Southwestern Anthropological Association

Call for Papers

Health and the Human Body: Practices, Policies and Perspectives

82^nd Annual Conference ⦁ University of Nevada-Reno

May 5-8, 2011

The Southwestern Anthropological Association (SWAA) invites papers, posters, organized sessions, films, and panel discussions that engage with concepts of health, the body, medical practices, concepts of medicine, the biological evolution of humans, and the social and governmental policies that shape and often determine access to health care and concepts of what is healthy.

We encourage submissions from within and across all sub-disciplines: sociocultural, biological, linguistic, and archaeological; from all areas of the field: research, pedagogic, and applied.

The World Health Organization has stated that health is “a resource for everyday life, not the objective of living. Health is a positive concept emphasizing social and personal resources, as well as physical capacities.” According to this definition, physical, mental, and social well-being all play a role in health, particularly as we see it in the Western world.

As we become more firmly planted in the 21^st century, notions of health and the human body are constantly changing due to impacts from other philosophies, cultures, and an increasing understanding of human biology. Additionally, healthcare services and access to them are seen as a fourth pillar of human health as it is through these services that the advancements and application of the health sciences can be offered to the general public.

We seek submissions that examine the impact of these four pillars of health, evaluate them, and explore those institutions that attempt to define health and the human body from varied cultural, historical, and evolutionary perspectives.

We invite submissions from our colleagues outside of the academy, including museum professionals, cultural resource managers, public health officials, and wellness professionals who can comment on the state of health care, historical populations and health, and non-Western concepts of health and the body.

Deadline for Submissions: February 1, 2011

For more information about SWAA, visit http://www.csus.edu/org/swaa/index.html

Exhibitors, vendors, and presenters should direct queries about the annual conference to:

Beth Townsend, Ph.D., President, Southwestern Anthropological Association

Department of Anatomy⦁ Arizona College of Osteopathic Medicine⦁ Midwestern University

Glendale, AZ, 85308

E-mail: btowns@midwestern.edu

Banquet Speaker: Dr. Daniel Cook, Assistant Professor

School of Community Health Sciences ⦁ University of Nevada-Reno