The following is an excerpt from an article printed in the easa (European Association of Social Anthropologists)-newsletter number 44 | july 2007 pp. 11-13, written by several MASNers, namely: Benjamin Hirschfeld (University of Tübingen), Agnieszka Pasieka (Jagiellonian University, Cracow) Niko Reinberg (University of Vienna), Shawn Volesky (University of Barcelona).
Please note: This article provides a general overview of the MASN initiative and represents the observations and opinions of its authors. As such, it is not necessarily representative of all people who have participated in the network process.
“It was a cold, dark, grey February 2005, when a group of anthropology graduate students, aware of the unpleasant realities of the European job market, the deficit of secure employment in academia and their lack of connections with students from other faculties, decided to invite some 15 of their colleagues in Germany, Slovenia, Serbia, Spain and Poland to come together and participate in a coordination meeting. Some light needed to be shed on the professional future of young anthropologists, and in their eyes, intellectual exchange with their peers from other departments, who would simultaneously share information about their projects, fields of study and diverse national research specialisations, was the key to new scientific input, future perspectives, innovative projects in anthropology and, last but not least, friendships and international contacts. Inspired by several smaller regional meetings, such as the Balkan conferences (Roaming Anthropology), symposiums for German-speaking students of anthropology, and various summer schools, including MESS – Slovenia or the Socrates Intensive Program in Vienna, the participants of the Vienna gathering debated on an open network model that would allow for participation by interested students and young professionals. In their discussion, they found that one of the greatest challenges for the MASN endeavour was—and indeed still is—the incorporation of a broad variety of approaches to the discipline and the diverse aspirations of its participants. Ultimately, they name Moving Anthropology Student Network was chosen to express that the network, internationally driven, should never become static and that its strength is derived from its many current and future participants. In this first meeting, several objectives were established; topics for future gatherings were discussed; visions were exchanged; and strategies were developed. One such strategy involved the establishment of MASN’s communication structures. The attendees felt that it was important to include as many voices as possible in the organisation and concluded that individuals as well as national, regional and local-level student networks should be linked and distribute the flow of information in their own local environment. They believed that all interested individuals should have the chance to participate horizontally in the network process, contributing their ideas, views and opinions without regard to hierarchical—whether semi or otherwise—status markers, such as titles, age or economic capability. Currently, MASN is predominantly a graduate student network, most participants holding an undergraduate degree or comparable; however, no one is excluded from participation. Indeed, the term “student” itself is used to indicate a general study of or engagement in the subject matter. Students of other disciplines who are interested in anthropology are always welcome to broaden the horizons of MASN. Regardless of their background, participants interact with MASN on two levels: online and in conferences.
Online Network: MASN members interact and remain in permanent contact on the World Wide Web using the MASN homepage and an Internet newsgroup. Designed as a hub for information and communication, the MASN homepage proves details on myriad anthropological institutes and groups. Both it and the newsgroup also serve as a planning tool and organisational resource for the network, because as of the present, MASN has no international legal body to manage the network. In each of the network sessions over the past three years, members have decided to maintain a loose network structure, favouring flexibility and the anti-hierarchical basis of the organisation. In similar sessions, participants decided to collaborate on a new project, the creation of a MASN journal, which would give students and young scholars an opportunity to share their research results and edit their first articles. Plans are being laid to publish both an Internet and a print version of the journal, and several groups have set up local organisations in order to solicit funding for these projects as well as the MASN face-to-face conferences, which comprise the second level of its network communication system.”
c.f.: Hirschfeld, Benjamin / Pasieka, Agnieszka / Reinberg, Niko / Volesky, Shawn. 2007. Moving Anthropology Student Network – MASN, in EASA Newsletter 44 July:11-13.
Here is the link to the whole article in the EASA Newsletter Nr. 44, July 2007 [ca. 251 kb] see page 11-13.
For more details on the conferences, see here:
Some members of the MASN founding meeting in Vienna in February 2005:
