The Semiotics of Getting Screwed

I'm not an Anthropologist, but I play one in my department. While historically I have been a regular presenter at professional conferences that are more in keeping with my interests and (I use the term loosely) expertise, this year a good friend of mine who is herself an Actual Anthropologist came up with a pretty interesting panel proposal for that great mother of all professional conferences for Anthropologists, the American Anthropological Association. One jillion emails later, we had a panel. I will spare the reader a lengthy description of the backass backwardness of the registration system for the AAA (it will perhaps be enough to note that they have a 24 hour registration HELPLINE) and move right to the point, namely, that for the privilege of submitting a proposal to the 2008 AAA conference, I was charged $361, and that is completely non-refundable in the likely event that the AAA rejects the panel. This more than double what I pay to attend other professional conferences.






In conclusion, I note that the logo of the AAA resembles nothing so much as a stylized anus. And it didn't take a PhD in Anthropology to engage in that bit of semiosis.