Collaborative Ethics: Development and Implementation

Anthropology News • January 2010 Texas continued from page 23 that human rights abuses in Texas are no less obvious or endemic, only the public focus is missing. For example, the human rights of immi- grant workers are violated when the construc- tion industry in which they are employed does not provide safe and healthy working condi- tions, fair wages and equal remuneration for work of equal value, or they are prohibited from joining trade unions and other organiza- tions or associations. The human rights of pris- oners are violated when they are not given fair trials and when they are subjected to treatment that is degrading or lacking in respect for their basic human dignity. The fundamental right to life is violated by state-sponsored execution HUMAN RIGHTS FORUM with alarming frequency. The human rights of indigenous people are violated when the state refuses to recognize their right to self- determination, and when state-sponsored proj- ects (such as the construction of a wall on the US-Mexico border) impede their cultural prac- tices and disrupt their access to traditional burial grounds and worship sites. The right of all people “to a standard of living adequate for their health and well-being… including food, clothing, housing, medical care and neces- sary social services…” is violated when thou- sands live outside under bridges and tens of thousands have no access to health care. Black and brown people, when they suffer police profiling, are suffering a human rights violation in the form of racial discrimination. In Central Texas, as in the rest of the US, human rights are violated every day. Yet, ideo- logical blinders firmly in place, we often don’t recognize them as such. Perhaps more impor- tantly, even when we do identify them, we fail to challenge the government on them, thinking strategically that it will be more effective to approach the problem in a different way. This is in part because the US has not ratified many of these international agreements on human rights, and therefore is not legally bound by them. However, human rights by definition derive from “the inherent human dignity of all people” and it is important to state that these rights exist, regardless of ratification, and that the US government has a moral obligation to respect them. By failing to do so, we let the US off the hook for its abuses, and in turn contribute to the prevailing logic that human rights violations don’t happen at home. Shannon Speed is an associate professor of anthropology at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research interests include human and indig- enous rights, gender, and activist research. She recently published Rights in Rebellion: Human Rights and Indigenous Struggle in Chiapas (Stanford U Press 2007). PUBLIC AFFAIRS Collaborative Ethics Development and Implementation Celia Emmelhainz Claire Aliki Collins Catharina Laporte Ali Krzton Texas AM it becomes living out our recognition that anthropology is truly the result of reciprocation between anthropologists and the people with whom we work in order to accomplish a multitude of goals. Over time, we realized the value of our class was not just in our course readings but also in our collective attempts to explore collab- orative methodologies through discussion. Representing three subfields in anthropology (archaeology, cultural anthropology and biolog- ical anthropology), our class reaped the bene- fits of open discussions on ethics in the context of our rapidly changing world. We believe a ETHICAL CURRENTS ship among imperialistic powers, anthropology and communities at all scales. For this reason we propose that AAA develop an ethics caucus as part of the association’s annual meeting. This caucus might replicate the method- ology of a Model United Nations conference through a formal moderated process in which groups and individuals representing all factions would enter into a dynamic and diplomatic debate on an ethical dilemma in anthropology. As with the commission’s report, the goals of an ethics caucus would be to raise ethical issues and develop consensus statements regarding ethical anthropological practice, to be circulated through AAA. Anthropologists with different perspectives could benefit from sharing and discussing the rationales behind ethical deci- sions they have faced. We also feel that collaboration is critical for the future of anthropology. In our class we discussed collaborative archaeology and the ways in which archaeologists can engage with descendant communities and local scholars collaboration-related update to the code of ethics and AAA ethics caucus are impor- tant steps in addressing the ethics of working with multiple stakeholders to respond to the challenges faced by anthropologists and host communities alike. Celia Emmelhainz, Claire Aliki Collins, Catharina Laporte and Ali Krzton are grad- uate students in anthropology at Texas A&M University. Emmelhainz studies economics, citizenship and gender among the Kazakhs of Central Asia. Collins is writing her master’s thesis on Byzantine amphora graffiti from the Black Sea. Laporte applies evolutionary theory to culture. Krzton researches primate coopera- tion and conflict. Liam Frink, of the AAA Committee on Ethics, is contributing editor of Ethical Currents. He is associate professor of anthropology at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas and can be contacted at lfrink@unlv.edu.