– updated February 16, 2024 by majority vote of the SEAA members
ARTICLE I. Name
Section 1. The Section shall be known as the Society for East Asian Anthropology – SEAA – a Section of the American Anthropological Association, hereinafter referred to as the Section.
ARTICLE II. Purpose
Section 1. The Purpose of the Section
1.a. To advance the anthropological study of East Asian societies and cultures, and other societies/cultures and diasporic and transnational communities with historical or contemporary ties to East Asia.
1.b. To encourage and facilitate greater scholarly communications and collaborations among East Asianist anthropologists working and teaching in various societies within and outside of East Asia.
1.c. To encourage communication and utilization of the results obtained from anthropological studies of East Asia;
1.d. To aid in the education of persons who are or will be involved in carrying out the above activities;
1.e. To operate exclusively for scientific and educational purposes as an organization that qualifies as exempt an organization under Section 501(c)(3) of the Internal Revenue Code of 1954 (or corresponding provision of future United States Internal Revenue Law).
ARTICLE III. Powers
Section 1. The Section shall be autonomous in all matters within its field that are not: a) reserved by the Bylaws of the American Anthropological Association; b) inimical to the American Anthropological Association’s interests; or c) prohibited by law.
Section 2. The Section shall have an elected President, President-Elect, Secretary, and Treasurer and other elected or appointed officers as set forth in these Bylaws.
Section 3. The Section is empowered to determine membership dues.
Section 4. The Section shall determine voting requirements on all Section matters.
Section 5. The Section may a) engage in publishing and program activities; b) appoint editors, Boards and other agents and c) set publication and program policies appropriate to its purposes.
Section 6. The Section may publish or maintain an independent Newsletter, Website, Listserv, or Scholarly Journal.
Section 7. The Section shall adopt and maintain Bylaws or Rules of Procedure consistent with American Anthropological Association Bylaws. The Section shall file with the American Anthropological Association Secretary a copy of its current Bylaws.
ARTICLE IV. Membership
Section 1. Membership in the Section shall be open to any member in good standing of the American Anthropological Association who supports the above purposes subject to the payment of dues stipulated by the Executive Committee of the Section.
Section 2. Any member in good standing shall be able 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 Section.
Section 3. For just cause, a Member may be deprived of membership by a two-thirds vote of the Executive Committee of the Section, subject to appeal of the members of the Annual Meeting.
ARTICLE V. Dues
Section 1. The Executive Committee of the Section shall set the annual dues of Members and may establish rates for special categories, such as student membership.
Section 2. Any member in arrears in the payment of dues shall lose all membership privileges.
ARTICLE VI. Officers
Section 1. The officers shall be a President, President-Elect, Past-President, Secretary, and Treasurer.
Section 2. The President shall be the presiding officer of The Section and its first representative at the Section Assembly Meetings of the American Anthropological Association.
Section 3. The President-Elect shall assume the duties of the President in the event of absence, death, resignation or incapacity of the President, and shall succeed to the office of President as the expiration of the term as President-Elect.
Section 4. The Secretary shall have charge of the records of The Section.
Section 5. The Treasurer shall have charge of the financial affairs of The Section and shall submit a draft budget for the approval of the Executive Committee of the Section not less than sixty (60) days before the Annual Meeting.
Section 6. The terms of office of the President-Elect shall be two years, commencing at the conclusion of the Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, followed by a two-year term as President, and another two-year term as Past-President. The secretary and treasurer shall serve terms of three years.
Section 7. Any officer may succeed him/herself in office for one consecutive term.
ARTICLE VII. Executive Committee
Section 1. There shall be an Executive Board consisting of the officers and councilors elected by the membership of The Section. Six councilors shall serve as representatives at large for terms of three years, and two student councilors shall be elected from among the student members of The Section for terms of two years. Elected officers and councilors may serve as members of Standing Committees.
Section 2. Subject to directives and limitations imposed by the members of The Section, the Executive Committee shall have the authority to execute on behalf of The Section all powers and functions defined in these Bylaws.
Section 3. The Executive Committee shall meet at least once a year at the time of the Annual Meeting and may meet additionally on the call of the President or a majority vote of the Executive Committee. Any member of the Executive Committee may petition to convene at any time. Meetings convened at times other than during the Annual Meeting will be held via the Internet.
Section 4. The Executive Committee shall make all non-elective appointments and may make interim appointments to fill vacancies in any elective office until the next regularly scheduled election.
Section 5. The Executive Committee shall be empowered to decide by two-thirds vote of its total membership on the incapacity or inability to serve of any elective or appointive officer of the Society, to thus remove any such person from office, and to appoint a replacement under the provisions of the previous section of this article (Article VII, Section 4). Such actions may be overridden by two-thirds vote of the members present at the next Annual Business Meeting.
