people to get to campus.
•  How does UPass figure in?
  - Price cannot be lowered
  - Tax refund at end of year
  - Want to increase transit to campus and lower cost of living on campus.
•  Overall campus planning
  - Controversy over where condos are being built
  - Hosting open houses to facilitate discussion
  - More construction for green spaces and walkways
  - Trying to get more secure bike parking.
  - Lots of ongoing housing projects
  - Planning community shuttle routes (Maybe run both ways?)

 Anth Undergraduate rep.

•  Possible group activities:
  - Beer garden for anthropology week (in March)
  - BBQ fundraiser (also during anthro week)
  - Anthro journal for both Undergrad and Grad
  * Online?
  * Want to print as well
  * Undergrads very interested in this
  * Have applied for funding
  * Combine it with the graduate conference
  * Print papers in journal
  * Use page limits
  * Encourage undergrads to participate by having undergrads present papers during
  anthro week and print those papers
  - Haunted house tonight from 5-7pm
  - Pub night (sometime this semester?)

 AGSC

• Were ranking funding applications, so no graduates allowed in meetings
• Now need a representative for further meetings…
• Department Meeting update:
  - Main controversy: revision of peer Teaching reviews across the university
  - New proposed system: scratched talking to students.  Use review teams (one person from
  within the department and one from outside)
  - Worried about biases from people from outside the department
  - How will people be involved?
  - Ten-yeared profs. Can be called up like on jury duty?
  - Feedback from Anthropology department was not positive.
• New courses in Anthro
  - These aren’t actually new courses, just new numbers for courses.
  - Make independent studies into classes with numbers
  - Pushed through from last year.

 AGSA Talk Series

• Things are going really well
• Want more professors for next semester: have to approach them individually
• Match a graduate student with a faculty member (Timing is the main concern there)
• Anthropology PhD holders from other departments?
• Archaeologists from SFU?
• Want to keep it in the department so we get to know each other (At least for this year)

Department Review

•  Our document is due Dec. 15^th
• Want a committee to start working on that document
•  Diana wants to be a part (discuss MOA aspects)
• Talk to new cohort.
• Also think about what made us come here

 GSS events for grad students with parents

•  Aimed for people who want to bring their children and can’t stay late
• Anyone interested in helping plan such an event

 Christmas party (Dec. 8^th 6:30-10:00)

• Getting a liquor license (have to buy)
• $237 total for GSS building
• $15 dollars to run fireplace
• $75 fee for us to use our own license
• Room is free
• If we want to hire a bartender ($100)
• Poll who has Serving it Right certificate
• Any volunteers
• Bring over our own Coffee/Cocoa/Tea and Baileys
• Potluck snacks and deserts
• Undergrads are invited
• Bake sale for fundraising? * Between 21^st to 25^th of November?

AGSA Meeting Mintues – 28 Sept. 2011

28 September 2011 (Second meeting of the year)

Letter for department review has been submitted

Departmental rep. updates (Diana and Diana)

• Departmental review in January (there will be multiple parts for feedback—TAs, undergraduates and graduates.)  AGSA can/will submit a review in December (given to Dean’s office).
• Some applications for visiting researchers—one from Taiwan (does not have a background in anthro), second is going to be joint between journalism and anthropology, third will be women and gender studies

AGSC update: next meeting will be in a month (no date), they are discussing Vanier applications.

• Still need PhD rep.  We need to elect one at the next meeting.
• Undergrad enrolment in lower level classes has dropped

GSS update: Meredith and Lauren resigning positions.

• We need one representative to attend; elect two for a proxy and support.
• Diana will stay as AMS rep, nominating Sacha
• Sacha new GSS rep
• Meredith and Lauren will need to officially resign and set up Sacha in the position.
• Motions in GSS for working on 5^th year PhD funding, and increasing TA funding because increasing cost of living.

Financial Update (Maggie):

• Department does not actually support AGSA
• $513.31 in budget.
• Fundraising?
• Pub nights in collaboration with Undergrads.
• Anthropology goes to the Races (Hasting Race course)
• Include Undergrads
• Snack table (honors system?)
• Set up where?
• In AnSo or outside?
• Raffle off Cannucks tickets (Megan)
• Charge BBQ with Undergrads?
• Set up outside AnSo; Buchanan courtyard?
• Do sooner than later because of weather
• Food truck fundraising?
• Megan will look into it
• Check with what the rules are for getting other food companies on campus.

ASA (anthropology undergrad group)

• Need Undergrad rep.
• Nominated and elected Diana
• Get Undergrad people to attend our meetings

Social Events Update:

• All you can eat Sushi night?
• Rachel’s boyfriend’s party:
• Spanish Mustache Party
• Friday, September 30 at 9:00pm
• Location: 2620 Glen Drive (Glen & 10th, near Clark and Broadway)
• David Pokatillo playing in a Band; support him with both grads and profs.

