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The Combinatorial Potlatch Home Page
Since 1982
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Brian Alspach
U of Puget Sound, February 2002
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Josh Laison, Peter Winkler, William Stein (not pictured)
Seattle University, 2011
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The Combinatorial Potlatch is an international one-day conference, usually occuring in mid-November. It has been held for many years at various
locations around Puget Sound and southern British Columbia, and is an
opportunity for combinatorialists in the region to gather informally
for a day of invited talks and conversation. While most who attend work
in, or near, the Puget Sound basin, all are welcome. Typically
there are two or three talks given by speakers who are visiting or new to the area, along with breaks for coffee and lunch. Many participants
remain for dinner at a local restaurant or pub.
The American Heritage Dictionary defines "potlatch" as: A
ceremonial feast among certain Native American peoples of the northwest
Pacific coast, as in celebration of a marriage or an accession, at
which the host distributes gifts according to each guest's rank or
status. Between rival groups the potlatch could involve extravagant or
competitive giving and destruction by the host of valued items as a
display of superior wealth. [Chinook Jargon, from Nootka p'achitl, to
make a potlatch gift.]
News about the Next Potlatch
The 2012 edition of the Potlatch is being planned for November 17, 2012, at the downtown campus of Simon Fraser University in Vancouver, BC.
Details will be posted on the conference web page, once it becomes available.
Thanks to William Stein, Josh Laison, and Peter Winkler for excellent presentations at the November 2011 meeting at Seattle University, and special thanks to David Neel for being an excellent host.
Conference Photo, Seattle University, November 2011
Announcements of Upcoming Potlatches
Rob Beezer (beezer at ups dot edu) maintains an email list of people
interested in receiving announcements of upcoming Potlatches.
Contact
him via email to have your name added.
History of the Potlatch
The first Potlatch that anyone can recall was held in 1982 at the
University of Washington (though Pavol Hell insists there were meetings
in the 70's). From that time, through 1997, Brian
Alspach was the prime mover and organizer. After a few years'
hiatus, Nancy Neudauer and Rob Beezer resurrected the tradition in
2002. There have been at least 28 meetings over the past 29
years. A history, as best as can be reconstructed, is
available in HTML and PDF
formats.
Photo Archives
Old Conference Photos and
Speakers Photos are available also.
Potlatch Web Pages
- Seattle University, November 19, 2011 [Photo Album]
- Western Washington University, December 11, 2010
- Simon Fraser University, November 21, 2009
- University of Puget Sound, November 22, 2008
- University of Victoria, September 29, 2007
- Portland State University, November 11, 2006
- Seattle University, November 19, 2005
- Simon Fraser University, November 20, 2004 (Archived)
- University of Victoria, November 8, 2003 (Archived)
- University of Victoria, November 9, 2002) (Archived)
- University of Puget Sound, February 16, 2002
Organizing Committee
Nancy Neudauer, Pacific University (nancy at pacificu dot edu)
Rob Beezer, University of Puget Sound (beezer at ups dot edu)
This is: http://buzzard.ups.edu/potlatch/index.html
Last updated: November 25, 2011
