Elections for President-Elect and Secretary of the Association of Anthropology and Gerontology are currently open and will remain open until October 30, 2015.
If you are an active member of AAGE, you can cast your ballot HERE
Jason Danely is the unopposed candidate for President-Elect.
Candidate Statement
It is difficult to overstate the important role AAGE has played in my academic career ever since I joined the organization in 2006. It has not only been a place to network, but a place to be nurtured, a unique home for those of us who do the kind of work and ask the kind of questions that do not fit neatly into the standard frameworks of gerontology or anthropology. I am now at a point in my own career where I feel ready to take on greater responsibility and give back a little of what I have gained from this unique organization over the last nine years.
AAGE continues have a vital role in supporting emerging scholars to pursue their work in anthropology and gerontology. As Editor –in-Chief of Anthropology & Aging, I have placed a priority on encouraging students and junior scholars to contribute to greater scholarly exchange and professional activity by submitting research reports, commentaries, and articles to A & A. In 2012 helped to initiate the reinstatement of the Margaret Clark Award for student essays, and in June 2015, the first winning essays were published (the first since I became a member!). I have developed a mentorship format in 2013 to give student writers the chance to have their work reviewed by leading scholars, many of whom sit on the editorial advisory board. Of the numerous changes that I have made to the journal over the last four years (the move to digital open-access, the portfolio section, expansion and internationalization of the editorial board, general redesigns of look and content), making A&A an inviting venue for professional development is the achievement that I am most proud of. As president, I plan to continue supporting the development of the journal by actively recruiting contributors to enhance its digital features, increase visibility through online promotion, and create continuity between the journal and AAGE’s other online content, such as blog (PAAGE), member news, interviews, conference reports, and social media.
Thanks to strong leadership and hard work over the last few years, AAGE has nearly completed its transition to official 501.c3 non-profit status. This will allow us to make badly needed updates to our membership recruitment and registration infrastructure, and presents an opportunity for AAGE to increase in both size and engagement. As president-elect, I plan to support the follow-through with this transition, and as president I will increase outreach efforts through more sustained and widespread campaigns, including reintroducing the member newsletter with reports on our membership, activities and opportunities. My goal is to give every member the opportunity to have their work (publications, promotions, projects, papers, policy reports, pedagogy) spotlighted by AAGE as a means of facilitating recruitment, communication, and networking.
Currently, about 20 percent of our members are based outside of America (including me). As president I plan to work with some of these members to organize an International AAGE conference in the UK during my term. This conference would not only aim at including these international members who may find it difficult to attend GSA or AAA each year, but also taking advantage of the interest and opportunities outside the US to build our international presence. I would also work with ENAS (European Network for Aging Studies) and other groups. I also see room to strengthen links between AAGE and the AAA Interest Group, Anthropology of Children and Youth Interest Group, the North American Network of Age Studies, and other groups that many of us are already involved in.
If elected, I will miss the exciting work of managing the journal, where I have learned so much over the last four years. As president, I hope to learn about AAGE from a new perspective, and do what I can to understand the needs of members and help the organization work better to meet those needs.
Link to full bios and statements 2015 AAGE candidates
Ender Ricart is the unopposed candidate for Secretary.
Candidate Statement
For the last several months I have been heading AAGE’s new online forum, PAAGE to facilitate member discussion around content pieces. Having successfully defended my dissertation and recently begun a post-doctoral position in Tokyo, I am eager to involve myself even further with AAGE. The secretarial position would be an ideal way for me to get to know the inner workings of AAGE and familiarize myself with its members, expanding my professional network. I believe I have demonstrated my interest in service by publishing in AAQ, applying for the graduate student paper prize, joining AAGE events at last year’s AAA conference, seeking-out correspondence with many AAGE members, and offering my services to brainstorming and developing PAAGE. With my current specialization, I can offer an even further expansion of AAGE to include interested anthropologists and gerontologists in Japan. My dissertation research and now post-doctoral research is situated at Tokyo Metropolitan Institute of Gerontology (TMIG) where I know many researchers have expressed interest in the social and cultural dimensions of aging within and beyond Japan. I am organizing an international and interdisciplinary aging studies conference co-sponsored by the Gerontological Society of America and Japan Gerontology Society in 2016. I hope to advertise this conference to AAGE members to solicit them to submit papers and attend.
My own research deals with Japan’s attempt to drive down national spending on a generous and comprehensive Long-term Care Insurance (LTCI) system (Kaigo Hōken), available to all persons aged 65 and over, by promoting old-age disease prevention and health maintenance programs. Through an ethnographic analysis of this newly formed Care-Prevention System (Kaigo Yobō Seido), I explore how health, self, and society are experienced and understood by its proponents and participants, including gerontologists, government employees, program managers, and seniors.
Link to full bios and statements 2015 AAGE candidates
Vote here by October 30, and thank you for taking the time to support your candidates.
