Dear Colleagues,

This is the first call for submissions for the Fall 2022 issue of SEM Student News. The theme for this new issue, Vol. 18, No.1, is “Fieldwork and Identity.” After over two years of disruptions and reconsiderations of the fieldwork process brought on by the pandemic, many graduate students, who might have experienced delays, are once again preparing to enter the field. Despite the impending sense of a “return to normalcy,” many of us are finding that the pre-pandemic “field” we may have been prepared for has changed in fundamental ways. This issue of SEM Student News is an opportunity for graduate students to participate in a process of dialogue and exchange about their aspirations, experiences, and adjustments they have made in relation to fieldwork. At the core of this discussion, we hope to center the issue of identity: How have the intersections of our own identity, that of our research collaborators, and that of the field itself changed the ways we are thinking about the past, present, and future of our work? Beyond articles that reflect on experiences or offer novel theoretical considerations of the topic, we particularly welcome pieces reflecting collaborative approaches that promote the forum- and community-based goals of this issue.