AAA Public Affairs

AAA Debuts New Blog Design

2009-04-16T12:42:00.001-04:00

AAA is pleased to announce the debut of our new, unified association blog, available at http://blog.aaanet.org. We have created this blog as a service to our members and the general public. It is a forum to discuss topics of debate in anthropology and a space for public commentary on association policies, publications and advocacy issues. We will post select items that we think are of interest to our members and that readers have voiced an interest in. We invite all anthropologists to use this domain to stimulate intellectual discussion, and would be delighted to host guest bloggers who are active in any of anthropology’s four fields.

The new AAA blog, available through Wordpress, combines our previous Anthropology News, Public Affairs and Human Rights blogs, with all archived content and comments migrated from Blogger to Wordpress. The updated format enables visitors to easily post comments, link to our Flickr photostream, search content, browse posts by category, find other anthropology blogs, and more. This is a living forum, and we welcome your feedback! Use the “Contact Us” bar at the top of the screen to tell us what you think of this new design and to offer content suggestions.

AAA thanks staff members Brian Estes, Lisa Myers and Dinah Winnick, and intern Leo Napper, for their work in developing this online forum. Visit the new blog today!

Note: New posts will no longer be added to the original AAA Public Affairs blog.

AAA Attends Humanities Advocacy Day

2009-04-06T15:15:00.003-04:00

AAA Executive Director Bill Davis and Director of Public Affairs Damon Dozier joined over 120 representatives and advocates from humanities-related associations to lobby and educate federal legislators on the importance of increased funding for the humanities.

Advocates distributed issue briefs, discussed humanities projects in their states and districts, and asked that members of Congress support increased funding, including an increase of $75 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) and the National Historical Publications and Records Commission (NHPRC), two agencies that provide crucial support to scholars and educators.

Davis met with staff from the offices of Senators Christopher “Kit” Bond (R-MO) and Claire McCaskill (D-MO), while Dozier met with representatives from the offices of Senators Carl Levin (D-MI) and Debbie Stabenow (D-MI). Dozier also had an opportunity to meet with staff from the office of Representative John Dingell (D-MI) as well.

As in the past, the AAA was a co-sponsor of the event, coordinated by the National Humanities Alliance, a non-profit coalition founded in 1981 to advance humanities policy.

Pulse of the Planet #9

2009-03-31T12:20:00.003-04:00

CounterPunch's "Pulse of the Planet" series kicks off 2009 with Barbara Rose Johnston's article, "Water Culture Wars." The series was initially derived from conference papers delivered at the "Pulse of the Planet" panel during AAA's 2008 annual meeting in San Francisco.

Johnston describes the controversial events that transpired at the 5th World Water Forum in Istanbul, Turkey and the recommendations that were drawn from the "water and cultural diversity" sessions. In these sessions, Johnston and other presenters stressed that "Water is a fundamental human right and a core element that sustains cultural ways of life and the environments on which we all depend." She also sheds light on how water development projects often violate human rights and lead to the displacement and impoverishment of millions, particularly ethnic minorities and indigenous peoples.

Prior Pulse of the Planet Articles:
"Ecological Crisis and Eco-Villages in China" ~ Shannon May
"How Dow Chemical Defies Homeland Security and Risks Another 9/11" ~ Brian McKenna
"The Inequities of Climate Change and the Small Island Experience" ~ Holly Barker
"What the Next President Must Do to Save FEMA" ~ Gregory V. Button
"The Clean, Green Nuclear Machine?" ~ Barbara Rose Johnston
"Carbon Offsets: More Harm Than Good?" ~ Melissa Checker
"The Human Right to Eat" ~ Joan P. Mencher
"Dam Legacies, Damned Futures" ~ Barbara Rose Johnston

Friends of the CoE Launched

2009-03-31T12:09:00.002-04:00

The Friends of the Committee on Ethics was formally launched this month. This newly established ad hoc consultative body will provide expertise and informal consultation to the membership of the AAA about ethical quandaries they may have encountered in both research and applied settings. Comprised of former chairs of the Committee on Ethics, the Friends will bring their experience and multiple perspectives to issues that merit ethical consideration. Questions for the Friends should be submitted to the Chair of the Committee on Ethics. Additional information is available on our website.

Blow to Employee Free Choice Act

2009-03-27T14:23:00.002-04:00

The Employee Free Choice Act (EFCA) of 2009 (H.R. 1409 / S. 560) suffered a critical blow this week. On Tuesday, Sen. Arlen Specter (R-PA) announced that he would not support the bill. As the only Republican to vote for the bill in 2007, Specter's vote could have been the deciding factor should the bill reach the Senate floor this year. Specter has been under enormous pressure from Republicans after voting in favor of President Obama's $800 million economic stimulus bill, but his opposition to the EFCA is likely to lose him his AFL-CIO endorsement for the midterm elections.

Politico reported that Specter's opposition has given Democrats concerned about making an enemy of Big Business an excuse to oppose the bill unless modifications are made. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) is not giving up hope and said that other Republicans may be willing to support the bill. The situation looks grim at the moment, and the EFCA may not move forward until after the 2010 midterm elections.

The EFCA is such a highly-contested piece of legislation because of its impact on the way workers can organize. The bill amends the National Labor Relations Act in the following ways:

Streamlines Union Certification
Employees will choose how to organize through “majority sign-up” procedure. Workers may now bypass the union election process if the majority of employees sign union authorization cards (i.e. card check). Workers will, however, still have the option to hold elections and secret ballots should 30% opt for this route.

Facilitates Collective Bargaining Agreements
Parties will meet within 10 days of receiving a written request to establish a union, and will have 90 days to sign a collective bargaining agreement. A federal arbitrator will help mediate the agreement should the parties fail to establish a contract after 90 days. If federal mediation does not result in an agreement then a federal arbitration panel shall create a two-year contract that both sides must accept.

Strengthens Enforcement
An employer that discriminates against an employee while (s)he is seeking union representation shall be subject to a fine of up to $20,000 per violation. The employee will also receive three times in back pay should they be illegally dismissed in relation to union activity.

In 2007, the AAA's Committee on Public Policy (CoPP) produced a policy brief [pdf] highlighting anthropological research on labor issues relevant to the EFCA. CoPP wrote, "Anthropology provides sound evidence for the premises of The Employee Free Choice Act, namely that current organizing processes do not allow employees to express their desire to join unions because: 1) there are insufficient disincentives to managerial lawbreaking in its resistance to unions; and 2) management uses tactics of intimidation and fear to coerce workers to vote against unions."

NEH Action Alert

2009-03-26T11:40:00.002-04:00

ACTION ALERT-PLEASE CIRCULATE
The Co-Chairs of the Congressional Humanities Caucus, Rep. David Price (D-NC) and Rep. Thomas Petri (R-WI), have prepared a Dear Colleague letter in support of $230 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities in fiscal year 2010. The letter is currently circulating in the House of Representatives to garner additional co-signers. Please call your member of Congress and ask him/her to show their support for the humanities by signing the letter before it is submitted on April 1, 2009 to Chairman Norm Dicks (D-WA) and Ranking Member Michael Simpson (R-ID) of the Interior, Environment, & Related Agencies Appropriations Subcommittee. A list of members who have already agreed to sign the letter is provided below.

Please contact your Representative today by calling the Capitol Switchboard at (202) 224-3121. Visit http://www.house.gov/ to use your zip code to identify your Member of Congress.

A copy of the Price/Petri letter is online at http://www.nhalliance.org/bm~doc/fy10neh_dc_signed90.pdf [pdf].

SAMPLE MESSAGE FOR CALLERS
I am calling to ask that Representative X sign on to a Dear Colleague letter currently circulating in the House of Representatives by the Co-Chairs of the Congressional Humanities Caucus, Rep. David Price (D-NC) and Rep. Thomas Petri (R-WI). The letter requests $230 million for the National Endowment for the Humanities in fiscal year 2010, an increase of approximately $75 million over the fiscal year 2009 enacted level. This increase is necessary to address essential unmet needs in humanities education and research. Support is needed to introduce or expand programs in areas such as international education and global society perspectives, digital humanities projects, graduate education, and data collection and dissemination on the state of the humanities.

For more information or to sign-on to the letter, House staff should contact Kate Roetzer with Rep. David Price at 202-225-1784 (Democrats) or Lindsay Punzenberger with Rep. Thomas Petri at 202-225-5406 (Republicans). The deadline to sign the letter is one week from today, Wednesday, April 1.

NEH DEAR COLLEAGUE LETTER CO-SIGNERS (as of noon, 3/25/09)
Shelley Berkley (D-NV/1), Howard Berman (D-CA/28), Mike Capuano (D-MA/8), John Conyers (D-MI/14), Bill Delahunt (D-MA/10), John Dingell (D-MI/15), Jim Gerlach (R-PA/6), Raul Grijalva (D-AZ/7), Rush Holt (D-NJ/12), Eddie Bernice Johnson (D-TX/30), Jim Langevin (D-RI/2), John Lewis (D-GA/5), Dave Loebsack (D-ID/2), Carolyn Maloney (D-NY/14), Jim McDermott (D-WA/7), Jim McGovern (D-MA/3), Jerry McNerney (D-CA/11), Michael Michaud (D-ME/2), Dennis Moore (D-KS/3), Jerrold Nadler (D-NY/8), Nick Rahall (D-WV/3), Bobby Rush (D-IL/1), Mike Thompson (D-CA/1), Robert Wexler (D-FL/19), David Wu (D-OR/1), John Yarmouth (D-KY/3)

AAA Joins Call to End “Ideological Exclusion”

2009-03-19T15:49:00.001-04:00

AAA is one of several academic, free-speech, and civil-rights organizations to sign a letter to top officials in the Obama administration urging them to end the federal government’s practice of denying visas to foreign intellectuals based on ideology.
The letter–addressed to Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, Attorney General Eric H. Holder Jr., and Secretary of Homeland Security Janet Napolitano–argues that the State and Homeland Security Departments have compromised U.S. interests by barring dozens of prominent scholars, artists, writers, and activists over the past eight years based on their ideas, political views, and associations. The full text of the letter to Attorney General Holder and Secretaries Clinton and Napolitano is available online at: http://www.aclu.org/images/general/asset_upload_file609_39050.pdf [pdf]

A petition for individuals to sign has also been made available at https://secure.aclu.org/site/SPageServer?pagename=Nat_Petition_Ideological_Exclusion. Please circulate the petition to anyone you think might be interested.

