Open Anthro Vol 2-3 World on the Move- Migration Stories

Abstract

Preface: Signing Off and Introducing Open Anthropology’s New Editors
Alisse Waterston

I am honored to have served as the founding editor of Open Anthropology, the public journal of the American Anthropological Association. My commitment to this pilot project began the moment the idea surfaced in a brainstorming session with AAA past president Leith Mullings, CFPEP chair Deb Nichols, the CFPEP team, and Oona Schmid, AAA's magnificent Director of Publishing. It was clear from the start that in an ever changing technological, cultural, political, and market environment for scholarly publishing, Open Anthropology would stand as a win-win for all, one among other AAA innovations.

It has been my great pleasure to bring Open Anthropology from a germ of an idea to a full-fledged online publication that draws readers from all over the world. It has also been an eye-opening experience. For example, sifting through the electronic stacks that comprise the AAA portfolio of journal articles in anthropology, I have learned that many of today's concerns were also yesterday's worries, and that certain ideas may seem "new" but have been thought of earlier. Now, I can better recognize specious claims to "new" theory. I have also come to prefer arguments that build on cumulative knowledge while acknowledging flaws, gaps, and weaknesses in those that came before.