ACHS Newsletter March, 2016


President's Message

Dear Members
 
Welcome to the first ACHS newsletter of 2016. I imagine many of you are turning to think about travel plans (and possibly even your papers) for the Montreal conference in June. The organizing team, led by Lucie Morisset, are certainly well on the way with planning all the logistics. As you will see below, early bird registration for the conference closes on 1st April.

Over the past year we have created some strong momentum for ACHS, including the establishment of a new online information portal for heritage studies, an international membership directory, as well as various new sub-committees, a regular newsletter and so forth. We are keen to keep this momentum going forward and will use the Montreal conference as an opportunity to build further initiatives. I encourage you to visit the ACHS website regularly as we continue to update it with information about conferences, scholarships, job openings, heritage research centers etc. The sections below provide some direct links to these items.
 
I am off to China this coming week to meet with the Professor Zongjie Wu and his team at Zheijiang University, Hangzhou to discuss the 2018 ACHS conference. The schedule of meetings arranged for my visit indicates that the conference will receive strong support from the highest levels within the university. More updates on this will be given on this in due course.
 
One of the key targets this year is to expand the number of Chapters within the Association. If you are interested in establishing one, or becoming more involved, further details are provided below. We will also be sending out some notices in the coming weeks regarding nominations for the Executive Committee, elections for which will be held during the General Meeting at the Montreal conference. The Executive Committee Secretariat Officer, Amy Clarke, will be in touch with all members shortly with further information about this process.
 
Regards,
Tim Winter
ACHS President


ACHS Announcements

Nominations - Executive Committee (2016-2018)
A call for nominations for the Executive Committee (2016-2018) will be made shortly, with voting to occur on at the forthcoming General Meeting (held during the Montreal Conference in June 2016). You can read more about the current Executive Committee on the ACHS website. Following the 2014 Conference in Canberra, the Executive formed a number of subcommittees tasked with a series of activities for the Association. If you are thinking of nominating, please ensure that you are able to commit the time necessary to the activities of the Association. More information about the nomination process and the June General Meeting of ACHS will be available soon.

Expressions of Interest - ACHS Conference (2020)
Expressions of interest in hosting the 2020 ACHS Conference are currently being accepted, and will be voted on by the ACHS membership during our forthcoming General Meeting (Montreal Conference June 2016). If you would like more information on this process or would like to submit a formal proposal, please contact Meredith Holmgren.

Chapter Meet-Ups at Montreal Conference
Plans are currently being made for regional and thematic Chapters of ACHS to meet up during the Montreal Conference in June. Chapter Coordinators will provide members with more information closer to the event, so stay tuned! If you are not currently involved with a Chapter but would like to suggest the formation of a new regional or thematic group, please contact Melissa Baird.


ACHS Conference News


2016 Montreal Conference - Early Bird Registration Closing Soon!

Early Bird Registration closes on 31st March 2016. So get in now to receive a discounted rate for your registration. Registration is available at http://achs2016.uqam.ca/en/registration/registration-information.html

Conference accommodation is also filling up quickly, so if you want to take advantage of the rates offered by the ACHS Conference organisers, make sure you book soon.

About the Conference

Hosted by the Canada Research Chair on Urban Heritage at Université du Québec in Montreal, and its partners Concordia University and the Centre for Oral History and Digital Storytelling, the  ACHS2016 Conference “What does heritage change?” will be held in Montreal, Canada, from June 3rd to June 8th. More than a thousand proposals for sessions, round tables, art installations and performances, papers, and posters, were received from 65 countries, across all 5 continents. 

Keynote speakers are James Count Early, Director, Cultural Heritage Policy, Smithsonian Center for Folklife and Cultural Heritage; Xavier Greffe, Professor in Economic Sciences, Paris 1 University Panthéon Sorbonne, and Michael Herzfeld, Ernest E. Monrad Professor of the Social Sciences, Harvard University.

A draft schedule for the conference is now available on the website.  The conference identifies a number of topics including notions of heritage and heritage makers; law, justice and rights; use and conflict in heritage; heritage value; and epistemologies, ontologies and teaching of heritage. 

Ways to participate

The conference is held every two years, and in addition to the research presentations, provides a unique opportunity to meet and reconnect with colleagues from across disciplines and regions.

Sessions and papers have now been finalised and a draft schedule is available on the website. Beyond presenting your own research, the ACHS conference offers many opportunities to be involved in Critical Heritage Studies. Listening and interacting with other presenters is an enriching, efficient and effective way of staying abreast of emerging research and changing practices in the heritage field.

The conference provides an opportunity to meet with people from across the globe, and within their own regions. Members who are part of regional Chapters are encouraged to find time during the conference to meet and set agendas for your own groups. And the conference is also a good time for members who wish to form new chapters to convene and establish their own focus and direction. 

