The Encultured Brain conference will be held 8 October 2009 at the University of Notre Dame in South Bend, Indiana. This conference will promote neuroanthropology, which aims to integrate anthropology, social theory, and the brain sciences.

As the first conference exclusively in this area, The Encultured Brain will provide a vision for the future of this line of integrative research, sparking conversations and establishing connections across disciplinary boundaries.

Two keynote presentations will be delivered by Prof. Patricia Greenfield of UCLA and Prof. Harvey Whitehouse of Oxford University.

Prof. Patricia Greenfield is Distinguished Professor of Psychology at UCLA, heavily involved in (and former Director of) the FPR-UCLA Center for Culture, Brain, and Development and the current Director of the Children’s Digital Media Center.

Prof. Harvey Whitehouse is Head of the School of Anthropology and Museum Ethnography at Oxford, Head of the Institute of Social and Cultural Anthropology (ISCA), Director of the Centre for Anthropology and Mind, and a Fellow of Magdalen College.

You can find the abstracts for these keynotes here and the preliminary schedule for the conference here.

There are two main options for individuals to present their work, both designed to maximize the number of people who learn about each other’s research. A poster session will permit conference participants to show off substantive research and new ideas in a way that facilitates intellectual exchange in this emerging area of research.

Speed presentations are short talks of five minutes delivered to the whole assembled conference about what researchers, from advanced professors to students, are working on or would like to work on. We will have pre-printed message pads to allow the whole conference to share thoughts, as well as ample chances during breaks to make further contact and build substantive discussions.

There will also be a roundtable on research methods for breaking new ground in neuroanthropology. Finally, Greg Downey and Daniel Lende, the conference organizers and founders of Neuroanthropology.net, will deliver formal addresses outlining their respective visions for the field.

Thanks to the generous support from the Lemelson/Society for Psychological Anthropology Conference Fund as well as the Institute for Scholarship in the Liberal Arts, the Kellogg Institute for International Studies, the Graduate School, and the College of Arts and Letters at Notre Dame.

Conference Site: McKenna Hall, University of Notre Dame, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556

Conference Date: October 8th, 2009

For more information, go to https://neuroanthropology.net/conference/ or email us at encultured.brain@gmail.com.

SUBMISSIONS & REGISTRATION PROCESS

All abstracts must be submitted by September 4th, 2009. Early submissions are encouraged.

Abstracts have a 200 word limit. Please use the following format, where you provide your name and short contact info, the title of your proposed poster or speed presentation, the abstract itself, and your indication for a poster and/or speed presentation. Note that co-authors are welcomed for posters.

LASTNAME Firstname (Affiliation; email). Title.
Body of abstract.
Format: Poster, Speed Presentation or Both

Here is an example:

LENDE Daniel (Notre Dame; dlende@nd.edu). Addiction and Neuroanthropology.
Approaches to addiction have been dominated by reductionist approaches in both the biological and social sciences…
Format: Speed presentation

The organizers encourage people to indicate the “Format: Both” option, as this will help us accomodate as many people as possible.

Please email your complete abstract to: encultured.brain@gmail.com

Cost: $50. This costs covers registration, conference materials, refreshments, lunch and an evening reception. (Note: the conference is free for Notre Dame faculty and students.)

Actual registration for the conference, including payment by credit card, is being handled through the Notre Dame Center for Continuing Education. Registration and hotel information for the Encultured Brain will be available there in the near future.

Submissions Due: September 4th, 2009.