Abstract
Seventeen people signed up for the session, and the discussion went smoothly even though there were some disagreement on the basic terms we adopted. It became clear the regional differences also affect how panelists approach the topic on hierarchy and egalitarianism. Once again we assert that the deep history of Austronesian expansion serves as a background for the scope of the group and the contemporary comparative ethnography should be the focus for our next step. We call for the participation of Micronesia and Polynesia specialists to join our effort. Please do get in touch if you are interested. Draft papers should be in by early August to be included in session roster appearing in the September newsletter