Employing Anthropologists

2009-03-03T12:02:00.001-05:00

Genevieve Bell, Director of User Experience in Intel's Digital Home Group, helps Intel account for the cultural nuances in countries they provide services to, CNN reported. She is one of a rising number of anthropologists who are developing marketing strategies, studying consumer practices, and researching workplace environments for technology companies. Bell has been working for Intel since 1998, proving that anthropologists, and social scientists in general, have been instrumental in developing marketing strategies for many fortune 500 companies. Anthropologists are likely to be enlisted by a growing number of corporations as digital networks and cultures become increasingly prominent and influential in business and politics. How do you think this will affect the discipline and conduct of fieldwork?

~Author: Leo Napper, AAA intern

Fighting for Academic Freedom

2009-03-03T11:41:00.003-05:00

The Chronicle recently reported on the limits of academic freedom for public university professors. Kevin J. Renken, an associate professor of mechanical engineering at the University of Wisconsin, found this out the hard way. He believed that administrators at the university were mishandling a National Science Foundation grant awarded to him and many of his colleagues. Upon bringing this to light, the university reduced his pay and returned the grant. Outraged at the university’s actions, he sued them alleging illegal retaliation.

Believing that his complaints fell under free speech, he was floored when the three-judge panel of the Seventh Circuit Court ruled that he was not speaking in a capacity that protected him from such retaliatory action. The court ruled that "In order for a public employee to raise a successful First Amendment claim, he must have spoken in his capacity as a private citizen and not as an employee."

In response to this news, the American Association of University Professors (AAUP) has established a panel of First Amendment scholars to find new avenues to protect academic freedoms at public institutions. The AAUP has also issued a 1940 Statement of Principles on Academic Freddom and Tenure to which the AAA, and over 200 other scholarly and education organizations, has endorsed. However, some people agree with the court’s ruling. Ada Meloy of the American Council on Education says “the cases, to date, have not created any apparent injustices. ... Public-college employees do enjoy First Amendment rights, but that should not turn every case of employee discipline or discharge into a retaliation lawsuit."

Academic freedoms are enjoyed by academics nationwide, but threats arise every year that endanger these freedoms. Was the University of Wisconsin right to take such action against Professor Renken? Did the courts have the right idea with their ruling on the case? What precautions have you taken to avoid such situations when critiquing university policies or actions?

~Author: Leo Napper, AAA intern

Immigration Listening Tour

2009-02-24T16:45:00.005-05:00

The Congressional Hispanic Caucus (CHC) is renewing its efforts to bring about immigration reform, the Hill reported earlier this month. The CHC will launch a 17 city listening tour where attendees can hear first-hand accounts of individual experiences within the American immigration system. Supporters of reform legislation believe the Democratic majority in Congress and broad support of reform among voters will help them pass legislation. Republican opposition to immigration reform is also reported to have undermined their party’s support among Hispanics, and Republicans may be pressured to vote in favor of reform, particularly in swing districts.

There are, of course, serious obstacles to passing such legislation. The opposition of some labor groups and increasing intolerance for the estimated 7 million illegal workers in the US as unemployment rates reach their highest in years may stifle reform efforts.

Listening Tour Schedule:
February 27, Providence, RI
February 28, Atlanta, GA
March 1, Albuquerque, NM
March 7, Ontario, CA
March 7, San Francisco, CA
March 8, Phoenix, AZ
March 13 El Paso, TX
March 13, Los Angeles, CA*
March 14, Dallas, TX
March 15, Mission, TX
March 21, Chicago, IL
March 21, Joliet, IL
March 22, Milwaukee, WI
March 27, Las Vegas, NV
March 28, Orlando, FL
March 29, Miami, FL
April 4, Philadelphia, PA

US to Provide Family Planning Assistance

2009-02-12T11:09:00.003-05:00

President Barack Obama has taken quick action to reverse many of Bush’s policies. The Nation reported that Obama has lifted the “global gag rule,” which prevented the US government from providing aid to any organizations that fostered, provided or advised women about abortion. The gag rule, once rescinded by Bill Clinton, was reinstated by George Bush, who also decreased assistance to the United Nations Population Fund, the largest global provider of family planning assistance.

Task Force Assembled for the Comprehensive Ethics Review

2009-02-12T10:19:00.003-05:00

In light of the specificity of the proposed changes to Triple A’s Code of Ethics, the Executive Board (EB) has determined that a more comprehensive review of the entire code is warranted. The EB has convened a task force to undertake such a review over the next two years. The task force, composed of members of the Committee on Ethics and members chosen by the EB, includes Alec Barker, Charles Briggs, Katie MacKinnon, Catherine Panter-Brink, Laura McNamara, Deborah Nichols, David Price, Dhooleka Raj, Niel Tashima, and the chair Dena Plemmons. The task force will issue its final report to the EB by November 15, 2010.

IAF Fellowships for Dissertation Research

2009-01-05T14:54:00.003-05:00

The Inter-American Foundation (IAF) is accepting applications for its 2009-10 fellowship cycle.

Deadline: Jan. 16, 2009

IAF fellowships support dissertation research in Latin America and the Caribbean by students who have achieved PhD candidacy in the US.

Topics of interest to the IAF include the following:
- Organizations promoting grassroots development among poor and disadvantaged people
- Financial sustainability and independence of development organizations
- Trends affecting historically excluded groups
- Transnational development
- The role of corporate responsibility in grassroots development
- The impact of globalization on grassroots development
- The impact of grassroots development activities on the quality of life of the poor

The fellowship includes:
- Round-trip travel to the research site
- Research allowance of $3,000
- $1,500 monthly stipend for 12 months
- Health insurance
- Mid-year conference expenses

Task Force Named for Comprehensive Ethics Review

2008-12-30T13:58:00.002-05:00

As the membership is aware, there have been recent revisions to the AAA's Code of Ethics, in response to a motion put forward at the business meeting of the AAA in 2007. The revisions, on which the membership is now being asked to vote, were specific to only a few sections of the code, and consisted of a very few sentences. In light of the specificity of those revisions, the Executive Board has determined that a more comprehensive review of the entire Code of Ethics is warranted. The EB has convened a task force to undertake such a review over the next two years. The official charge is:

"The Executive Board recommends the formation of a Task Force to review and propose revisions to the AAA Code of Ethics, which: (a) will consist of three (3) members of the Committee on Ethics and five (5) additional members to be chosen by the President in consultation with the Executive Board and the Task Force Chair; (b) be authorized to review the Code of Ethics for a period of no longer than 18 months, and (c) consult extensively over a period of no less than six months with relevant AAA committees and commissions, the Section Assembly, the membership at large and others through presentations and panel discussions at the 2009 annual meeting and articles and reports in Anthropology News. The new code is subject to approval by the Executive Board before being submitted for approval to the AAA membership by email ballot. This Task Force will issue its final report to the Executive Board by Nov. 15, 2010."

Task Force members have been selected and can be viewed here.

Minerva Moves Forward

2008-12-30T12:44:00.003-05:00

According to Inside Higher Ed, the first seven Minerva grants were announced this week. Minerva is a Pentagon-funded program that seeks contributions from social scientists on a number of topics of use to the military: religion, terrorism, the Chinese military, etc. The stated goals of the program are “1) to develop the DoD’s social and human science intellectual capital in order to enhance its ability to address future challenges; 2) to enhance the DoD’s engagement with the social science community; and 3) to deepen the understanding of the social and behavioral dimensions of national security issues.”

Hugh Gusterson and Catherine Lutz of the Network of Concerned Anthropologists are featured in the article, and detail some of the implications the program might pose to the social sciences.

Have thoughts about the Minerva program? If so, leave us a comment below.

Links:
NSF/DoD Minerva Joint Solicitation

AAA letter regarding Minerva [pdf]

"Military's Social Science Grants Raise Alarm" ~ Washington Post

"When Professors Go to War" ~ Hugh Gusterson

"Pentagon Shift on 'Minerva'" ~ Inside Higher Ed

"Anthropology Association Urges Government to Tread Cautiously With 'Minerva' Project" ~ The Chronicle of Higher Education

"Academics Target Pentagon's Social Science Project" ~ Wired's Danger Room,

"AAA Issues Statement on Minerva" ~ Savage Minds

DoD Defense Bloggers Roundtable Regarding Minerva [pdf]

Obama Names Science & Technology Advisers

2008-12-23T12:13:00.004-05:00

President-elect Obama named four top science and technology advisers over the weekend, while highlighting the importance of restoring science as one of America's top priorities. In his weekly radio broadcast, Obama said, “promoting science isn’t just about providing resources, it’s about protecting free and open inquiry. It’s about ensuring that facts and evidence are never twisted or obscured by politics or ideology. It’s about listening to what our scientists have to say, even when it’s inconvenient—-especially when it’s inconvenient--because the highest purpose of science is the search for knowledge, truth, and greater understanding of the world around us. That will be my goal as President of the United States, and I could not have a better team to guide me in this work.” These are encouraging words, and we sincerely hope that his team will act quickly to change policies governing important environmental and medical issues.

As part of Obama’s new advisory team, John Holdren, a physicist and environmental policy professor at Harvard, will direct the White House Office of Science and Technology. Jane Lubchenco, a marine biologist at Oregon State University, will lead the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. Nobel Prize-winning cancer researcher Harold Varmus and genomic researcher Eric Lander will also join Obama's team of science advisers.

Chicago's Arne Duncan Nominated as Education Secretary

2008-12-17T14:32:00.005-05:00

Arne Duncan is President-elect Obama's choice for Secretary of Education. Duncan has administered Chicago's public-school system for the past seven years and is credited with increasing enrollment opportunities, raising test scores, and replacing ineffective teachers. According to the NY Times, "He argued that the nation's schools needed to be held accountable for student progress, but also needed major new investments, new talent and new teacher-training efforts." Duncan's position straddles the two major camps of American educators, and he often strives for compromise between opposing parties. He also helped draft Obama's education platform which emphasizes investments in early childhood education, teacher recruitment, performance-based teacher pay initiatives, training of principals, and the importance of science and math.

Are you satisfied with Obama's choice? How do you think Duncan could address the problems facing higher education? Your comments are welcome.

Steven Chu Nominated as Energy Secretary

2008-12-16T10:23:00.005-05:00

President-elect Barack Obama recently nominated Nobel-Prize winning physicist Steven Chu to be Secretary of Energy. Chu has a firm understanding of science policy, climate change, research and energy issues, and we are hopeful that he will revitalize scientific funding and research. Please visit Chu's brief interview with Science Debate 2008 for his thoughts on the role that science has to play in US prosperity.

Pulse of the Planet #8

2008-12-02T11:26:00.004-05:00

The next op-ed in CounterPunch's ongoing "Pulse of the Planet" series is Shannon May's "Ecological Crisis and Eco-Villages in China." The series is derived from conference papers that were delivered at the "Pulse of the Planet" panel during AAA's 2008 annual meeting in San Francisco.