AGSA Talk Series (Sacha)

• About 25 people attended
• Talks were amazing
• No faculty as volunteered yet
• Snacks needed for a number of weeks

Email from TA union Rep

• Presentation about bargaining process
• Extend eligibility for TAships (3yr for MA, 5yr for PhD)?
• Anthropology does allow for all graduates to apply, yr does not matter.
• TAships are competitive in the department
• Competitive for teaching ability not for funding
• John is sending us figures about TAships and they are competitive for job, not funding.
• Work with TA union to list all open TA positions in a database to open it to other departments?
• Volunteer teaching positions for experience; more teaching experience than some TAships.
• Push in the right directions
• Work on changing the tone of discussions with department; don’t want to antagonize people and create sides.

Space

• Talking to a few people in GSS

AGSA Travel Award 2011

After a series of email conversations with John B. and a final meeting this past Wednesday the final procedure for the Travel Awards is as follows:

1) AGSA requests students’ name, paper presented, and conference attended.
2) AGSA will send the final list of students to John B.
3) John will divide the total amount evenly between the number of students who applied and he will send the approx amount per person to the AGSA.
4) Grad students will then send their receipts (up to that amount) to Sierra (Undergraduate Secretary)
5) Grad students will get a cheque with the amount by mail.

So, at this time please send us to this email your information if you presented at a conference this academic year (2010-2011) by Saturday, May 28.

Once the amounts are finalized we will send out another email with this information and asking for you to send your receipts to the Department so you can get your award.

This process will be used for the following years and it’s meant to keep things as simple as possible for both AGSA and Department so we all can get the award for presenting at conferences each year.

If you have any questions please do not hesitate to email us (anthgrads.ubc [at] gmail.com)!

AGSA Meeting Minutes – April 6, 2011

1. Nominations and elections (Sara)

• We will have an online election for co-president at the end of April, all nominees will submit short biographies beforehand. Our co-presidential nominees are: Ale Diaz, Morgan Moffit, and Mascha Gugganig.
• Here are the newly elected members for 2011-2012:
  • Department Reps: Diana Marsh, Diana Moreiras
  • AGSC Reps: Marina LaSalle, Morgan Moffitt
  • GSS Reps: Meredith Mantooth, Lauren Harding
  • Space Committee: Lauren Harding

2. Meet and greet committee (Sara)

• We need a few people to organize this event for the new cohort during the summer. The committee will likely have to meet with John Barker for a  budget, make a pub reservation, decide on an activity, revise the guide for students.
• Meredith Mantooth, Diana Marsh, Morgan Moffitt, Ale Diaz, Brianne Phaff, and Diana Moreiras volunteered to work on this.
• There will be 16 incoming students next year: 11 MA, 5 PhD.
• Perhaps the committee will also create an orientation document with info about the department.

3. Department meeting update (Marina and Morgan)

a) Department fast track policy

• AGSC want to make it easier to fast-track, in order to be competitive with American schools.
• Policy now is that you need peer-reviewed publications, etc, to be fast tracked, but this is not student initiated.
• Students can’t apply to fast-track, supervisor needs to request this
• There is currently no transparency with this process, this policy should be easily accessible. If you don’t know it exists, how are you supposed to know about it? (faculty initiative vs. student).
• Criticisms of fast track: funding issues, takes 8-9 years average, higher drop out rate, criteria are vague, perhaps the department should focus on creating successful students who complete their programs instead of focusing on recruitment.
• Marina will be asking for student recommendations, concerns, and questions about this, she will present it to the AGSC.

b) Travel award update

• The department will administer the award, but AGSA will provide the framework for allocation.
• Send Morgan your ideas and she will take them into consideration (morgan.e.moffitt [at] gmail.com).
• This will need to be completed as soon as possible, this process will need to be underway over the next two weeks.
• We will create a poll to survey AGSA members about their opinions.

c) Sustainability letter

• This was well received at the department meeting
• No substantive comments or suggestions about the letter, but we got one very positive and encouraging email from a student.
• AGSA should contact the undergraduate AGSC rep as they would like to be included with this.

d) Using mailboxes for personal mail

• This is OK with faculty, but something that will have to be discussed with the administrative staff.

e) Comprehensive exam update:

• Changes voted in.

4. Creation of an institutional memory document for next administration (Sara)

• Sara needs help with this document, especially from those with AGSA experience.
• This will basically be an outline of key issues and key things that the new administration will need to be aware of. It can be revised each year.
• Essential for the next administration, it can be very frustrating without.
• E-mail account will also be passed over.
• Documents like thesis formatting or other accumulated info… What to do with it? Put up on blog? How do we keep things accessible? With Eleanore?
• Getting a space for AGSA might help, and we might be able to do this by making the AGSA an official AMS club.
• But, the downside of that is that we would need to follow AMS rules, and submit financial information through them.
• Process may be tedious but we might be allocated space.
• Lauren will look into this.