You can follow updates about the conference, or contribute to discussions about the conference through FaceBook: https://www.facebook.com/achs2016


2020 Conference - Call for Proposals to Host

The biennial ACHS Conference is the major event of the Association and brings together hundreds of heritage scholars and professionals from around the globe. Formal bids for the 2020 ACHS Conference will be accepted until 31st March 2016. If you are interested in submitting a proposal, please get in touch with Meredith Holmgren, who will be able to provide you with more information. Voting for the location of the 2020 conference will take place at the Montreal conference in June.


Book Reviews - Coming Soon

We are excited to announce that the ACHS newsletter will include book reviews of works relevant to the broad field of Critical Heritage Studies.  These will include research in heritage studies, archaeology, folklore, historic preservation, cultural studies, and other allied disciplines.  We hope that the reviews will provide our members with insights into the growing and maturing field of heritage studies; spark discussion on related issues and disciplines; and introduce readers to topics and subjects they may not previously have thought about. To coordinate the reviews, the Executive Committee has appointed Dr Edward Salo, Arkansas State University to serve as our book review editor.  Ed has experience in both Cultural Resources Management industry and academia, including several international projects. 

We look forward to making this a regular highlight of our future newsletters, and rely on all our members to be involved. 

Seeking reviewers and books

The book review section will rely on members of the Association contributing reviews. This will be facilitated in two ways; by developing a list of potential reviewers, and by advertising books we have received for review on the ACHS website.

  • If you are interested in registering as a reviewer for the ACHS newsletter please email Edward Salo.  Please include a brief description of your research interests, qualifications, and areas of expertise so that you can be matched with relevant books.

  • A list of books available for review will be posted to the ACHS website and in the newsletter. Anyone who wishes to review one of these titles should also contact Ed to express an interest in writing a review for the newsletter.

As is customary, and as an added incentive for reviewing books for the newsletter, you may keep the book you review where it is provided by the publisher to the ACHS. If you know of a new publication that you feel is relevant to our membership, and would like to see it reviewed in the newsletter, please forward your recommendation to Ed.

Review format

Book reviews will be 500–1000 words and generally in the style of an academic review.  They will discuss the content of the book in the context of current issues and debates within heritage practice and scholarship.  Book reviews should be provided in either Microsoft Word (.doc or .docx) or RTF format. While the content remains the responsibility of the author, the editors reserve the right to make minor corrections and edits, including the right to withhold publication, of submissions.


Get Regular Updates from ACHS

The ACHS now has its own FaceBook page and we invite all members to like the page and follow it for updates and news. You can also post items of interest to fellow members. 

Yujie Zhu has been keeping Twitter subscribers up to date with regular updates through the ACHS Official Twitter Account

And of course we maintain a rolling news page that features a range of announcements. We recommend regularly checking the ACHS page, subscribing to our RSS feed or following us on twitter


Opportunities

There are a number of jobs, scholarships and other opportunities regularly advertised on our website.


ACHS Membership

Find a Member
A reminder that you can search our membership database by visiting the Membership Directory. You might find this especially useful ahead of attending the conference if you'd like to contact individuals and organise to meet up while in Montreal. 

Keep your Membership Profile up to date
Members are reminded to complete their online details as fully as possible, including a summary of interests, expertise and institutional experience. The Association provides a valuable platform for networking and finding experts with particular skill sets. An accurate and comprehensive Membership Directory is vital for this. We therefore encourage you to complete the various boxes on your profile page, so that other members who are organising events, traveling to your city, and so forth can find you. We appreciate your assistance in helping us to build the Association and keeping it current and up to date.

 

Members as of March 2016


Chapter News

ACHS thematic and geographic chapters are growing!  ACHS chapters bring together members in particular geographical areas and offer the ability to and establish a network and association with colleagues, and encourage greater involvement in the Association. Chapters provide a professional context to build relationships with colleagues, share experiences, network, and discuss research and trends.  Chapters are well suited to informing ACHS on regional heritage issues and concerns. Chapter activities vary widely but could include: Informal meetings; educational programs; professional dialogue; public outreach; chapter newsletter or blog; and to generate information (career opportunities, professional developments, etc.).

We are still finalising details and thinking through geographic regions.  Please be sure to pass the word to all members to think about encouraging membership in regions that are under-represented - for example, China and Russia, Middle East & North Africa (MENA).  A map of our growing membership can be found here.

To learn more about chapters - see the Chapters and Membership page where you can learn more about composition of chapters, as well as some suggested general guidelines.  Contact Melissa Baird if you need additional information or assistance.