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| 1. Ethical Dilemmas: Visit Chapter 3 of the American Anthropological Association's "Handbook on Ethical Issues in Anthropology," which is entitled "Cases and Solutions" and edited by Sue-Ellen Jacobs (http://www.aaanet.org/committees/ethics/ch3.htm).
Read Case 1: To Medicate or Not to Medicate (http://www.aaanet.org/committees/ethics/case1.htm). What was the ethical dilemma faced by the anthropologist? What do you think of the anthropologist's decision? What do you think of the responses? What is the most ethical response in this situation?
Read Case 5: Anonymity Declined (http://www.aaanet.org/committees/ethics/case5.htm). What is the ethical dilemma the anthropologist faced? How does the anthropologist balance the wishes of the community with the accepted practices of the profession? Would you have published the real names? Move forward to Chapter 4 in the Handbook, entitled "Cases and Comments" and edited by Joan Cassell (http://www.aaanet.org/committees/ethics/ch4.htm). Read Case 17: The Case of the Damaged Baby (http://www.aaanet.org/committees/ethics/case17.htm). What are an anthropologist's legal and ethical imperatives when they have witnessed a mistake like this? What would you have done? Read Case 21 (in Chapter 4): Ethical Dilemmas and Moral Responsibilities (http://www.aaanet.org/committees/ethics/case21.htm). Ethnographers rely on the social connections they make with their informants. What should an ethnographer do when those connections are costly to the anthropologist? How should the anthropologist have handled the requests from her adoptive family? 2. A revised AAA Code of Ethics was approved in February 2009. (http://www.aaanet.org/issues/policy-advocacy/Code-of-Ethics.cfm). One of the ethical debates that lead to the revision of this Code was the 2003 creation of the Human Terrain System Project, an experimental U.S. Pentagon program that assigns anthropologists, along with other social scientists, to combat units in Iraq, Afghanistan, and beyond. The AAA officially opposed this effort, but not without sparking a strong debate regarding morality and ethics (http://www.aaanet.org/issues/AAA-Opposes-Human-Terrain-System-Project.cfm). What are the issues that the AAA gives to oppose efforts such as the Human Terrain System Project?Can you come up with a counter-argument to the AAA's position? In doing so, make sure to consider the perspective of all players involved (anthropologist, U.S. military, communities directly impacted by war, etc.) |