5. End of year trip/party

• This Saturday at Jericho beach we will have a BBQ, starting at 1pm. Sunday is the rain date.
• Diana is organizing this, please contact her to sign up for things to bring (diana.e.marsh [at] gmail.com)
• Meredith will make a reservation at one of the BBQ sites, AGSA will cover the cost of that.
• Dada suggested a “prettiest cup” contest to encourage people to bring a reusable cup, she will supply a prize.

6. TA cheque rebate

• The amount was raised because some people did not cash their cheques.
• If you do not get it in the next week, please e-mail the TA Union, but it is probably just poor processing speed.

7. Ask department about photocopy situation

• Re: Ana Vivaldi’s e-mail.
• It seems that the Faculty of Arts is the one who has changed this. Sara will email Radicy for more info.

8. Bargaining and potential strike (CUPE union) (Meredith)

• Negotiations ongoing – people are encouraged to go to TA Union meetings, they are really important.

—THANKS EVERYONE for a great year—

AGSA Meeting Minutes – March 23, 2011

1. Travel Fund

• Currently we have complete responsibility to allocate funds. BUT: there are issues of privacy, bias, favouritism, etc a problem; administrative job that isn’t our responsibility
• We should develop how we feel it should be allocated, then bring this to the department – ultimately we don’t want to be responsible
• This would be needed before the next faculty meeting – Diana Marsh will help Morgan Moffitt come up with some guidelines
• Send comments to Morgan Moffitt

2. AGSA Conference

• Budget for hospitality was $1000, only spent $571, $384 used from the AGSA account, so AGSA currently needs to be reimbursed by the Conference Finance Committee.
• Do we want reimbursement as cash or cheque?
• Marina will go with Maggie to bank to get Maggie’s name on account.

3. GSS Update

• Anthropology is only going to have 1 representative once Meredith retires due to the reduction of council (we should still elect two reps in our department, one with voting rights, one as a proxy and fill-in for when rep. is sick)
• Motion shot down to give outgoing elected reps raise of $4,000
• Budget approved

4. AGSA Nominations and Elections

• Elections will be held at the next meeting
• Some positions will remain open so that incoming cohort can also be elected in in September
• Co-presidential election will be determined by a web election.
• Please forward your nominations for positions to anthgrads.ubc [at] gmail.com.

5. Mailboxes

• Denise proposes that mailboxes in the Department can be used for personal mail
• The program requires us to go out in the field, so it should accommodate our mail?
• Some concerns re: Departmental responsibility for mail (especially in open boxes)
• Is this really something we should be asking of the Department?

6. Coffee Machine

• How do we get a coffee or espresso machine for the grad students?

7. Eco-Friendly Policy

• Solen proposes that we make the Department more ecologically friendly.
• No more Styrofoam cups, composting (ask Radicy how our building can be involved in pick-up), compostable paper plates, bringing mugs to talks (+handsoap and sponge in Department for washing), printing assignments on used paper, etc.
• Googledoc will be created for input
• AnthroNews no longer printed? Maybe one or two copies in the grad lounge, but these are just a waste of paper.
• You can download a copy of the letter here. Please email AGSA with your comments (anthgrads.ubc [at] gmail.com).

8. End of Year Event

• Small trip somewhere? Bowen Island over the last week of April? Dates still tentative.
• BBQ on Jericho Beach April 9^th? BYOfood, grill, etc.

Poll: TA-ship allocation presentation???

We would like to know if there is student interest in a presentation about how TA-ships are allocated in the department. If so, we will ask John Barker to describe to interested students all of the factors that go into allocating the TA-ships in our department. So, please take this poll and let us know!!!

 

Marshall Sahlins at UBC

Here is the whole schedule for Marshall Sahlins, all in one place!

Wednesday, March 2:

Graduate Workshop at Green College, 2-4pm

“The Teach-Ins: Anti-War Protest in the Stoned Age”

***Please RSVP to Eleanore (anthhead -at- interchange.ubc.ca) by Monday, February 28 at 10am! Please download a copy of the article for the workshop here.

Thursday, March 3:

2011 Hawthorn Lecture, 11:30am-1:00pm at the Asian Centre Auditorium (1871 West Mall)

“Stranger-Kings, Enemy Heads, Affinal Kin, and Other Foreign Riches:  The Alterity of Power and Vice-Versa”

Co-sponsored by UBC Department of Anthropology and Department of History

The Hawthorn Lecture will be followed by a reception in AnSo and a Fireside Chat at Green College.

Friday, March 4

4:00 – 5:30 pm at Buchanan A 201 (1866 Main Mall)

“Only Apes Have ‘Human Nature’”

Co-sponsored by UBC Department of Anthropology and Centre for the Study of Human Evolution, Cognition and Culture.

After the talk, graduate students are invited to dinner with Professor Sahlins. Dinner will be at the Banana Leaf (820 W Broadway) at 6:30pm. Please RSVP to Carole (blcarole [at] interchange.ubc.ca) or Felice (felice.wyndham [at] ubc.ca).