Congratulations to the 12 members selected to participate in the AAA's OpEd Project initiative!
The OpEd Project's mission is to increase the range of voices and quality of ideas we hear in the world. Their one-day “Write to Change the World” workshops are based on time-tested models of transformational learning. Participants will explore the source of credibility; the patterns and elements of persuasion; the difference between being “right” and being effective; and how to think bigger about what they know—to have more impact in the world. Participants emerge with concrete results and access to a national network of journalist mentors for individual follow up.
The AAA finalists selected include members with a diverse background, a representation of the four subfields, and geographically located across a broad spectrum of the United States, including California, Colorado, Texas, Illinois, Florida, New York and Washington DC. The finalists’ expertise also covers a range of topical issues, including international politics, migration, global health, environmental justice, health disparities, social injustice, and gender and racial inequities. The 12 members selected for this pilot round of AAA-sponsored attendance are:
Chip Colwell, Paul Stoller, Maria Vesperi, Steve Nash, Ben Orlove, and Richard Ashby Wilson have agreed to share the wisdom accrued through their own public writing experiences by serving as mentors to this year's cohort of participants.
The overarching idea is to publish our anthropological scholarship and expertise so that our leaders and the public get the information and ideas they need to make the best decisions. Op-eds aren’t the only answer, but they’re a great start to an increased public awareness of the important contributions made by our field.
Keep an eye out for their op-eds- coming soon to a newspaper near you!
