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American Studies Programs and Centers Committee
Report from the American Studies Programs Committee 2001
The Committee on American Studies Programs met in Detroit at the annual ASA convention. The Chair of the Committee also met with representatives of the Students’ Committee and then President-Elect George Sánchez. The student representatives raised several issues regarding the relative paucity of attention paid to program issues at the convention. Those concerns matched those of members of this committee, and we incorporated them into our plans for panels for the 2001 convention. We recommend ongoing liaison between the Students Committee and our Committee. The Chair of the Committee on American Studies Programs suggested an expanded model for the 2001 ASA convention, a “Focus on Programs Day,“ modeled in part on the existing Focus on Teaching Day. The committee members enthusiastically supported this proposal, which we passed on to the ASA staff and convention program committee for review. Both units agreed this would be a worthwhile approach to try. The chair then drafted and circulated to the rest of the committee a call for panels for the first Focus on Programs Day. The convention program committee reviewed a number of such proposals, and selected the following three to represent the first Focus on Programs Day - Thursday, November 8th, 2001: “Innovative American Studies Models: Outreach and the Public Sphere”; “Making the Most Out of Mentoring” (jointly Sponsored with ASA Students’ Committee); “Reconfiguring American Studies: The Place of Ethnic Studies, Women’s Studies, and Gay and Lesbian Studies.“ (Program Directors’ Workshop). We feel this lineup represents a useful expansion of and highlighting of the role of programs and program issues at the ASA convention. The committee agreed to review this first “Focus on Programs Day” before proposing it as an annual event. Some concern was expressed outside the committee that the new structure might diffuse the experience of the Program Directors’ Workshop. That will be among the review issues discussed. The committee, with the much appreciated technical support of Sherry Linkon, continues to sponsor the American Studies Directors’ listserv (PROGRAMS-L@listproc.georgetown.edu) We feel the list remains underutilized, and we encourage program directors and others who have concerns about program issues to join and use the list. The Committee also voted to have the chairship last from ASA conference to ASA conference, since the late spring end of the position seemed confusing and inconvenient. We recommend this schedule to other committees, since most ASA business is carried out at the convention, and much important work goes on during the summer when transitions are awkward.
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