ARTICLE VIII. Standing Committees
Section 1. The Executive Committee may establish Standing Committees as necessary, to deal with matters such as publications, membership, maintaining electronic forms of communication, and the like.
Section 2. The members of the Executive Board shall decide the membership of Standing Committees by mutual agreement. Members of each Standing Committee will decide upon a Chair.
Section 3. The Executive Committee shall appoint editors for The Section’s newsletters, listservers, websites, and other publications as necessary. All such terms will be for one year and may be renewed. Editorships may be filled by members of the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE IX. Annual Report
Section 1. In January following the Annual Meeting, the immediate Past President shall report activities of the Section to the Board of Directors of the American Anthropological Association.
ARTICLE X. Meetings
Section 1. The Section shall hold an Annual Business Meeting at the time of the Annual Meeting of the American Anthropological Association, during which the Executive Board shall report its activities. The report shall include the information from Secretary, Treasurer, chairs of Standing Committees, and other agents representing the Section.
Section 2. The place and date of the Annual Meeting shall be disclosed to the Members not less than one hundred twenty (120) days in advance of the Meeting.
Section 3. Special meetings may be called by the Executive Committee of the Section or upon written request of five (5) percent of the Members.
Section 4. The President of the Section shall preside over the Annual Meeting.
Section 5. The Executive Committee of the Section shall appoint a Program Chair who shall organize the scientific program of The Section in conjunction with the Executive Committee and subject to the approval of the Executive Committee.
ARTICLE XI. Quorum
Section 1. Five percent of the Members in good standing shall constitute a quorum at the Annual Business Meeting.
Section 2. A majority of the members of the Executive Committee shall constitute a quorum for transacting business.
Section 3. The business of The Section shall be transacted by majority vote unless otherwise provided in these Bylaws.
ARTICLE XII. Nominations and Elections
Section 1. The Executive Board shall nominate at least two persons for each vacant office. All nominees shall be Members in good standing of the Section These nominations shall be made known to Members at least one hundred twenty (120) days before the Annual Meeting.
Section 2. The President shall inquire nominees’ willingness to run, and inform them of the probable extent of the burden of office. A nomination becomes effective only upon filing with the President a brief biography and platform statement of willingness and ability to devote such time to the affairs of the Section as necessary to the effective execution of office. The President then files the nomination materials with the American Anthropological Association.
Section 3. The Nominations Committee shall nominate at least one person for each vacant office.. These nominations shall be made known to Members at least one hundred twenty (120) days before the Annual Meeting.
Section 4. Five (5) percent of the Members in good standing may nominate an additional candidate for any office, provided the nomination is received in writing by the Secretary at least ninety (90) days before the Annual Meeting.
Section 5. The Secretary or the Treasurer shall inform the prospective nominee of the probable extent of the burden of office. A nomination becomes effective only upon filing with the Secretary a statement of willingness and ability to devote such time to the affairs of the Section as necessary to the effective execution of office.
ARTICLE XIII. Balloting
Section 1. A Member in good standing shall be entitled to cast one ballot in any election or referendum.
Section 2. The candidates receiving a simple majority of the votes for a contested office shall be elected; the Executive Committee of the Section shall hold a run-off election within ninety (90) days in the case of a tie.
ARTICLE XIV. Referenda
Section 1. A referendum may be conducted by mail ballot at any time upon initiation of the Executive Committee of the Section, or upon receipt by the Secretary of a petition signed by ten (10) Members in good standing. A simple majority of votes received shall constitute a favorable vote.
ARTICLE XV. Finances
Section 1. The fiscal year of the Section shall be that of the American Anthropological Association.
Section 2. The Section shall submit an annual operating budget to the American Anthropological Association Board of Directors, which, when approved, shall govern Section activities.
Section 3. The income from annual dues and from investments and other sources shall constitute a working fund, available for operating, publication, and current expenses consistent with the purposes of the Section.
Section 4. No financial obligation in excess of funds available in the treasury shall be assumed by the Executive Committee of the Section 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.
Section 5. The Section may establish special funds to be administered by the American Anthropological Association for purposes the Section may designate.
ARTICLE XVI. Amendments
Section 1. These Bylaws may be amended by the Members by mail ballot provided that a proposed amendment is approved by two-thirds (2/3) of the votes cast.
Section 2. Amendments may be proposed by the Executive Committee of the Section or by ten (10) Members in good standing. The Executive Committee shall have the proposed amendment circulated to the Members and it shall allow thirty (30) days for the return of ballots.
Section 3. The amendments and provisions of these Bylaws shall be effective immediately upon adoption and shall supersede and nullify all previous amendments and provisions.