In her article, May evaluates an initiative to construct a carbon-neutral sustainable housing development in rural China while bridging the urban-rural economic divide. Her research highlights how government leaders and designers failed to consider the ways in which local rural populations subsist. As a result, income generated from aquaculture and cashmere fiber suffered under the project. A substantial portion of income was also wasted on heating homes during winter, a season when local families have time to provide heating for themselves. May writes, "There is no environmental policy that is not at the same time an economic policy." Global sustainability and development goals can be reached without reinforcing the urban-rural divide, but, in order to do so, eco-friendly projects must first take into account the needs, values, and livelihoods of local populations.

Prior Pulse of the Planet Articles:
"How Dow Chemical Defies Homeland Security and Risks Another 9/11" ~ Brian McKenna
"The Inequities of Climate Change and the Small Island Experience" ~ Holly Barker
"What the Next President Must Do to Save FEMA" ~ Gregory V. Button
"The Clean, Green Nuclear Machine?" ~ Barbara Rose Johnston
"Carbon Offsets: More Harm Than Good?" ~ Melissa Checker
"The Human Right to Eat" ~ Joan P. Mencher
"Dam Legacies, Damned Futures" ~ Barbara Rose Johnston

Pulse of the Planet #7

2008-12-01T16:45:00.005-05:00

CounterPunch's Pulse of the Planet Series Returns with Brian McKenna's article, "How Dow Chemical Defies Homeland Security and Risks Another 9/11." The series is derived from the "Pulse of the Planet" panel that was recently held at the 2008 AAA annual meeting in San Francisco.

McKenna details how Dow Chemical has manipulated U.S. politics to its own advantage and the impact that this has had upon the health and security of our nation. He also describes the role of Dow Chemical in two international events that parallel the destruction wrought on 9/11. McKenna urges President-elect Obama to revive the "Chemical Security and Safety Act" (S.2486) of 2006 and join with labor and environmental groups in calling for: "safer and more secure chemicals and processes..., allow states to set more protective security standards if they so wish, require collaboration between the Department of Homeland Security, the EPA and other agencies to circumvent regulatory redundancy, and dramatically protect the rights of industry whistleblowers."

2008 Annual Meeting Press Coverage

2008-11-25T16:09:00.008-05:00

We'd like to thank all those who made the trek out to San Francisco for our 2008 annual meeting. The following stories detail some of the panels and meetings to occur during the meeting:

Inside Higher Ed
Raised Eyebrows over Keynote Choice (Nov. 26) [tangential to AAA meeting]
Fieldwork with Three Children (Nov. 25)
Anthropological Engagement, for Good and for Bad? (Nov. 24)
Ethics and Militarization Dominate Anthropology Meeting (Nov. 21)
Anthropologists Consider Notions of 'Community' in Education (Nov. 20)

The Chronicle of Higher Education [subscription required]
Anthropologists to Vote on New Ethical Rules on Work With Military (Nov. 24)
Anthropology Association Moves Toward Adopting Rules on Military Engagement (Nov. 21)

San Francisco Unzipped
SF Style Philes: The American Anthropological Association Annual Meeting

Science & Religion Today [blog]
Dispatch from the AAA Annual Meeting (Nov. 24)

Savage Minds [blog]
AAAs 2008 Wrap Up (Nov. 24)

Anthropologi.info
What Happened at the AAA Meeting in San Francisco (Nov. 27)

Readers are encouraged to share their thoughts about the annual meeting, including any areas that could use improvement, in our comment section.

Pulse of the Planet #6

2008-11-06T14:05:00.004-05:00

Holly Barker's "The Inequities of Climate Change and the Small Island Experience" was recently published by CounterPunch as part of their ongoing "Pulse of the Planet" series. We encourage our readers to attend the Invited Session, "Pulse of the Planet - Human Rights, Environment and Social Justice in the 21st Century," at the AAA annual meeting. The session will be held on Saturday, Nov. 22, 2008.

In her article, Barker highlights the vulnerability of Small Island Developing States (SIDS) to the effects of climate change, especially rising sea-levels and the increase in violent storms and hurricanes. SIDS are vulnerable because of their "small size, isolation, limited fresh water and other natural resources, fragile economies, often dense populations, poorly developed infrastructures, limited financial and human resources and exposure to extreme weather events." Nations most responsible for climate change, particularly the US, are sheltered from its effects and need to increase their efforts to preserve SIDS, reduce carbon emissions, and invest in alternative energies.

Prior Pulse of the Planet Articles:
"What the Next President Must Do to Save FEMA" ~ Gregory V. Button
"The Clean, Green Nuclear Machine?" ~ Barbara Rose Johnston
"Carbon Offsets: More Harm Than Good?" ~ Melissa Checker
"The Human Right to Eat" ~ Joan P. Mencher
"Dam Legacies, Damned Futures" ~ Barbara Rose Johnston

Pulse of the Planet #5

2008-11-03T12:29:00.004-05:00

Gregory V. Button's "What the Next President Must Do to Save FEMA" is the next installment of CounterPunch's "Pulse of the Planet" series. The series is derived from conference papers that will be delivered at the "Pulse of the Planet" panel during AAA's 2008 annual meeting in San Francisco.
Button details the history of the Federal Emergency Agency and the circumstances that led to its inability to prepare for and respond to catastrophic events. He writes, "We need a policy that would require significant increased funding for FEMA's dual approach and we need to insure that funding earmarked for disasters is not secretly funneled into fighting terrorism as has been the case under the current administration."

Prior Pulse of the Planet Articles:
"The Clean, Green Nuclear Machine?" ~ Barbara Rose Johnston
"Carbon Offsets: More Harm Than Good?" ~ Melissa Checker
"The Human Right to Eat" ~ Joan P. Mencher
"Dam Legacies, Damned Futures" ~ Barbara Rose Johnston

Pulse of the Planet #4

2008-11-03T12:04:00.003-05:00

Barbara Rose Johnston was featured in CounterPunch once again as part of its ongoing "Pulse of the Planet" series. The series is derived from conference papers that will be delivered at the "Pulse of the Planet" panel during AAA's 2008 annual meeting. In her op-ed, "The Clean, Green Nuclear Machine?" Johnston questions the ability of nuclear energy to solve our energy, economic, and environmental problems by highlighting the unexpected health, stewardship, ecological, and development costs of nuclear plants and waste.

Prior Pulse of the Planet Articles:
"Carbon Offsets: More Harm Than Good?" ~ Melissa Checker
"The Human Right to Eat" ~ Joan P. Mencher
"Dam Legacies, Damned Futures" ~ Barbara Rose Johnston

US & Iraq to Step Up Cultural Preservation Efforts

2008-10-21T12:16:00.003-04:00

The NY Times reported that the US and Iraq have launched a $14 million program to help preserve Iraq's cultural heritage. Funds will be used to "create a conservation and historic preservation institute in Erbil, help refurbish the Iraqi National Museum and train museum employees." This is a significant step forward in efforts to cultivate and preserve Iraq's cultural heritage. The US will also continue its efforts to recover thousands of artifacts that were looted from Iraq's National Museum in 2003.

US Senate Ratifies Agreement to Protect Cultural Resources

2008-10-21T09:55:00.002-04:00

On September 25, 2008, the US Senate voted to become party to the 1954 Hague Convention on the Protection of Cultural Property in the Event of Armed Conflict. The 1954 Hague Convention was drafted by a host of nations, including the United States, following the rampant cultural destruction that occurred in Europe during World War II. The indiscriminate destruction wrought by German forces demonstrated the need for a new instrument to protect cultural property during military conflict and occupation. As a result of the affirmative vote of the Senate, the US will join 121 other nations in stressing the importance of protecting our world’s cultural heritage.

The Convention establishes terms meant to ensure the continued preservation of archaeological sites, historical structures, works of art, scientific collections and other forms of cultural property. These terms compel nations to curtail the theft and vandalism of artifacts, help preserve cultural property when occupying foreign territory, and avoid the targeting and use of cultural sites for military purposes.

The AAA was invited to sign onto written testimony in support of the ratification. The testimony—originally submitted by the Lawyer’s Committee for Cultural Heritage Preservation, the Archaeological Institute of America, and the US Committee for the Blue Shield in July, 2008 before the Senate Foreign Relations Committee—reinforces AAA’s commitment to the preservation and protection of items of cultural and historical importance. The AAA has been engaged in cultural property issues over the years, and recently issued statements regarding the Iraq Cultural Heritage Protection Act and the National Historic Preservation Act.

Although the US is already party to the 1907 Hague Convention (IV) respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land and its Annex, ratification of the 1954 Convention further delimits the responsibilities of the US military, reinforces our nation’s commitment to cultural preservation, encourages the identification of cultural property, and improves our foreign relations. Such steps are crucial given the current military climate in the Middle East and the looting of the Iraq National Museum.

The written statement presented to the Senate may be downloaded here.

Readers may also view the text of the 1954 Hague Convention here.

AAA Statement on 1954 Hague Convention

AAA Supports Call for Hearings on the Protection of Native American Sacred Sites

2008-10-20T16:32:00.004-04:00

AAA wrote to the Committee on Indian Affairs requesting that hearings be held on the protection of Native American sacred sites. Hearings about the efforts of federal agencies to cooperate and consult with Tribes would help alleviate concerns expressed by Native Americans that their voices are falling upon deaf ears. We hope that federal agencies, tribal nations, and native rights organizations will receive equal representation should any hearings occur.

AAA Supports Travelers' Privacy Legislation

2008-10-20T16:20:00.005-04:00

In addition to a letter sent to Representative Zoe Lofgren in support of her ‘electronic device privacy act of 2008,’ association President Setha Low sent letters to the House Committee on the Judiciary and the Senate Committee on Homeland Security and Governmental Affairs to express support for Lofgren’s legislation, as well as similar legislation by Representative Adam Smith of Washington and Senator Russ Feingold of Wisconsin.

Back in April of this year, the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that federal officials—-namely, Custom and Border agents—-can “randomly” search and seize electronic information stored on laptop computers, cameras, cell phones, MP3 players, and other devices without “reasonable suspicion.” This poses obvious risks to anthropologists and their research participants.

We are hoping to get bills that will prevent such border searches on the legislative calendar for 2009, and encourage our readers to contact their Congressperson to express concern about this issue. In the meantime, we advise anthropologists to code all identifiable information, delete electronic information that could be used to identify or harm participants, encrypt any sensitive data, store research in a secure online database, and/or send data electronically instead of carrying it across borders.

Members should contact the AAA if they have been subject to a search without cause for reasonable suspicion.

Statement of Concerned Scholars about Islamophobia in the 2008 U. S. Election Campaign

2008-10-14T15:50:00.004-04:00

Over 75 scholars of Islam and Muslim societies have released a bipartisan statement concerning the unfortunate level of Islamophobia in the current U.S. election campaign, including the false claim that Senator Obama is a stealth Muslim and the widespread distribution in key swing states of a propagandic film which equates Islam with Nazism.

