Anthropological Ethics in Context: An Ongoing Dialogue

by Dena Plemmons (Editor), Alex W Barker (Editor)

Overview

This volume examines general ethical principles and controversies in the social sciences by looking specifically at the recent three-year revision process to the American Anthropological Association’s code of ethics. The book’s contributors were members of the task force that undertook that revision and thus have first-hand knowledge of the debates, compromises, and areas of consensus involved in shaping any organization’s ethical vision. The book
-reflects the broad diversity of opinion, approach, and practice within anthropology and the social sciences;
-develops ethical principles that reflect core values rather than the latest ethical controversies;
-crafts clear, broad statements, increasing the likelihood that the ethical code will be a meaningful part of the daily discourse of practicing anthropologists;
-develops the ethical code as a living document, or a process of experience and debate, subject to future revision and amplification;
-provides explanation through internet links and other resources, ensuring that the finished product be relevant and vibrant.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9781611328790
Publisher:	Taylor & Francis
Publication date:	10/31/2015
Pages:	250
Product dimensions:	6.00(w) x 9.00(h) x (d)

About the Author

Dena Plemmons is a research ethicist and anthropologist. She is a former chair of the AAA’s Committee on Ethics, and she served as the chair of the task force that was convened to review and revise the AAA’s code of ethics. Plemmons has extensive experience in research and education in the area of responsible/ethical research across disciplines, though her primary focus is anthropological practice.

Alex W. Barker has chaired the ethics committees of the American Anthropological Association and Society for American Archaeology, and served on the American Association of Museums Ethics Task Force on Cultural Property. He currently serves on the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act National Review Committee, and is past president of the Council for Museum Anthropology. An archaeologist with more than 30 years of experience in the U.S., eastern Europe, and the Mediterranean, his recent publications on ethics include All The Kings Horses: Essays on the Impact of Looting and the Illicit Antiquities Trade on our Knowledge of the Past (SAA Press), “Provenience, Provenance and Context(s)” in The Futures of Our Pasts: Ethical Implications of Collecting Antiquities in the Twenty-First Century (SAR Press), and “Exhibiting Archaeology: Archaeology and Museums” (Annual Reviews in Anthropology).

Table of Contents

Prologue: Ethics, Work, and Life—Individual Struggles and Professional "Comfort Zones" in Anthropology, Virginia R. Dominguez Chapter 1: A Short History of American Anthropological Ethics, Codes, Principles, Responsibilities—Professional and Otherwise, David H. Price Chapter 2: Revisions to the AAA Ethics Code in Current Context, Dena Plemmons Chapter 3: Bookend: Framing the Code, Dena Plemmons and Alex W. Barker Chapter 4: Do No Harm, Katherine MacKinnon Chapter 5: Be Open and Honest, David H. Price Chapter 6: Make Your Results Accessible, Alex W. Barker Chapter 7: Obtain Informed Consent, Dena Plemmons and Robert Albro Chapter 8: Balancing Competing Obligations, Nathaniel Tashima and Cathleen Crain Chapter 9: Protect and Preserve Your Records, Alex W. Barker Chapter 10: Maintain Respectful and Ethical Professional Relationships, Dena Plemmons Chapter 11: Bookend: Codes, Principles and Trimming the Tree: What’s Missing and Why?, Alex W. Barker and Dena Plemmons Chapter 12: Thoughts on Professional Diversity in Anthropology, Laura A. McNamara Afterword: Ethics as Institutional Process, Monica Heller Index About the Authors

Editorial Reviews

"In principle, our professional responsibilities are easy to recite and apply equally to us all, regardless of our organizational affiliation or specialty. For each of us, however, fulfilling these responsibilities requires thoughtful planning, resourceful problem-solving, and practiced judgment in specific situations. It is thus essential to keep the conversation going, to continue educating one another about how to do no harm, do some good, and be fair about it. This volume candidly and skillfully explains what is at stake and how we have made important choices in breathing life into ethical principles."

—Edward Liebow, AAA Executive Director

"The special contribution of this volume is that it focuses not on prescriptive ethical rules but on the continuous process of making hard ethical choices faced by all anthropologists. The book strongly emphasizes the ongoing struggles by anthropologists to work in an ethical manner within diverse settings of multiple stakeholders, contradictory values, and continuous change."

—Janet E. Levy, UNC Charlotte

From the Publisher