Post-Conference Newsletter
March 2008
Organization • Elections • Conference Report • Banquet • Thanks
Changes in FEEGI Organization
Several constitutional amendments were approved at the 2008 business meeting, but three stand out as most important:
The position of Secretary-Treasurer was split into two offices, Secretary and Treasurer. Separating the responsibility for money and membership strengthens the institutional stability of FEEGI and divides a heavy workload among two people.
Two additional at-large members were added to the executive committee, which widens FEEGI's base of support and enhances the historical memory of the organization, but also creates staggered terms. Now, new board members will join FEEGI every two years, rather than the previous organization, in which all board members served the same four years and rotated off the board at the same time.
The Vice-President is no longer obliged to be the Local Arrangements Chair for the biennial conference. Instead, the executive committee as a whole will decide upon a location for the next conference, taking into account the need for a Local Arrangements Chair who is on-site and willing to coordinate local activities, and such an LAC will appointed by the President. The Vice-President will continue to serve as Program Chair.
For full details of these constitutional changes, please see the revised text of the constitution.
Elections and New Executive Committee
The FEEGI officers elected for the 2008-2010 term are:
President: Alison Games, Georgetown University
Vice-President: Laura Mitchell, UC Irvine
Treasurer: Linda Rupert, UNC Greensboro
Secretary: Mark Meuwese, University of Winnipeg
Editor: Dayo Nicole Mitchell, University of Oregon
Nominating Committee: Carla Gardina Pestana, Miami University; Giancarlo Casale, University of Minnesota; Wim Klooster, Clark University (appointed as chair)
As in 2006, all nominees were elected unanimously without opposition.
The President appoints the two new members-at-large of the executive committee, as well as members to replace Alison Games and Laura Mitchell, who moved from at-large members into elected positions.
Marjoleine Kars, having ended her term as Vice-President, will join the executive committee as a member-at-large. Jim Williams (previously Editor from 2002-2006) has returned to the executive committee, and Lauren Benton and Philip J. Stern have graciously agreed to serve four-year terms. Sebastian Barreveld joins the executive committee for a two-year term as the graduate student member. Please view the complete list of FEEGI leadership for more information.
Many thanks to these individuals who have so generously offered their time and energy to support FEEGI as an organization. It may be an appropriate moment to mention that any associated expenses are the responsibility of the individual. Executive committee members pay the same conference registration and FEEGI membership fees as everyone else, for instance, as well as for their own food if an executive committee meeting is held over lunch at the AHA or FEEGI conference. The only possible exception to this policy would be for the graduate student member.
Conference Report
For details of the 2008 conference, please visit the Program page, which will also allow you to download the booklet of abstracts and receive a sense of the papers. In looking at the program, please consider the brief closing remarks from Marjoleine Kars, program chair:
When Dayo designed the conference brochure, she put the word “empire” in a solid font, and the word “identity” in a playful font. Now that we are at the end of our conference, having thoroughly interrogated the concepts of empire and of identity, we may consider whether perhaps these font types might better be reversed, as empire appears much less solid, and people’s identity more resistant to change, than we might have thought.
This was the first time a FEEGI conference was organized around a theme. The program committee decided to have a theme because we thought it might generate more interest in the conference. And indeed, we received more than 70 paper proposals. Sadly, we could only accommodate 24. We would like to have input from conference attendees, as well as FEEGI members, about the desirability of a theme next time, and suggestions for what that theme might be.
Suggestions for future conferences may be sent to Laura Mitchell, as the vice-president holds responsibility for the program and overall direction of the FEEGI conference. You can also compare the two font presentations of the theme, as Marjoleine imagined them.
Banquet
A good time was had by all. The Peruvian restaurant Las Canteras was excellent, and it was possible to have three courses largely based on quinoa, something that doesn't happen every day in the United States. If curious, you may download the banquet flyer (PDF, 128K). In his final service as President, Kris Lane offered an entertaining and engaging overview of the mystical, magical, and medical powers ascribed to minerals and stones such as emeralds, suggesting that carrying a few might ward against indigestion and other ailments. Sadly, your friendly editor is a very bad photographer—however, others helped out and you can view a few pictures from the conference here.
Thanks
Many people should be recognized for supporting FEEGI in the last two years, as their service ends or takes a new form. Wim Klooster will get a well-deserved break from FEEGI as he departs the board after serving as Past President. Kris Lane deserves approbation for guiding FEEGI through a challenging term as President. Alison Games pulled off miracles as the Local Arrangements Chair for the 2008 conference. Marjoleine Kars led the organization of an intriguing and varied slate of presentations at the conference. After doing hard time as both Secretary and Treasurer, Linda Rupert can relax into the single responsibility of Treasurer.