Those hoping to sign onto the statement should contact Dr. Daniel Varisco, Chair and Professor of Anthropology at Hofstra University, through the blog Tabsir, www.tabsir.net

"Open Access" to American Anthropologist & Anthropology News

2008-10-06T15:00:00.006-04:00

In a groundbreaking move aimed at facilitating greater access for the global social science and anthropological communities to 86 years of classic, historic research articles, the Executive Board of the American Anthropological Association announced today that it will provide, free of charge, unrestricted content previously published in two if its flagship publications – American Anthropologist and Anthropology News.

The initiative, among the first of its kind in the humanities- and social science-based publishing environment and made in coordination with publishing partner Wiley-Blackwell, will provide access to these materials for the purposes of personal, educational and other non-commercial uses after a thirty-five year period.

Starting in 2009, content published from 1888 to 1973, will be available through AnthroSource, the premier online resource serving the research, teaching, and professional needs of anthropologists. Previously, this information was only available via AAA association membership, subscription or on a so-called “pay per view” basis.

“This historic move, initiated by the needs and desires of our worldwide constituency, is our association’s pointed answer to the call for open access to our publications. This program, I believe, is an important first step in answering the call to un-gating anthropological knowledge,” AAA Executive Director Bill Davis said in a statement issued today.

The initiative, which will be re-evaluated by internal AAA committees in the next year (the Committee on Scientific Publication as advised by the Committee for the Future of Electronic Publishing), may be expanded in the future.

“Our Association is committed to the widespread dissemination of anthropological knowledge,” notes Oona Schmid, AAA Director of Publishing “and our Executive Board is acting to support this goal in two ways: supporting the sustainability of our publishing program and facilitating access to more than eight decades of studies and content in the discipline.”

The official press release is available here [pdf].

Call for Papers: Imagined Communities, Real Conflicts, and National Identities

2008-10-06T14:15:00.003-04:00

"Imagined Communities, Real Conflicts, and National Identities"
14th Annual World Convention of the Association for the Study of Nationalities (ASN)
April 23-25, 2009
Columbia University, NY

The ASN Convention, the most attended international and inter- disciplinary scholarly gathering of its kind, welcomes proposals on a wide range of topics related to national identity, nationalism, ethnic conflict, state-building and the study of empires in Central/Eastern Europe, the former Soviet Union, the Balkans, Eurasia, and adjacent areas.

Submissions are due by November 5, 2008.

The official call is available here [pdf].

Call for Papers: Frontiers of Canadian Migration

2008-10-06T11:42:00.002-04:00

Frontiers of Canadian Migration
March 19-22, 2009
Calgary, Alberta, Canada

New trends in migration call for renewed thinking about local, regional and national policies for immigration and integration. The conference will bring together researchers, policy-makers and community practitioners to explore the frontiers of research and practice in six policy priority areas:
1) Citizenship and Social, Cultural and Civic Integration;
2) Economic and Labour Market Integration;
3) Family, Children and Youth;
4) Housing and Neighbourhoods;
5) Justice, Policing and Security ; and
6) Welcoming Communities: The Role of the Host Communities in Attracting, Integrating and Retaining Newcomers and Minorities.

Submissions are due by Nov. 15, 2008.

Minerva in the News

2008-09-25T16:39:00.003-04:00

Times Higher Education picked up an article featured in Anthropology Today. The article details some of the major concerns about the Minerva Research Initiative and the effects it could have upon the discipline as a whole. As always, we welcome your comments and thoughts on this issue.

Proposed Changes to the AAA Code of Ethics

2008-09-24T13:44:00.005-04:00

Dear AAA Member:

After a nine-month long process of review, consultation and outreach to a number of AAA members, groups, commissions and committees, the Executive Board recently voted to adopt changes to the association’s Code of Ethics and to forward these revisions to the membership at large for a vote. This complex process began a month after the AAA Business Meeting and was concluded last Friday during the third teleconference held by the Executive Board for this purpose.

I thought it was important to send you the details of this lengthy and complicated process; therefore, the full text of the original motions from the November 30, 2007 AAA Business Meeting that initiated this revision of the ethics code, a summary of the consultation process including the committees, subcommittees, commissions and appointed individuals who worked on various drafts and the text of the proposed revision finally passed by the Executive Board are attached. The next step is to circulate this proposed revision widely and provide adequate time for the Section Assembly, Sections, and all AAA members to discuss and debate the proposed new wording. I expect that this discussion will occupy much of the AAA website blog, the Business Meeting and panels and meetings in San Francisco. After the annual meeting and the aforementioned period of discussion and debate, an email ballot will be sent out asking you to vote yea or nay on this proposal.

As part of this process, the Executive Board became increasingly aware that trying to reword only one part of the Code of Ethics was difficult in terms of the whole document. Further, during the consultation process many people and groups suggested that a broad review and revision is necessary. The Executive Board, therefore, is currently working on a motion to establish a process to revise the entire Code of Ethics over a two year period to be completed by November 2010. I will share this motion with you as soon as it is complete.

As your President, I am pleased to have the opportunity to serve you and am also proud of the thoughtful, deliberate and profound input the Executive Board received during the course of this process. I very much look forward to serving you over the next year, and eagerly await seeing you in San Francisco this November.

Best,

Setha Low

President

American Anthropological Association

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BACKGROUND

At the most recent AAA Annual Business Meeting, held in November of 2007, a resolution introduced by Terry Turner was passed by the membership. The resolution directed the AAA Executive Board to restore certain sections of the 1971 version of the code of ethics in order to, in the words of the sponsor, “[affirm] the importance of transparency and openness in anthropological research and the need for anthropological knowledge to circulate freely.” The full text of the resolution appears below:

WHEREAS the 1971 AAA Code of Ethics (“Principles of Professional Responsibility”) contained clear language affirming the importance of transparency and openness in anthropological research and the need for anthropological knowledge to circulate freely (including to those studied); and

WHEREAS this language was weakened in the 1998 AAA Code of Ethics; and

WHEREAS the heightened involvement of anthropologists with U.S. military and intelligence institutions increases the danger that anthropological knowledge will be used to harm those we study and to impede the free circulation of anthropological knowledge; and

WHEREAS the final report of the AAA Commission on the Engagement of U.S. Anthropology with the U.S. Security and Intelligence communities recommends that “the Ethics Committee or general membership should consider reinstating former language from the 1971 CoE (sections 1.g, 2.a, 3.a and 6)” (p.25);

Be it moved that the AAA restore sections 1.g, 2.a, 3.a and 6 from the 1971 ethics code, to wit:

1.g “In accordance with the Association's general position on clandestine and secret research, no reports should be provided to sponsors that are not also available to the general public and, where practicable, to the population studied.”

2.a “He should not communicate findings secretly to some and withhold them from others.”

3.a “He should undertake no secret research or any research whose results cannot be freely derived and publicly reported.”

6 “In relation with his own government and with host governments, the research anthropologists should be honest and candid. He should demand assurance that he will not be required to compromise his professional responsibilities and ethics as a condition of their permission to pursue research. Specifically, no secret research, no secret reports or debriefings of any kind should be agreed to or given. If these matters are clearly understood in advance, serious complications and misunderstandings can generally be avoided.”

A related motion, introduced by John Kelly, directed the Executive Board to report to the membership if a decision was not made to restore, in total, the language proposed in the Turner motion. The full text of that motion appears below:

Whereas we understand that the by-laws of our association do not require the Board of the AAA to respect our declared will in the matter of restoring the anti-secrecy clauses to our ethics code, as in other prior cases of motions without notice,

be it resolved first, that we resent and resist any and all efforts to transform the call into a mere invitation to discuss the secrecy clauses,

and second, that if the Executive Committee chooses any alterative to reinstating the 1971 secrecy language, we ask them to explain their anti-democratic decisions to us very carefully.

On January 20, 2008, the AAA Executive Board passed a resolution asking the Committee on Ethics to draft a revised version of the ethics code that “incorporates the principles of the Turner motion while stipulating principles…that identify when the ethical conduct of anthropology does and does not require specific forms of the public circulation of knowledge.” The relevant portions of the EB ballot appear below:

That the Committee on Ethics draft, for the consideration of the EB, a revised version of the Ethics Code that (I) incorporates the principle of the Turner motion while (ii) stipulating principles--themselves compatible with and/or following from the principles in Sections II and III in the existing Code of Ethics--that identify when the ethical conduct of anthropology does and does not require specific forms of the public circulation of knowledge.

The Executive Board further requests that the Committee on Ethics, in preparing these draft revisions, give due attention to the discussion of these issues in the report of the Ad Hoc Commission on Engagement of Anthropology in US Security and Intelligence Communities. The Executive Board further requests that the Committee on Ethics advise the EB on the effects of adopting such a proposal, with special focus on identifying for anthropologists what sorts of research and reporting practices would be considered unethical conduct if its draft proposal were incorporated into a revised Ethics Code. Finally, the Executive Board requests that the Ethics Committee prepare its response to this directive by April 1.

The Executive Board also passed a motion to add four invited guests to the Committee on Ethics to assist in the development of a revised version of the Code of Ethics; these four guests are Jeffrey Altschul, Agustin Fuentes, Merrill Singer, and David Price. Another three guests were invited after the first conference call, Inga Treitler, Nathaniel Tashima, and Noel Chrisman.

On March 7, the Committee on Ethics held its first teleconference to discuss how best to proceed on the Turner resolution and the subsequent charge from the Executive Board. Those participating from the Committee on Ethics included Alec Barker, Katie MacKinnon, Dena Plemmons, Dhooleka Raj, and those from the “ad hoc” advisory group of four included Jeff Altschul, Agustín Fuentes, Merrill Singer and David Price. A discussion of the process they agreed to follow in revising the Ethics Code was submitted to the Executive Board on May 3.

Subsequently, the group met by teleconference on two occasions after May 3, 2008 and extensively discussed, debated and revised the proposed language through a series of emails. The group then submitted June 16 proposed changes to the code, making several unanimous recommendations and offering majority and minority opinions surrounding issues around the dissemination of certain types of materials and findings.

On June 16 the Committee on Ethics issued its report to a newly formed subcommittee of the Executive Board created to deal with potential code revisions. The subcommittee (consisting of TJ Ferguson, Monica Heller, Tom Leatherman, Deborah Nichols, Gwen Mikell and Ed Liebow) examined the Committee on Ethics report and solicited the input of the Committee on Ethics; the Commission of the Engagement of Anthropology with the US Security and Intelligence Communities; the Committee on Practicing, Applied and Public Interest Anthropology; and the Network of Concerned Anthropologists, asking these groups to advise before making its own recommendations to the larger Executive Board. After examining the input of these groups, the EB subcommittee forwarded its recommendations to the entire Executive Board August 8.

