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Regional Chapters Committee
Report from the Regional Chapters Committee 1998
The Committee on Regional Chapters reported on the following recent developments in the regional chapters.
The Mid-Atlantic ASA chapter is in the process of revival. An organizing meeting and spring conference is in the planning stages for spring 1999 or early fall 1999 at Pennsylvania State-Harrisburg.
The New York Metro ASA chapter has thrived since its revival in 1996 and expansion in 1997. It has dedicated itself to fostering “a sense of community among American Studies scholars from all disciplines, who live or work in the New York Area.“ The chapter produces a newsletter, has its own homepage which is linked to Crossroads, and an unmoderated e-mail list on which members can post queries about research or teaching and place event announcements. In 1997, the chapter sponsored such events as meetings, panels, and conferences about archival use in the New York area, teaching American Studies, and academic publishing as well as field trips, visits to performances or exhibits with presentations and discussion. The region has recruited speakers from local colleges, universities, historical societies, museums, and archives.
The Committee on Regional Chapters continues to co-sponsor a session at the annual meeting with the chapter in which the meeting is being held. For the 1998 meeting in Seattle, Washington, the Pacific Northwest ASA region has organized the session, “Conflicts along the Columbia: Place, People, and Power.“
Since the ASA Regional Chapters Homepage was created on Crossroads in July 1997, all but two of the fourteen chapters have posted chapter and contact information. Nine chapters regularly post chapter announcements and four have created their own homepages which are linked to the ASA Regional Chapters Homepage, and in most cases, to other ASA web sites.
The Handbook for Officials of ASA Regional Chapters is also accessible to any ASA member on the chapters’ homepage (most recent version posted in April 1998). Planning is in process for the next update of the Handbook that will coordinate with the information provided to ASA members on the Regional Chapters Homepage.
The Committee on ASA Regional Chapters thanks Randy Bass, Jeff Finlay, and Margo Lambert (of the ASA National Office) for their work with us in all of these Crossroads efforts. The members have begun conversations with new and continuing ASA staff members and the Crossroads Project Director and staff. Projects and activities which will likely be explored include establishing and linking additional individual regional chapter home pages and the exploration of the diverse kinds of information about regional activities which could be posted on the regional chapters website in the future. This may include such subjects as teaching and scholarship discussions and the use of American Studies on-line Resources, e-mail and Web Pages in a regional context.
At the 1998 ASA meeting in Seattle, the ASA Committee on Regional Chapters will sponsor an exhibit booth in the Book Exhibit Hall. At the booth, one may find journals (from American Studies to Border States to the Journal of the American Studies Association of Texas), information about books published from conference proceedings, chapter newsletters and brochures, and calls for papers for upcoming conferences. Representatives from the various chapters will be present at the booth to talk about chapter activities and ways to become involved. At a time when American Quarterly and the national ASA convention programs are overflowing with riches, the Regional Chapters offer productive environments for sharing scholarship, for talk about teaching, and localized collegiality.
James Farrell (Mid-America ASA) is chairing the Regional Chapters’ Subcommittee on the Exhibit Booth to ensure that regional representatives provide materials to display and/or distribute at the booth and that sufficient staffing is provided by the committee (including regional committee members and other members of individual regional association boards, councils, or journal staffs). The committee is very excited about this new opportunity to share and interact at the annual ASA meetings.
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