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Now available online:
Urbanities - Vol.2, No. 2, November 2012

The Commission on Urban Anthropology (CUA) was founded in 1982 and acquired full affiliated status within the IUAES (International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences) at the XI ICAES, held in Vancouver in 1983. The establishment of the CUA was the successful result of a long-felt need to bring together international scholars who had carried out research in urban settings and to stimulate further research in this field.
The proposal to establish a Commission on Urban Anthropology was enthusiastically supported by the then president of the IUAES, Cyril Belshaw. Professor Ghaus Ansari was invited to co-ordinate the preparatory consultations for the organisation of such a Commission, which led to the First International Symposium on Urban Anthropology, held in Vienna (Austria) in 1982. Prof. Ansari was appointed chairman of the Commission and held this position until 2006. Since its affiliation, the Commission's major goals have been:

1. to organise scientific sessions and symposia;
2. to establish an international network of worldwide scholars with an interest in urban research, leading, over the years, to a multi-disciplinary approach to urban anthropology.

Alongside the organisation of international symposia, the Commission's activities have included the publication of a Newsletter, which has now been replaced by a Bulletin, and the encouragement of Regional Working Groups. Recently, the Commission has launched its peer-reviewed Journal Urbanities (first issue to be published in November 2011).