Subsequent to these activities, AAA President Setha Low reached out to a number of stakeholders to solicit their input. The Executive Board met by telephone conference twice and after further consultation approved a final version of the Code of Ethics on September 19, 2008.

------------------------------------

Due to the formatting limitations of blogspot.com, new language appears in bracketed italics; removed language appears in bold text.

Code of Ethics
of the American Anthropological Association
Approved June 1998

I. Preamble

Anthropological researchers, teachers and practitioners are members of many different communities, each with its own moral rules or codes of ethics. Anthropologists have moral obligations as members of other groups, such as the family, religion, and community, as well as the profession. They also have obligations to the scholarly discipline, to the wider society and culture, and to the human species, other species, and the environment. Furthermore, fieldworkers may develop close relationships with persons or animals with whom they work, generating an additional level of ethical considerations.

In a field of such complex involvements and obligations, it is inevitable that misunderstandings, conflicts, and the need to make choices among apparently incompatible values will arise. Anthropologists are responsible for grappling with such difficulties and struggling to resolve them in ways compatible with the principles stated here. The purpose of this Code is to foster discussion and education. The American Anthropological Association (AAA) does not adjudicate claims for unethical behavior.

The principles and guidelines in this Code provide the anthropologist with tools to engage in developing and maintaining an ethical framework for all anthropological work.

II. Introduction

Anthropology is a multidisciplinary field of science and scholarship, which includes the study of all aspects of humankind--archaeological, biological, linguistic and sociocultural. Anthropology has roots in the natural and social sciences and in the humanities, ranging in approach from basic to applied research and to scholarly interpretation.

As the principal organization representing the breadth of anthropology, the American Anthropological Association (AAA) starts from the position that generating and appropriately utilizing knowledge (i.e., publishing, teaching, developing programs, and informing policy) of the peoples of the world, past and present, is a worthy goal; that the generation of anthropological knowledge is a dynamic process using many different and ever-evolving approaches; and that for moral and practical reasons, the generation and utilization of knowledge should be achieved in an ethical manner.

The mission of American Anthropological Association is to advance all aspects of anthropological research and to foster dissemination of anthropological knowledge through publications, teaching, public education, and application. An important part of that mission is to help educate AAA members about ethical obligations and challenges involved in the generation, dissemination, and utilization of anthropological knowledge.

The purpose of this Code is to provide AAA members and other interested persons with guidelines for making ethical choices in the conduct of their anthropological work. Because anthropologists can find themselves in complex situations and subject to more than one code of ethics, the AAA Code of Ethics provides a framework, not an ironclad formula, for making decisions. Persons using the Code as a guideline for making ethical choices or for teaching are encouraged to seek out illustrative examples and appropriate case studies to enrich their knowledge base.

Anthropologists have a duty to be informed about ethical codes relating to their work, and ought periodically to receive training on current research activities and ethical issues. In addition, departments offering anthropology degrees should include and require ethical training in their curriculums.

No code or set of guidelines can anticipate unique circumstances or direct actions in specific situations. The individual anthropologist must be willing to make carefully considered ethical choices and be prepared to make clear the assumptions, facts and issues on which those choices are based. These guidelines therefore address general contexts, priorities and relationships which should be considered in ethical decision making in anthropological work.

III. Research

In both proposing and carrying out research, anthropological researchers must be open about the purpose(s), potential impacts, and source(s) of support for research projects with funders, colleagues, persons studied or providing information, and with relevant parties affected by the research. Researchers must expect to utilize the results of their work in an appropriate fashion and disseminate the results through appropriate and timely activities. Research fulfilling these expectations is ethical, regardless of the source of funding (public or private) or purpose (i.e., "applied," "basic," "pure," or "proprietary").

Anthropological researchers should be alert to the danger of compromising anthropological ethics as a condition to engage in research, yet also be alert to proper demands of good citizenship or host-guest relations. Active contribution and leadership in seeking to shape public or private sector actions and policies may be as ethically justifiable as inaction, detachment, or noncooperation, depending on circumstances. Similar principles hold for anthropological researchers employed or otherwise affiliated with nonanthropological institutions, public institutions, or private enterprises.

A. Responsibility to people and animals with whom anthropological researchers work and whose lives and cultures they study.

1. Anthropological researchers have primary ethical obligations to the people, species, and materials they study and to the people with whom they work. These obligations can supersede the goal of seeking new knowledge, and can lead to decisions not to undertake or to discontinue a research project when the primary obligation conflicts with other responsibilities, such as those owed to sponsors or clients. These ethical obligations include:
* To avoid harm or wrong, understanding that the development of knowledge can lead to change which may be positive or negative for the people or animals worked with or studied
* To respect the well-being of humans and nonhuman primates
* To work for the long-term conservation of the archaeological, fossil, and historical records
* To consult actively with the affected individuals or group(s), with the goal of establishing a working relationship that can be beneficial to all parties involved

2. [In conducting and publishing their research, or otherwise disseminating their research results], anthropological researchers must do everything in their power to ensure that [ensure that they do not] harm the safety, dignity, or privacy of the people with whom they work, conduct research, or perform other professional activities, [or who might reasonably be thought to be affected by their research]. Anthropological researchers working with animals must do everything in their power to ensure that the research does not harm the safety, psychological well-being or survival of the animals or species with which they work.

3. Anthropological researchers must determine in advance whether their hosts/providers of information wish to remain anonymous or receive recognition, and make every effort to comply with those wishes. Researchers must present to their research participants the possible impacts of the choices, and make clear that despite their best efforts, anonymity may be compromised or recognition fail to materialize.

4. Anthropological researchers should obtain in advance the informed consent of persons being studied, providing information, owning or controlling access to material being studied, or otherwise identified as having interests which might be impacted by the research. It is understood that the degree and breadth of informed consent required will depend on the nature of the project and may be affected by requirements of other codes, laws, and ethics of the country or community in which the research is pursued. Further, it is understood that the informed consent process is dynamic and continuous; the process should be initiated in the project design and continue through implementation by way of dialogue and negotiation with those studied. Researchers are responsible for identifying and complying with the various informed consent codes, laws and regulations affecting their projects. Informed consent, for the purposes of this code, does not necessarily imply or require a particular written or signed form. It is the quality of the consent, not the format, that is relevant.

5. Anthropological researchers who have developed close and enduring relationships (i.e., covenantal relationships) with either individual persons providing information or with hosts must adhere to the obligations of openness and informed consent, while carefully and respectfully negotiating the limits of the relationship.

6. While anthropologists may gain personally from their work, they must not exploit individuals, groups, animals, or cultural or biological materials. They should recognize their debt to the societies in which they work and their obligation to reciprocate with people studied in appropriate ways.

B. Responsibility to scholarship and science

1. Anthropological researchers must expect to encounter ethical dilemmas at every stage of their work, and must make good-faith efforts to identify potential ethical claims and conflicts in advance when preparing proposals and as projects proceed. A section raising and responding to potential ethical issues should be part of every research proposal.

2. Anthropological researchers bear responsibility for the integrity and reputation of their discipline, of scholarship, and of science. Thus, anthropological researchers are subject to the general moral rules of scientific and scholarly conduct: they should not deceive or knowingly misrepresent (i.e., fabricate evidence, falsify, and plagiarize), or attempt to prevent reporting of misconduct, or obstruct the scientific/scholarly research of others.

3. Anthropological researchers should do all they can to preserve opportunities for future fieldworkers to follow them to the field.

4. [Anthropologists have a responsibility to be both honest and transparent with all stakeholders about the nature and intent of their research. They must not misrepresent their research goals, funding sources, activities, or findings. Anthropologists should never deceive the people they are studying regarding the sponsorship, goals, methods, products, or expected impacts of their work. Deliberately misrepresenting one’s research goals and impact to research subjects is a clear violation of research ethics, as is conducting clandestine research.]

5. Anthropological researchers should utilize the results of their work in an appropriate fashion, and whenever possible disseminate their findings to the scientific and scholarly community.

6. Anthropological researchers should seriously consider all reasonable requests for access to their data and other research materials for purposes of research. They should also make every effort to insure preservation of their fieldwork data for use by posterity.

C. Responsibility to the public

1. Anthropological researchers should make the results of their research appropriately available to sponsors, students, decision makers, and other nonanthropologists. In so doing, they must be truthful; they are not only responsible for the factual content of their statements but also must consider carefully the social and political implications of the information they disseminate. They must do everything in their power to insure that such information is well understood, properly contextualized, and responsibly utilized. They should make clear the empirical bases upon which their reports stand, be candid about their qualifications and philosophical or political biases, and recognize and make clear the limits of anthropological expertise. At the same time, they must be alert to possible harm their information may cause people with whom they work or colleagues.

2. [In relation with his or her own government, host governments, or sponsors of research, an anthropologist should be honest and candid. Anthropologists must not compromise their professional responsibilities and ethics and should not agree to conditions which inappropriately change the purpose, focus or intended outcomes of their research.]

3. Anthropologists may choose to move beyond disseminating research results to a position of advocacy. This is an individual decision, but not an ethical responsibility.

IV. Teaching

Responsibility to students and trainees

While adhering to ethical and legal codes governing relations between teachers/mentors and students/trainees at their educational institutions or as members of wider organizations, anthropological teachers should be particularly sensitive to the ways such codes apply in their discipline (for example, when teaching involves close contact with students/trainees in field situations). Among the widely recognized precepts which anthropological teachers, like other teachers/mentors, should follow are:

1. Teachers/mentors should conduct their programs in ways that preclude discrimination on the basis of sex, marital status, "race," social class, political convictions, disability, religion, ethnic background, national origin, sexual orientation, age, or other criteria irrelevant to academic performance.

2. Teachers'/mentors' duties include continually striving to improve their teaching/training techniques; being available and responsive to student/trainee interests; counseling students/ trainees realistically regarding career opportunities; conscientiously supervising, encouraging, and supporting students'/trainees' studies; being fair, prompt, and reliable in communicating evaluations; assisting students/trainees in securing research support; and helping students/trainees when they seek professional placement.

3. Teachers/mentors should impress upon students/trainees the ethical challenges involved in every phase of anthropological work; encourage them to reflect upon this and other codes; encourage dialogue with colleagues on ethical issues; and discourage participation in ethically questionable projects.

4. Teachers/mentors should publicly acknowledge student/trainee assistance in research and preparation of their work; give appropriate credit for coauthorship to students/trainees; encourage publication of worthy student/trainee papers; and compensate students/trainees justly for their participation in all professional activities.

5. Teachers/mentors should beware of the exploitation and serious conflicts of interest which may result if they engage in sexual relations with students/trainees. They must avoid sexual liaisons with students/trainees for whose education and professional training they are in any way responsible.

