ASOR welcomed more than 525 attendees to the Hilton Chicago, November 17-20, for the in-person component of our first-ever dual-component Annual Meeting. It was a great pleasure to see friends and colleagues in-person after the pandemic necessitated a virtual-only meeting in 2020.

Dr. Morag Kersel opened the meeting on November 17 with her Plenary Address titled, “Living with Legacies: ASOR Archaeo-activism and a Future for 21st Century Archaeology.” This was a timely presentation that called for action that reflects the changing times we live in, and the changes that we need to drive ASOR and our field into the 21^st Century.

With a special tribute to the legacies of those who are no longer with us, #EverydayActivism and other themes from this important presentation will be continued as part of a Virtual Plenary Panel Discussion. Dr. Kersel will moderate the Virtual Plenary on December 8 at 2:00pm ET and the discussion will feature more perspectives from different voices in the field. You can find a link to view Kersel’s Plenary Address and read more about the Virtual Plenary Panel Discussion here.

While the in-person meeting was more intimate and academic program was smaller than pre-pandemic Annual Meetings, the sessions and presentations that were offered were of a high caliber and reflected the wide breadth of research represented by ASOR’s members. More than 300 presentations were given in 68 sessions and workshops.

We were particularly pleased that the pre-pandemic trend of growth in the geographic and chronological breadth of sessions continued, and we expect this to expand even further with the program for the virtual component where we will feature 8-10 sessions with simultaneous Arabic translation.

The meeting included several sessions and functions geared toward Early Career Scholars including a member-organized workshop, Navigating the “in-Between”: Identifying a Career Trajectory in Academia for the Early Career Scholars, and the ASOR standing session, Career Options for ASOR Members: The Academy and Beyond. The Early Career Scholars group organized a Brown-Bag Lunch Panel featuring BASOR editors, and a very well-attended reception was held for Early Career Scholar on Thursday night.

Many of the traditional features of ASOR’s Annual Meeting were continued and added a sense of normalcy during this particularly unnormal time. The poster gallery was open throughout the meeting, and the Poster Session on Saturday attracted a good crown and generated great conversations. Coffee breaks in the Exhibit Hall provided opportunities for attendees to talk, and view the latest offerings from publishers, and options to sit and spread out (safe social distancing) were added to the format. The Members’ Meeting included important updates, as well as honors and awards announcements.

Was there something missing from this year’s program you would have liked to see offered? January 15 is the deadline to propose a Session or Workshop for ASOR’s 2022 Annual Meeting.

See below for a recap of ASOR’s Virtual Annual Meeting.

2021 CHICAGO ANNUAL MEETING

ASOR Virtual Annual Meeting, December 8-12, 2021
Thank you to everyone who participated in the virtual component of ASOR’s 2021 Annual Meeting. It was a privilege to provide a platform for our global membership to connect, share, and engage on subjects from the Mediterranean to the Indian Ocean. We are thrilled to report that there were nearly 1,100 registrants from 41 countries and six continents!

More than 400 presenters shared their work in 95 sessions and workshops on the virtual schedule. Recordings of virtual sessions and workshops are being added to the virtual schedule this month. These recordings, as well as the recorded paper presentations and poster PDF files, will continue to be available to registered attendees through June of 2022. If you didn’t register in time to attend the virtual component of ASOR’s 2021 Annual Meeting, purchasing access to ASOR’s Online Library includes the recorded Annual Meeting content.

The virtual component began on December 8^th  with a Members’ Meeting for virtual attendees that included the 2021 Honors & Awards that were announced in Chicago, as well as a few additional awards and highlights. Following the virtual Members’ Meeting, Dr. Morag Kersel moderated a virtual panel discussion on the plenary address she gave in Chicago, Living with Legacies: ASOR Archaeo-activism and a Future for 21^st Century Archaeology. Virtual panelists included Lisa Çakmak (Art Institute of Chicago), Geoff Emberling (Kelsey Museum, University of Michigan), Alexandra Jones (Archaeology in the Community), and Michael Rakowitz (Northwestern University). You can watch Kersel’s Plenary Address here, and view the Virtual Plenary Discussion which will be posted on the virtual meeting website in the coming month.

Thanks to federal and non-federal grants, ASOR was pleased to feature simultaneous Arabic translation for the Virtual Plenary Panel Discussion, as well as 5 other sessions and workshops, including Archaeology, Community, and Mentorship: Celebrating the Legacy of Bert and Sally de Vries; Protecting Libyan Cultural Heritage;  Archaeology of Lebanon; and the workshop, Cultural Heritage: Before, During and After Crisis.

ASOR’s Early Career Scholars were a major part of both programs. In addition to holding a workshop (Navigating the “In Between”: Identifying a Career Trajectory in Academia for the Early Career Scholar), both in-person and virtual receptions were hosted for Early Career Scholars, and a brown-bag lunch panel featuring some of the BASOR editors was offered in Chicago. Many thanks to Tiffany Earley-Spadoni, Vanessa Workman, and Owen Chesnut for all of their work on the many offerings for Early Career Scholars.

Plans are already underway for ASOR’s 2022 Annual Meeting with both in-person (Boston, November 16-19) and virtual components (online dates to be announced).  2021 meeting attendees are reminded to use their ASOR Bucks now (they expire on 12/31/21) to save on 2022 registration and membership renewal. We hope you will join us in-person and/or online!