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Policy Briefs:
A New Public Policy Resource
The AAA
Committee on Public Policy of is proud to introduce a new
informational resource for the public policy community: the
AAA Policy Brief. AAA Policy Briefs address policy issues
and initiatives from an anthropological perspective, examining
the insights that contemporary anthropological research contributes
to policy discourse. These theme-focused briefs do not take
a position on public policy issues. Instead, they introduce
the reader to anthropological knowledge that is necessary
for making fully-informed policy decisions.
View
Policy Brief #1, which addresses a labor policy issue,
specifically the right of employees to organize unions as
outlined by the Employee Free Choice Act (H.R. 800, S. 1041).
If you are interested in contributing to a future Policy
Brief or in suggesting a future topic, please contact Dinah
Winnick of the AAA Department of External International
& Government Relations at dwinnick@aaanet.org or (703)
528-1902.
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AAA Signs on to Amicus Brief in Evolution Disclaimer Case
(pdf)
The AAA has joined
55 other professional scientific organizations in signing
on to an amicus brief initiated by the National Center for
Science Education (NCSE) and submitted to the U.S. Court
of Appeals/11th District in the case of Cobb County School
District, et.al. v. Selman, et.al. The brief addresses
the question of whether there is any pedagogical or scientific
merit to the Cobb County School District's requirement that
biology textbooks should carry a disclaimer that singles
out evolution as a theory. The disclaimers were ruled
unconstitutional earlier this year and the Cobb County School
District has appealed the decision. The AAA was invited
by the NCSE to join the brief in May 2005. The AAA's
decision to sign on to the brief is predicated on the consistency
between the principal points raised in the brief and existing
AAA policy on this issue, embodied in the Association's
Statement on Evolution.
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AAA
Comments on Revised World Bank Policy on Indigenous Peoples
On February 28, the AAA submitted
a statement in response to a December 2004 World Bank request
for public comment on its Revised Draft Operational Policy
on Indigenous People. Given
the issue’s longstanding significance to the anthropology
community, the AAA viewed the Bank’s request as an opportunity
to weigh in on a revised policy formulation, one that the
Bank acknowledges to be six years in the making and the outcome
of numerous consultations with indigenous leaders and organizations.
The AAA response was drafted by the AAA Commission on the
Status of Indigenous Peoples in South America, principally
by the Commission Chair, Anthony Oliver-Smith.
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Support Area and International
Studies
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Help Protect Iraq's Cultural
Heritage
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AAA President's
Statement on Looting
- AAA Supports the National
Geographic Society in Case Involving Public Access and Copyrights
(pdf file)