V. Application

1. The same ethical guidelines apply to all anthropological work. That is, in both proposing and carrying out research, anthropologists must be open with funders, colleagues, persons studied or providing information, and relevant parties affected by the work about the purpose(s), potential impacts, and source(s) of support for the work. Applied anthropologists must intend and expect to utilize the results of their work appropriately (i.e., publication, teaching, program and policy development) within a reasonable time. In situations in which anthropological knowledge is applied, anthropologists bear the same responsibility to be open and candid about their skills and intentions, and monitor the effects of their work on all persons affected. Anthropologists may be involved in many types of work, frequently affecting individuals and groups with diverse and sometimes conflicting interests. The individual anthropologist must make carefully considered ethical choices and be prepared to make clear the assumptions, facts and issues on which those choices are based.

2. In all dealings with employers, persons hired to pursue anthropological research or apply anthropological knowledge should be honest about their qualifications, capabilities, and aims. Prior to making any professional commitments, they must review the purposes of prospective employers, taking into consideration the employer's past activities and future goals. In working for governmental agencies or private businesses, they should be especially careful not to promise or imply acceptance of conditions contrary to professional ethics or competing commitments.

3. Applied anthropologists, as any anthropologist, should be alert to the danger of compromising anthropological ethics as a condition for engaging in research or practice. They should also be alert to proper demands of hospitality, good citizenship and guest status. Proactive contribution and leadership in shaping public or private sector actions and policies may be as ethically justifiable as inaction, detachment, or noncooperation, depending on circumstances.

[VI. Dissemination of Results

1. The results of anthropological research are complex, subject to multiple interpretations and susceptible to differing and unintended uses. Anthropologists have an ethical obligation to consider the potential impact of both their research and the communication or dissemination of the results of their research on all directly or indirectly involved.

2. Anthropologists should not withhold research results from research participants when those results are shared with others. There are specific and limited circumstances however, where disclosure restrictions are appropriate and ethical, particularly where those restrictions serve to protect the safety, dignity or privacy of participants, protect cultural heritage or tangible or intangible cultural or intellectual property.

3. Anthropologists must weigh the intended and potential uses of their work and the impact of its distribution in determining whether limited availability of results is warranted and ethical in any given instance.]

VII. Epilogue

Anthropological research, teaching, and application, like any human actions, pose choices for which anthropologists individually and collectively bear ethical responsibility. Since anthropologists are members of a variety of groups and subject to a variety of ethical codes, choices must sometimes be made not only between the varied obligations presented in this code but also between those of this code and those incurred in other statuses or roles. This statement does not dictate choice or propose sanctions. Rather, it is designed to promote discussion and provide general guidelines for ethically responsible decisions.

VIII. Acknowledgments

This Code was drafted by the Commission to Review the AAA Statements on Ethics during the period January 1995-March 1997. The Commission members were James Peacock (Chair), Carolyn Fluehr-Lobban, Barbara Frankel, Kathleen Gibson, Janet Levy, and Murray Wax. In addition, the following individuals participated in the Commission meetings: philosopher Bernard Gert, anthropologists Cathleen Crain, Shirley Fiske, David Freyer, Felix Moos, Yolanda Moses, and Niel Tashima; and members of the American Sociological Association Committee on Ethics. Open hearings on the Code were held at the 1995 and 1996 annual meetings of the American Anthropological Association. The Commission solicited comments from all AAA Sections. The first draft of the AAA Code of Ethics was discussed at the May 1995 AAA Section Assembly meeting; the second draft was briefly discussed at the November 1996 meeting of the AAA Section Assembly.

The Final Report of the Commission was published in the September 1995 edition of the Anthropology Newsletter and on the AAA web site (http://www.aaanet.org). Drafts of the Code were published in the April 1996 and 1996 annual meeting edition of the Anthropology Newsletter and the AAA web site, and comments were solicited from the membership. The Commission considered all comments from the membership in formulating the final draft in February 1997. The Commission gratefully acknowledges the use of some language from the codes of ethics of the National Association for the Practice of Anthropology and the Society for American Archaeology.

[Subsequent revisions to this Code were initiated by the passing of a resolution, offered by Terry Turner at the AAA Business Meeting held in November of 2007, directing the AAA Executive Board to restore certain sections of the 1971 version of the Code of Ethics. A related motion, introduced by John Kelly, directed the Executive Board to report to the membership a justification of its reasoning if a decision was made to not restore, in total, the language proposed in the Turner motion.

On January 20, 2008, the Executive Board tasked the Committee on Ethics, whose membership included Dena Plemmons (acting chair), Alec Barker, Katherine MacKinnon, Dhooleka Raj, K. Sivaramakrishnan and Steve Striffler, with drafting a revised ethics code that “incorporates the principles of the Turner motion while stipulating principles that identify when the ethical conduct of anthropology does and does not require specific forms of the circulation of knowledge.” Six individuals (Jeffrey Altshul, Agustin Fuentes, Merrill Singer, David Price, Inga Treitler and Niel Tashima) were invited to advise the Committee in its deliberations.

On June 16, 2008, the Committee on Ethics issued its report to a newly formed subcommittee of the Executive Board created to deal with potential code revisions. The subcommittee (consisting of TJ Ferguson, Monica Heller, Tom Leatherman, Setha Low, Deborah Nichols, Gwen Mikell and Ed Liebow) examined the Committee on Ethics report and solicited the input of the Committee on Ethics; the Commission of the Engagement of Anthropology with the US Security and Intelligence Communities; the Committee on Practicing, Applied and Public Interest Anthropology; and the Network of Concerned Anthropologists, asking these groups to advise before making its own recommendations to the larger Executive Board. After examining the input of these groups, the EB subcommittee forwarded its recommendations to the entire Executive Board August 8.

Subsequent to these activities, AAA President Setha Low reached out to a number of stakeholders to solicit their input. On September 19, 2008, the Executive Board approved a final version of the Code of the Ethics.]

WFU Creates Digital Artifact Database

2008-09-18T16:59:00.002-04:00

Wake Forest University's Museum of Anthropology recently unveiled an online database of its entire collection, consisting of over 26,000 artifacts. You can search the collection by country to find objects from a particular region or culture. The database also allows users to search for a specific type of artifact across cultures. The project was made possible by a grant from the Institute of Museum and Library Services, and another recently awarded IMLS grant will allow the museum to expand the database to include archival records, such as photographs and maps.

Call for Papers: Surveillance Societies Conference

2008-09-16T11:12:00.003-04:00

Surveillance Societies: What Price Security?
April 24-26, 2009
Macaulay Honors College at the City University of New York

Papers and roundtable discussions are being accepted for a conference focusing on the tensions between systems of security within and between societies and systems of surveillance over members of those societies.

"Possible panel topics: historical considerations, zones of surveillance, scopic economies, religious and juridical apparatuses, networked societies, reconsiderations of Orwell and Foucault, surveillance, security, and emotion, nationalism and security, militarization, literature and film"

Fellowship for Doctoral Students

2008-09-16T10:59:00.003-04:00

Doctoral students in the humanities and social sciences may be interested in applying for the American Council of Learned Societies and Social Science Research Council's International Dissertation Research Fellowship program. The IDRF program will provide support for 75 students conducting dissertation research outside the United States.

"The IDRF program is committed to empirical and site-specific research that advances knowledge about non-U.S. cultures and societies (involving fieldwork, research in archival or manuscript collections, or quantitative data collection). The program promotes research that is situated in a specific discipline and geographical region and is engaged with interdisciplinary and cross-regional perspectives.

Fellowships will provide support for nine to twelve months of dissertation research. Individual awards will be approximately $20,000. No awards will be made for proposals requiring less than nine months of on-site research. The 2009 IDRF fellowship must be held for a single continuous period within the eighteen months between July 2009 and December 2010."

Medical Anthropologist Addresses Crisis in Haiti

2008-09-11T15:55:00.004-04:00

Dr. Paul Farmer, professor of medical anthropology at Harvard Medical School and co-founder of Partners in Health, was featured on Democracy Now! The War and Peace Report. In his interview, Farmer discusses the current situation in Haiti following four major storms and hurricanes over the past month. He also elaborates on a number of current and historical factors (unstable government, weak infrastructure, lack of resources, poverty, deforestation, US destabilization of Haiti, etc.) that have contributed to the current crisis. With over one million refugees out of an approximate population of 9 million people, Haiti, its international partners, and aid agencies have significant hurdles to overcome.

Call for Papers: Thinking Gender 2009 (UCLA)

2008-09-10T12:58:00.003-04:00

THINKING GENDER, Annual Graduate Student Research Conference
Friday, Feb. 6, 2009
UCLA Faculty Center

Thinking Gender is a public conference highlighting graduate student research on women, sexuality and gender across all disciplines and historical periods. Submission for individual papers and panels are being accepted until Oct. 22, 2008. Topics are encouraged on the following:

women and media
local feminist issues and concerns in Southern California
women and the environment (e.g., ecofeminism, the built environment, urban planning, architecture)
women and political activism (e.g., women in government, women and war/peace)
embodiment (e.g., disability, genetics)
women in sports

Additional information can be found here.

Call for Papers: AAUP Conference

2008-09-10T12:44:00.006-04:00

American Association of University Professors (AAUP)
Globalization, Shared Governance and Academic Freedom: An International Conference
June 12-13, 2009
Washington, DC

Among the questions the conference intends to explore are:

What is the state of academic freedom around the world and what challenges does it currently face in the United States?
Can scholarship survive in an era of secrecy and censorship?
Who is making decisions in the corporate university? What ever happened to shared governance?
What are the implications of the excessive use of contingent faculty and how do we address the issue?
How are public policy decisions at the national and state levels affecting higher education?
What are the personal, professional and institutional responsibilities of faculty and how can conflicting responsibilities be resolved?
How can faculty communicate the intricacies and subtleties of their disciplines to a broad, non-specialist audience?

Conference strands are not limited to the above topics. Presenters are invited to propose a wide range of issues related to academic freedom, governance, faculty work life, rights and responsibilities. The goal of the conference is to provide a faculty perspective on critical issues in higher education presented in a format accessible to the general public.

For more information, please click here.

Call for Papers: AIDS in Culture IV

2008-09-09T16:15:00.004-04:00

Aids in Culture IV: Explorations in the Cultural History of AIDS
México City
December 9-13, 2008
Abstract Submission Deadline: September 25, 2008 (deadline extended)

AIDS is not simply an illness or a biomedical phenomenon. The conference cycle "AIDS in Culture" organised by Enkidu Magazine in Mexico City and the International Society for Cultural History and Cultural Studies (CHiCS) in cooperation with CNDH (The National Human Rights Commission in Mexico) seeks to examine cultural responses to AIDS in different cultures and societies across a wide range of perspectives.

