SHA By-Laws

Adopted November 2013

ARTICLE I. Name and Purpose

1. The name of this Society shall be the Society for Humanistic Anthropology, a Section of the American Anthropological Association.

2. The Society shall encourage the further development of humanistic anthropology; aid in the dissemination of the results of scholarship and empirical research in humanistic anthropology through the publication of Anthropology and Humanism and by other appropriate means; serve as a vehicle for the organization of those individuals with a shared commitment to humanistic anthropology; and support the implementation of programs based upon the consensually recognized results of humanistic research in anthropology.

ARTICLE II. Powers and Obligations

1. The Society shall be autonomous in all matters within its field that are not reserved by the Bylaws of the American Anthropological Association, inimical to the American Anthropological Association’s interests, or prohibited by law.

2. The Society shall have an elected President and Secretary and other elected or appointed officers as set forth in these Bylaws.

3. The Society is empowered to determine membership dues.

4. The Society shall determine voting requirements on all Division/Section matters.

5. The Society may engage in publishing and program activities, appoint committees and other agents, and set publication and program policies appropriate to its purposes.

6. The Society shall adopt and maintain Bylaws or Rules of Procedure consistent with American Anthropological Association Bylaws. The Society shall file with the American Anthropological Association Secretary a copy of its current Bylaws and other rules of procedure.

7. At the time of each Annual Meeting, the Executive Board shall report its activities to the Members and to the Board of Directors of the American Anthropological Association.

ARTICLE III. Membership

1. There shall be five (5) classes of membership in the Society comparable to the statuses as defined by the American Anthropological Association Bylaws: regular, student, international (regular or special rate), associate, and retired. All categories may have variable membership rates and are subject to change per the Society for Humanistic Anthropology or the American Anthropological Association.

2. All categories of membership shall be open to any member in good standing of the American Anthropological Association. A Member shall be eligible to hold elective or appointive office, participate in the scientific program, receive publications and have one vote in nominating and electing officers and the transaction of other business of the Society.

3. Institutions and individuals who do not wish to be members of the Society may subscribe to its publications at rates listed by the current publisher.

ARTICLE IV. Meetings

1. There shall be an annual meeting of the membership of the Society held in conjunction with the annual meetings of the American Anthropological Association to nominate officers and to act upon other business of interest to the membership.

2. Special meetings may be called at any time or place (or held virtually using information technologies) designated in the call by the President, or by 35 or more members in good standing of this Society.

3. The President of the Society shall preside at all meetings and the Secretary of the Society shall act as recording secretary at all meetings. In the absence of the President the President-elect shall preside. In the absence of the President-elect the membership present shall designate by majority vote a presiding officer. In the absence of the Secretary the presiding officer shall designate a Secretary for the meeting.

4. A majority of the elected Officers and Executive Board members shall constitute a quorum for transacting General Board business.

5. Five (5) percent of the members in good standing, including a minimum of three officers, shall constitute a quorum at the Annual Members’ Meeting. All business transacted shall be formally recorded and reported to all members of the Society. (These rules apply to all properly constituted meetings).

ARTICLE V. Election and Appointment of Officers and Executive Board Members

1. The Society shall have the following elected officers: President-elect/President/Past-president, Secretary and Treasurer. The officers shall be members of the Executive Board.

In addition to the five (5) officers, there shall be 10 Executive Board Members (including Programming Co-chair, Student Member, and Nominations Co-chair).

The term for the President-elect/President/Past-president shall be two-years as President-elect and two years as President as a voting member of the Board, followed by two years on the board serving in a non-voting ex officio capacity.

All other Executive Board members shall serve for three-year terms. The offices of Secretary, Treasurer, Programming Co-chair, and Nominations Co-chair may be held for one year past a member’s board term if requested by the President in order to ensure continuity. These officers shall constitute the Executive Board of the Society.

    1. The Executive Board Members shall appoint: (1) an Editor of Anthropology and Humanism (A&H) to a three-year term, and (2) a column editor to oversee submissions for the Section column in Anthropology News.

2. Nomination for elected officers shall be considered at the annual meeting of the Society, with a final slate prepared by Nominations Co-chairs. Elections shall take place according to the AAA’s electronic balloting of the section’s membership. Election shall be determined by the majority of returned ballots, as determined by the AAA.

3. The Editor of A&H, with the advice of the Executive Board, shall appoint a Book Review Editor, Associate Editors, and members of the Editorial Advisory Board. The tenure of these officers is determined by the Editor in consultation with the Officers of SHA and are subject to reappointment.

4. The terms of the office of all officers commence at the conclusion of the Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association.

ARTICLE VI. Duties of Elected and Appointed Offices

1. The President shall be the chief executive of the affairs of the Society; she or he shall preside at all meetings of the Society and shall represent the Society in contracts executed by the American Anthropological Association on behalf of the Society, seeking whenever possible the approval of the membership for any major actions. The President shall be an ex-officio member of all committees formed by the membership. The President shall be the Society’s first representative on the Board of Directors and, in the event the Society is entitled to such representation, on the Executive Committee of the American Anthropological Association.

2. The President-elect will perform all of the duties of the President in the absence or incapacitation of the President and shall otherwise assist the President in the discharge of his or her duties as authorized by the President.

3. The Secretary shall attend all meetings of the Society and keep separate, regular, and accurate minutes of all proceedings. It shall be the responsibility of the secretary to keep all records of the Society and maintain correspondence with the membership.

4. The Treasurer shall be responsible for the administration of the finances of the Society, subject to budgetary and other regulations approved by the Controller’s Office of the American Anthropological Association, and shall be the Society’s fiscal agent. The Treasurer shall present a report to the membership at each annual meeting.

5. The A&H Editor shall have full and final responsibility for the editing and publication of the section’s journal, Anthropology and Humanism

    1. The Book Review Editor and Associate Editors shall assist the Editor in the solicitation, review, and writeup of materials for publication. Each shall be assigned specific responsibilities by the Editor.
    1. The Editorial Advisory Board shall be composed of living scholars noted for their interest and accomplishment in humanistic anthropology. Each shall be responsible for the general promotion of the A&H

6. The Section Column Editor shall be responsible for the overseeing and/or preparing of all submissions to the AAA publications.

7. The Executive Board shall set the annual dues of Members and may establish rates for special categories.

8. Elected members of the Executive Board shall undertake specific responsibilities as assigned by the President.

ARTICLE VII. Finances

1. The fiscal year of the Society shall be that of the American Anthropological Association.

2. In accordance to policies determined by AAA, the Society shall submit an annual operating budget for the next calendar year to the American Anthropological Association Board of Directors, which when approved, shall govern Society activities.

3. Revenues from annual dues and from investments and other sources shall constitute a general fund, available to the extent possible, for operating, publication, and current expenses consistent with the purposes of the Society’s Executive Board may determine.

4. No financial obligation in excess of funds available in the treasury shall be assumed by the Executive Board or by any officer on behalf of the Society except that for the purpose of this section, estimated receipts from annual dues and other accounts receivable for the current year may be considered as available funds.

5. The Society may request the establishment of special endowment funds for the purposes of awarding prizes, awards, or scholarships to be administered by the American Anthropological Association. Such funds must follow the AAA guidelines for the establishment of endowment funds.

ARTICLE VIII. Amendments

1. These Bylaws may be amended by a majority vote of the members to be determined by electronic ballot to the membership.