GDAT
2009 meeting: Saturday 3rd October 2009. 2-5 pm. Manchester
You are warmly invited to the 2009 meeting of GDAT between 2 and 5pm on Saturday, the 3rd of October in Manchester. The motion to be debated is:
The anthropological fixation with reciprocity leaves no place for love.
Speakers
For the motion: Jeanette Edwards (Manchester) and Rane Willerslev (Aarhus)
Against the motion: Elizabeth Povinelli (Columbia) and Perveez Modi (Cambridge).
GDAT is free to attend and everyone is warmly welcomed.
Venue
Room D007, The Renold Building. University of Manchester. Altrincham Street. Manchester. M1 3BB.
- Map
- Google map
- Campus map. The Renold Building is number 8 on the campus map.
The idea
The Group for Debates in Anthropological Theory aims to generate stimulating discussions on anthropological theory through a debate format. The first meeting of the group was in 1988. Since then there have been ten debates, the last one in 1999. We are now reviving the annual meetings of the group with a debate in February 2008.
For those of you who have not attended previous debates, the format is as follows. A motion is proposed for debate. Two speakers argue for the motion and two against the motion. Each speaker is given 20 minutes. After a short break for coffee and cakes, the audience reassembles and the floor is thrown open. Finally the motion is put to vote.
We will be going on for drinks and dinner after the debate. Please feel free to join us for both drinks and dinner.
Plans for the evening
We will move to the Abode Manchester, 107 Piccadilly, Manchester M1 2DB (Google map) where space has been reserved for us for drinks. We will remain there for dinner. They have nice food and a very good deal on for us (see attached menu). Anyone who would like to stay for dinner (7.30 pm) is more than welcome to do so. It would help if you could let us know about whether or not you are staying for dinner so that we can let the restaurant know in advance. Please email Marie Rostron (m.c.rostron@manchester.ac.uk) about dinner.
For those who are anxious to take trains out of Manchester, the Abode is right by Piccadilly Station.
Previous debates from GDAT
GDAT was launched in 1988 with the principal aim of establishing a forum in the United Kingdom for the regular discussion of topics in anthropological theory. At that time, GDAT received financial support from the Association of Social Anthropologists of Great Britain and the Commonwealth.
Previous Debate Titles
- 1988. Social Anthropology is a Generalizing Science or it is Nothing
- 1989. The Concept of Society is Theoretically Obsolete
- 1990. Human Worlds are Culturally Constructed
- 1991. Language is the Essence of Culture
- 1992. The Past is a Foreign Country
- 1993. Aesthetics is a Cross-Cultural Category
- 1995. Advocacy in Anthropology
- 1996. Cultural Studies will be the Death of Anthropology
- 1997. In Anthropology, the Image Can Never Have the Last Say
- 1999. The Right to Difference is a Fundamental Human Right
- 2008. Ontology is just another word for culture.
The first six debates (1988-1993) are available as a book, Key Debates in Anthropology, edited by Tim Ingold (Routledge, 1996).
Travel subsidies for graduate students who wish to attend GDAT.
Due to the generosity of C-SAP we have £500 to subsidise graduate students from outside Manchester who wish to attend the debate. If you are a graduate student at any university in the UK, would like to attend GDAT and wish to claim some money (up to £50 each) towards travel, please email Soumhya Venkatesan after the first of September. The funding will have to be on a first come-first served basis. There is a form below that you will need to fill out, sign and return along with your tickets. Please book in advance using your student rail cards so as to keep costs low.
Travel claim form [pdf]
GDAT is free to attend.
Any questions? Email soumhya.venkatesan@manchester.ac.uk