The conference will explore the processes by which AIDS is constructed as a cultural phenomenon and how different societies in their encounters with AIDS attempt to create meaning in health, illness and disease. The conference aims at bringing together academics working in all relevant disciplines as well as activists, artists and other professionals, and promoting innovative multidisciplinary and multicultural exchange and dialogue.

Among the themes of interest are the following:

AIDS and Cultural Texts: Power and Representation.
Representations of AIDS in art, movies, music, poetry, religion and literature from the 1980s until today.
Silences and taboos in discourses on HIV/AIDS.
Aesthetic responses to the challenge. Rituals, customs, and fetishism.
Cultural practices that influence the spread of HIV/AIDS
AIDS and collective and individual identities: Race, Class, Gender etc
AIDS and Politics, Lobbying and Activism: Power, Representation and Activism.
Constructions and reconstructions of AIDS in political, faith and ideology based discourse, legal issues and policy making throughout the world: Who has the authority to speak and who is silenced?
AIDS and theory: Cultural Studies, Queer Studies, Religious Studies, History, Anthropology, Sociology, Literary Studies and all related disciplines. How do we theorize and analyse experiences and the meaning of illness?
The ,significance' of AIDS for individuals and communities; the cultural factors influencing our perceptions of health and illness experiences.
AIDS and psychosocial affects and effects. Cultures of silence.
Indigenous knowledge and responses to AIDS
Stories and Histories about AIDS
AIDS and Oral History

Papers will be considered on related themes and topics from a wide range of perspectives. Interdisciplinary perspectives are especially welcome since all these topics in themselves stretch across several disciplines: history, literary studies, linguistics, psychology, political sciences, pedagogy, ethnology, anthropology, sociology...

Graduate and postgraduate students are encouraged to attend and present papers. Selected papers from the conference will also this year be published in book form.

Submission guidelines can be found here.

CEAUSSIC's Ethics Casebook: Call for Abstracts (Update)

2008-09-05T10:52:00.005-04:00

As previously mentioned, the Ad Hoc Commission on the Engagement of Anthropology with the US Security and Intelligence Communities (CEAUSSIC) has issued a call for abstracts for its forthcoming ethics casebook. Please go here for a sample abstract or here for a sample narrative.

All submissions may be emailed to CEAUSSIC@aaanet.org

Questions and concerns about the casebook may be directed to the Ad Hoc Commission's chair, Dr. Rob Albro, at albro@american.edu or 202-885-1546.

Obama Addresses Science

2008-09-03T11:43:00.005-04:00

In an effort to inject science back into the political dialogue, Science Debate 2008 has provided a list of 14 questions to be answered by Presidential nominees. John McCain has yet to respond, but Barack Obama's responses can be found here.

A teaser on scientific integrity:
"Scientific and technological information is of growing importance to a range of issues. I [Barack Obama] believe such information must be expert and uncolored by ideology.

I will restore the basic principle that government decisions should be based on the best- available, scientifically-valid evidence and not on the ideological predispositions of agency officials or political appointees. More broadly, I am committed to creating a transparent and connected democracy, using cutting-edge technologies to provide a new level of transparency, accountability, and participation for America’s citizens. Policies must be determined using a process that builds on the long tradition of open debate that has characterized progress in science, including review by individuals who might bring new information or contrasting views. I have already established an impressive team of science advisors, including several Nobel Laureates, who are helping me to shape a robust science agenda for my administration."

Gender Equity in the Social Sciences

2008-09-02T16:14:00.005-04:00

As reported by Inside Higher Ed, a report [pdf] detailing the status of women within the social sciences was released by the University of Washington's Center for Innovation and Research in Graduate Education. The report draws upon surveys of faculty members in anthropology, communications, geography, history, political science, and sociology. The authors found that despite women having a relatively equal start in academia as their male counterparts, gaps remain in the awarding of tenure and the balance of work-family life.

A survey [pdf] conducted by the Committee on the Status of Women in Anthropology (COSWA) during the month of May displayed similar findings. COSWA found that female anthropologists have a less positive experience of their work environment and bear a greater burden of familial responsibilities. For additional information, visit the COSWA webpage and see the May AN article "Gender Disparities Remain: COSWA's Academic Climate Report" (49[5]:22).

Pulse of the Planet #3

2008-08-28T10:14:00.005-04:00

Melissa Checker's "Carbon Offsets: More Harm Than Good?" is the next installment of CounterPunch's "Pulse of the Planet" series. The series is derived from conference papers delivered at the "Pulse of the Planet" panel during AAA's 2008 annual meeting. In her op-ed, Checker describes the flaws of the carbon offset industry, ranging from its funding to implementation. She also suggests a number of alternatives: changing consumptive behavior, improving government regulation and policing of industrial emissions, preparing vulnerable populations for climate change, and using renewable energy and "green" goods and services.

Prior Pulse of the Planet Articles:
"The Human Right to Eat" ~ Joan P. Mencher
"Dam Legacies, Damned Futures" ~ Barbara Rose Johnston

Six Research Positions Open in Portugal

2008-08-26T12:35:00.006-04:00

The Center for Social Studies at the University of Coimbra, Portugal is offering six research positions for those holding a PhD in the social and human sciences for over three years. The positions aim to develop the following research areas:

1) Architecture and urbanism
2) Cities and urban cultures
3) Citizenship and social policies
4) Migration studies
5) Labor relations, social inequalities and trade unionism
6) Peace studies
7) Cultural and religious diversity in Southern Europe

The application deadline is Sept. 30, 2008. For more information, please click here [pdf].

Race & Medicine

2008-08-26T11:55:00.004-04:00

Alan Goodman, former AAA President and professor of biological anthropology at Hampshire College, was featured in Newsweek's Lab Notes blog last week. The blog post emphasizes the ways that race influences medical practice and treatment, and the implications this can have for a patient's health.

Racial Paranoia: The Unintended Consequences of Political Correctness

2008-08-26T10:37:00.005-04:00

Savage Minds linked to an article in the Philadelphia Inquirer featuring UPenn anthropologist John L. Jackson Jr. He describes his first non-academic book, Racial Paranoia: The Unintended Consequences of Political Correctness, and how racial fears underlie many of our everyday (inter)actions.

It is refreshing to see Jackson and several other anthropologists stepping into the public sphere. For more of Jackson, visit his AnthroMan blog and the Chronicle's Brainstorm blog.

Annual Meeting Registration

2008-08-21T14:58:00.003-04:00

Registration is now open for AAA's 2008 Annual Meeting in San Francisco, California. The meetings will be held from Wednesday, November 19 until Sunday, November 23 at the San Francisco Hilton and Towers. Click here for additional information and to register. A preliminary program(pdf) is also available for download.

Call for Abstracts: Suburban Diversity

2008-08-21T14:05:00.004-04:00

The National Center for Suburban Studies at Hofstra University is hosting a conference on the phenomenon of suburban diversity. They have issued a call for abstracts, which should be submitted prior to Jan. 31, 2009.

Topics might include, but are not limited to:
* Racial and ethnic suburban enclaves, past and present
* International migration to the suburbs
* White supremacy, structural/institutional racism, and white privilege in the suburbs
* Changing patterns of suburban class segregation
* Environmental justice movements in the suburbs
* Women's leadership in suburban social movements
* New forms of suburban social and political organization
* Affordable housing and suburban gentrification
* Inequality and suburban schools
* Control of public space and a 'right to the suburb'
* Age and inclusion in the suburbs
* Sexuality, queer identity, and suburban politics
* Representations of diverse suburbs in the visual and performing arts
* International/comparative analyses of suburban diversity
* New suburban populations and suburban religious life

Click here for additional details.

Ethics Casebook - Call for Abstracts

2008-08-13T09:26:00.005-04:00

The Ad Hoc Commission on the Engagement of Anthropology with the US Security and Intelligence Communities (CEAUSSIC) has issued a call for abstracts. Please go here for a sample abstract or here for a sample narrative. An online submission portal is forthcoming.

CEAUSSIC is asking our colleagues in anthropology and related disciplines for summaries of illustrative cases that explore intersections among the ethical, methodological, and theoretical aspects of work in, around, and for the national security state, including public and private institutions, in and outside academia. We seek narrative cases from all of anthropology’s fields, including archaeology, biological/physical anthropology, ethnology, and linguistic anthropology; from emerging and established areas of practice and research within these fields.

Process. The casebook submission process will occur in two phases: submission of a short summary abstract for CEAUSSIC review, due by December 31, 2008; followed by submission of a longer case narrative for selected cases, due by May 15, 2009. A more detailed timetable is included below.

In the first round of submissions, CEAUSSIC will review abstracts and select a subset that meets the following criteria:

1. The potential for exploring complex and emerging intersections among methodology, practice, ethics, and theory in anthropology, across all fields and forms of practice;

2. The case’s relevance to present-day issues in anthropology’s intersection with national security problems, across all four fields of the discipline and all forms of practice;

3. The potential for provoking educational and productive debate and discussion among anthropologists;

4. The potential for provoking debate about social science research ethics in a wider community beyond anthropology, including other disciplines and institutions;

5. The quality of the narrative, as demonstrated in a well-written abstract

Content. Case abstracts should briefly describe the context, the individuals and institutions involved, type of activity, the time period during which the situation is occurring or took place, and the ethical problems, themes, and issues that the case raises. Rather than offering opinions, solutions, or analysis, we would like a descriptive narrative that richly evokes the context and complexities of a moment of engagement in which moral, political, methodological, and/or ethical issues become salient.

We strongly encourage our colleagues to submit cases referring to real-life situations encountered in the course of work, but we are willing to consider realistic hypothetical cases that raise provocative questions about ethics, politics, morality, theory and methods, and that have practical implications for anthropologists engaged in all forms of practice, across all fields of the discipline. Cases do not have to originate in national security problems, but should have some relevance to current debates about anthropological ethics and practice vis-à-vis public and private institutions of power, including national security institutions. Cases that bring an international perspective to these problems are encouraged, particularly from anthropologists outside the United States. Cases that originate outside anthropology are welcome as well, as long as they provoke issues that are relevant to current anthropological discussions and debates.

Please note that CEAUSSIC is primarily a review and research panel and does not engage in ethics investigations. Therefore, this is not a place to raise specific allegations of misconduct or to accuse other researchers of illegal or unethical behavior. Allegations of significant ethics violations should be raised with your home institution, funding agencies, and/or AAA leadership, as you feel appropriate.

Format. Each preliminary submission should include the case title, the author’s name and contact information, and a 200-250 word abstract that summarizes the key points of the case, and explicitly states how the case pertains to questions of anthropological ethics. An example of a preliminary submission is included at the end of this call.

