Anthropology

Enter the library’s 25th anniversary Neureuther Book Collection Competition

Did you know that the Washington University Libraries are giving away cash prizes of $1,000 and $500 to the student who writes the best short essay about their own personal library of books? Any full-time WU student—grad or undergrad—may enter to win. There’s no restriction on subject matter. Any collection of books will do as long as it reflects your personal interests.

The contest deadline is February 29 this year. For official rules, entry forms, and examples of past winning essays, visit the Libraries’ website at http://library.wustl.edu/neureuther. Or pick up an entry form at the Olin Library checkout desk.

Again, that deadline is February 29, so act fast to cash in on your collection and win $1,000!

American Anthropological Association's letter to the White House

As you may have read by now, the American Anthropological Association has again made a strong statement against Open Access publishing in a letter to the Office of Science and Technology Policy at the White House. The AAA’s letter was in response to the OSTP’s call for public comment on “long term preservation of and public access to” scholarly research.

Separate but related, is the Research Works Act.  This bill was introduced to Congress in December 2011; it would largely prohibit the US Government from requiring that federally funded research be made openly available to the public (e.g. it would repeal the public access policy at the National Institute of Health).  While the AAA has made no statement on RWA, the Association of American Publishers, to which AAA belongs, has embraced this bill: Publishers Applaud the Research Works Act

As you are probably aware, Washington University in St. Louis signed an Open Access Resolution in May of 2011, so now would be an opportune time to become more familiar with arguments around Open Access.

Commentary from the AAA on the cost of publishing

Commentary on PlosBlogs

Discussion on Savage Minds (Anthropology blog)

Collision Course: RWA versus Knowledge (Barbara Fister on the Research Works Act)

Notes on the Research Works Act (Harvard Open Access Project)

Watch Bret Gustafson's Introduction to "Remapping Bolivia: Resources, Territory, and Indigeneity in a Plurinational State"

Bret Gustafson, Associate Professor of Anthropology, gives an introduction to a recently published, interdisciplinary work on Bolivia.