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Dear colleagues, We would like to invite you to submit a paper proposal to our forthcoming ASA2020 panel, ‘Doing justice justice? Methodological and theoretical challenges in the anthropological study of legal historical archives’, which aims to assess the contributions that anthropologists can bring to the study of legal archives and the ways in which we can ethnographically, theoretically and methodologically engage with the construction of categories within official documents. This year, the ASA conference, with its main theme ‘Responsibility’, will take place in St Andrews, between 24-27 August 2020. The deadline for paper submission is the 15th of March 2020 and our panel number is 54. For more information about the panel and the submission process, please see below. We’re very much looking forward to your submissions, Raluca & Sarah *Panel: Doing justice justice? Methodological and theoretical challenges in the anthropological study of legal historical archives* *Convenors: Sarah Bennison (University of St Andrews), Raluca Roman (University of St Andrews)* What are the challenges faced by anthropologists working with legal texts at the community or ethnic-group level? Who speaks for whom within such spaces and how can the anthropologist account for all voices while considering the historically contextualised nature of such materials? This panel aims to explore the anthropological significance of community-focused legal archives (legal letters, lawsuits, statutes, petitions and other normative inscriptive media), particularly in contexts in which such materials were produced in times prior to the ‘ethnographic present’. Furthermore, the panel seeks to address questions of power, identity construction, ethnicity and indigeneity in official domains which aspire to be inclusive in their representation of all members of the represented group yet are often essentialising and selective in their representation. Finally, it aims to look at the ways in which we can adequately account for the common yet methodologically challenging presence of self-editing, additions/corrections, in-text disagreement(s). In other words, what does the evolving, amended, and at times silenced nature of these ‘legal’ texts tell us about the constructed, politically-charged nature of community ‘issues’ and how does authorship translate into issues of representation? We invite abstracts from anthropologists and interdisciplinary scholars working on these issues, from a diversity of ethnographic contexts. Papers concerning the construction of categories (i.e. ethnicity, community, nation, etc.) within legal documents and their importance in the shaping of the ethnographic moment are particularly welcome. We also encourage reflexive engagements concerning not only the challenges but the potential resolutions concerning the anthropological value of such materials. *Panel convenor contacts:* Sarah Bennison: [log in to unmask] Raluca Roman: [log in to unmask] *How to Submit your paper proposal:* *The Call for Papers Process* You can propose a paper by clicking the "Add" button beside the panel title. You can view the panel abstracts here <https://www.eventsforce.net/standrews/system/proweb/start.csp?pageID=43292&eventID=88> before proposing your paper. Paper proposals must consist of: - a paper title - the name/s and email address/es of the author and co-authors - a short abstract of fewer than 300 characters - a long abstract of fewer than 250 words *The Call for Papers, Labs & Films is now open and will close at 23:59 GMT on 15th March, 2020:* https://www.theasa.org/conferences/asa2020/cfp -- Dr Raluca Bianca Roman Research Fellow, School of Modern History, 'Roma Interbellum' ERC project/ Associate Lecturer, Department of Social Anthropology University of St Andrews https://www.st-andrews.ac.uk/history/staff/ralucaroman.html ************************************************************* * Anthropology-Matters Mailing List * http://www.anthropologymatters.com * * A postgraduate project comprising online journal, * * online discussions, teaching and research resources * * and international contacts directory. * * To join this list or to look at the archived previous * * messages visit: * * https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/Anthropology-Matters * * If you have ALREADY subscribed: to send a message to all * * those currently subscribed to the list,just send mail to: * * [log in to unmask] * * * * Enjoyed the mailing list? Why not join the new * * CONTACTS SECTION @ www.anthropologymatters.com * * an international directory of anthropology researchers * To unsubscribe please click here: https://www.jiscmail.ac.uk/cgi-bin/webadmin?SUBED1=ANTHROPOLOGY-MATTERS&A=1 ***************************************************************