We have a few announcements to make about the blog. As you may have noticed, we now have our own URL address: www.somatosphere.net. This shouldn’t result in any trouble for feeds or existing links — but if it does, please get in touch.

Also, we’ve been featured in a list of the Top 100 Anthropology Blogs (I didn’t realize that there were 100 anthropology blogs) and a list of 101 Fascinating Brain Blogs.

Finally, and most importantly, we’re looking for some new contributors. Contributors can write on any topic they like, as long as it fits under our broad rubric. (To get a better idea, please take a look at some of the previous posts). Specifically, we’re interested in adding several types of contributors to the site:

Regular contributors: We would like to add three or four people to join our roster of regular contributors. Because we’d like to have a more regular flow of posts on the site, we ask that you be able to post something at least once a week. (This isn’t a rule to which we’re going to adhere rigidly, but a guideline to give you an idea of the level of contribution we are seeking). If you are interested in becoming a regular contributor, please tell us a little about yourself, your research interests, the topics you’d be interested in covering in your posts. Also, please send along a short sample of informal writing (not a journal article) or a link to something else you’ve written online.

Guest contributors: We’re looking for any number of guests to contribute individual posts or a series of posts. If you are interested in being a guest contributor, please send a synopsis of your idea for a post or series of posts, along with some information about yourself.

Book reviewers: We have recently begun posting book reviews on the site, and are interested in recruiting additional book reviewers. If you are interested, please let us know which topical areas you would be able to cover. If you have a specific book you would like to review (or see reviewed) please let us know as well.

Because our goal is to provide an online space for medical anthropology, we ask that all potential contributors have a background in the discipline. Aside from that, we welcome everyone from students to emeritus professors, anthropologists working inside or outside of academia, and those working in interdisciplinary departments or neighboring disciplines, such as medical sociology or history, STS, bioethics and cultural psychiatry or psychology.

Finally, we should add that Somatosphere is entirely a “labor of love” and the only compensation we can offer at this stage is the opportunity to participate in giving medical anthropology an online voice.

If you are interested, please contact us at admin@somatosphere.net by January 15, 2009.