CEAUSSIC will contact authors whose case abstracts meet the initial criteria, and ask them to provide a longer submission for panel discussion and eventual publication in the casebook. If your abstract is chosen for further consideration, we will ask you to submit a more elaborated case narrative of between 1500 and 3000 words in length. A sample second-round narrative is attached at the end of this call.

Submission process. You may submit your case abstract electronically by emailing it to CEAUSSIC@aaanet.org . Alternatively, you may mail a paper copy of your abstract to the following address:

ATTN: Dr. Robert Albro
School of International Service
American University
4400 Massachusetts Avenue, NW
Washington, DC 20016

Privacy and Confidentiality. CEAUSSIC is extremely concerned about maintaining the privacy and confidentiality of all individuals involved in the cases. As they are being reviewed, all cases will be held in strictest confidence for consideration and discussion of CEAUSSIC and its guests only. However, we ask that you indicate if the story is hypothetical or fictional (or some combination thereof), and indicate where you have used real names, events and places in your story, so that we can take appropriate safeguards to maintain confidentiality and anonymity. We also ask that you also respect the confidentiality and anonymity of your colleagues and informants: for example, please not disclose sensitive information unless such information is germane to your case. If your case is selected for publication, CEAUSSIC will contact you to anonymize any identifying elements in the story, to protect privacy and confidentiality of the individuals and institutions involved in the event.

Review. CEAUSSIC will select a subset of the case submissions for discussion and review. Cases will be chosen for quality of their narrative, the case’s relevance to present-day issues in anthropological research and practice, and the complexity and nuance of the ethical issues that the case raises. CEAUSSIC will recruit appropriate subfield representatives and a professional research ethicist to assist in the review of the cases. The selected cases will be annotated with a set of discussion questions and a summary of the review committee’s comments; these annotated cases will provide the basis for a final casebook manuscript.

Important Dates.

Case abstracts final submission due to CEAUSSIC by 31 December 2008.
We will review all submissions, select the discussion cases, and notify authors of the status of their case submission by 15 February 2009.
The full case review will take place during May 2009.
Once the review is complete, we will select and post a subset of these cases on the CEAUSSSIC website. In addition, CEAUSSIC will maintain updates on its AAA webpage as the project progresses.
We expect to have a final manuscript for publication submission by December 2009.
Contact. Question and concerns may be directed to the Ad Hoc Commission's Chair, Dr. Rob Albro, at albro@american.edu or (202)885-1546.

Minerva - NSF/DoD Joint Solicitation

2008-08-05T16:40:00.005-04:00

NSF recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the DoD, allowing collaboration between the two agencies, and has just announced a joint solicitation for proposals in the tune of $8 million. The stated goals of the program are “1) to develop the DoD’s social and human science intellectual capital in order to enhance its ability to address future challenges; 2) to enhance the DoD’s engagement with the social science community; and 3) to deepen the understanding of the social and behavioral dimensions of national security issues.”

Although we are pleased with NSF's involvement in Minerva, additional clarification is needed about the extent of DoD's role in the selection and review process. AAA is also concerned that only a portion of Minerva funding is being routed through NSF.

Share your thoughts on Minerva in our comment section below.

Links:

AAA letter regarding Minerva [pdf]

"Military's Social Science Grants Raise Alarm" ~ Washington Post

"When Professors Go to War" ~ Hugh Gusterson

"Pentagon Shift on 'Minerva'" ~ Inside Higher Ed

"Anthropology Association Urges Government to Tread Cautiously With 'Minerva' Project" ~ The Chronicle of Higher Education

"Academics Target Pentagon's Social Science Project" ~ Wired's Danger Room,

"AAA Issues Statement on Minerva" ~ Savage Minds

DoD Defense Bloggers Roundtable Regarding Minerva [pdf]

Hugh Gusterson, "When Professors go to War"

2008-07-31T09:24:00.005-04:00

Hugh Gusterson, professor of anthropology at George Mason University, was featured in Foreign Policy this month. In his article, “When Professors go to War,” he describes the potential ramifications of a Pentagon-funded Minerva Project. Given anthropology’s lean to the left and lingering frustration about the (mis)use of social science research in Vietnam, many anthropologists, Gusterson argues, are unlikely to participate in Minerva. Opting out of Minerva compromises the Pentagon’s reported mission of sponsoring research from across the political spectrum. Gusterson writes, “The Pentagon will have the false comfort of believing that it has harnessed the best and the brightest minds, when in fact it will have only received a very limited slice of what the ivory tower has to offer--academics who have no problem taking Pentagon funds. Social scientists call this ‘selection bias,’ and it can lead to dangerous analytical errors.” The solution is simple: fund through agencies that have experience supervising social science research, such as the NSF or NIH.

In a letter to the Office of Management and Budget, Defense Secretary William Gates, and the House and Senate Armed Services and Budget Committees, AAA urged to have NSF oversee the funding process. It appears some progress has been made. NSF recently signed a memorandum of understanding with the DoD, allowing collaboration between the two agencies. However, this does not mean NSF will be reviewing Minerva proposals, and additional efforts are needed to facilitate joint solicitations.

AAA Responds to Laptop Searches

2008-07-30T16:06:00.007-04:00

The Fourth Amendment requires that federal authorities have a warrant to conduct a search and seizure of personal property. Routine border searches have long been considered exempt from this law, and “reasonable suspicion” is required to conduct non-routine and invasive searches. This recently changed when the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals ruled that federal officials—namely, Custom and Border agents—can randomly search and seize electronic information stored on laptop computers, cameras, cell phones, MP3 players, and other devices without “reasonable suspicion.”

This poses obvious risks to anthropologists and their research participants. AAA President Setha Low issued a letter urging Homeland Security to reevaluate its policy. In the meantime (and as standard practice), we advise social scientists to code all identifiable information (names, locations, etc.), delete information that could used to identify or harm participants, encrypt any sensitive data, and/or store their research in a secure online database.

AAA is not alone in its response. The Electronic Frontier Foundation, Asian Law Caucus, Muslim Advocates, and Association of Corporate Travel Executives have also protested electronic searches. According to the NYTimes, Senator Russ Feingold (D-WI) also expressed concern about the actions of the US Customs and Border Protection Agency during a Senate Judiciary subcommittee hearing on the subject.

Have a specific concern or suggestion? Leave a comment.

John Jackson Jr., "Anthropology: The Softest Social Science?"

2008-07-30T09:38:00.003-04:00

John Jackson Jr., associate professor of communication and anthropology at UPenn, had an interesting post on The Chronicle Review's blog yesterday. In his post, "Anthropology: The Softest Social Science?," Jackson expresses concern about anthropology's presence and standing in the public realm and the credibility that is all too easily ascribed to quantitative disciplines.

If you enjoy Jackson's humor and insights, visit his blog--AnthroMan--and leave a comment.

Call for Papers, "Death and the Fieldworker: Dealing with Loss in Ethnographic Research"

2008-07-30T09:15:00.000-04:00

Anthropologists and other social scientists who conduct ethnographic fieldwork are invited to submit an essay for consideration in a new edited volume on death in the context of fieldwork. Essays will explore the meanings, ramifications, and challenges of death and dying within three broad contexts. First, what is the relationship of investigators with their research communities when there is a death? With death, it seems, community life and individual relationships destabilize. As ethnographers, we are not immune to feeling the stress and grief of losing close friends and collaborators in the field. Second, what is the relative importance of some deaths (juvenile, human, ideological, linguistic, etc) over others within a community? The death of an individual represents more than just the passing of the life of that person. It can also mean that the sum total of cultural knowledge carried by that individual and enacted through her or his social relationships dies as well. Ethnographers and communities feel the impact of the loss of such culture bearers, albeit in different ways, as the loss of cultural knowledge or community potential. Finally, how do communities and researchers learn the management of unexpected or endemic mortality and chronic sorrow? Fieldwork partly becomes a process by which we learn from those around us different ways of coping. These may not be ways we fully adopt, but they certainly inform a greater understanding, or epistemology, of death and continual loss.

Essays should be ethnographically driven, theoretically grounded, and humanistically compelling. Interested authors should submit a 500 word abstract and curriculum vitae by e-mail attachment to Jon Wolseth (jwolseth@gmail. com) and Samantha Solimeo (Samantha@solimeo. com) no later than August 22nd, 2008

Secrecy on the Rise

2008-07-18T11:23:00.005-04:00

Federal policy dictates that "fundamental" research should remain unclassified. However, according to a report released by the Council on Government Relations and the Association of American Universities, federal agencies appear to be incorporating more restrictive clauses into research grants and contracts. The report found 180 instances of restrictive language at 20 research institutions in 2007, a substantial increase from the 138 found in a 2003-2004 survey. The majority of restrictions are from the Defense Department, but other agencies have also made use of them. Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Pentagon officials, called upon the DoD, as well as other agencies, to back off the restrictive language. Gates has ensured universities that research funded by the Minerva Project will remain unclassified. But we still advise all scholars to look for secrecy clauses prior to accepting any grants or contracts.

Please comment below if you've encountered these clauses before and have any advice for our readers.

China Blacklists Scholars

2008-07-17T11:13:00.004-04:00

Inside Higher Ed reported that scholars have been blacklisted from China following their contribution to a book, Xinjiang: China's Muslim Borderland, on the country’s western province. Although the number of blacklisted scholars appears to be rather small, the potential effect on the academic community could prove to be quite large. Many hesitate to discuss issues related to Tibet, Taiwan, Tiananmen, and the Falun Gong, and the blacklist is likely to expand this self-censorship, particularly among younger scholars. Academics are also concerned that speaking about these issues could endanger their relations with Chinese scholars, universities, and research institutions. Anthropologists who conduct fieldwork in the People’s Republic are well aware of the intricacies of Chinese bureaucracy, and we trust their ability to discuss sensitive topics in an appropriate manner. But for those of you who are new to Sino studies, please contact the AAA so we can put you in touch with members who have the necessary experience to guide you.

Minerva & NSF

2008-07-10T11:42:00.004-04:00

The Pentagon has launched a program called the Minerva Research Initiative that would fund university-based social scientists to study topics of interest to the Department of Defense, such as the Chinese military and religious fundamentalism. The AAA expressed its concerns about Minerva in a letter to Washington, and urged the Pentagon to coordinate with the National Science Foundation and other agencies that have extensive experience in peer-review and are familiar with the ethical standards and concerns of our discipline. The Pentagon was apparently listening. Pentagon officials signed an agreement with NSF last week enabling the two agencies to collaborate on approving Minerva-funded social science research. Still, there are concerns within the discipline that research will only be used when it supports the Pentagon’s agenda. AAA will continue to follow Minerva closely and will issue updates on this blog.

If you feel strongly about the program, please feel free to comment below.

AAA Backs Global AIDS Legislation

2008-07-10T11:26:00.003-04:00

AAA addressed a letter to Senate majority leader Harry Reid, requesting that he urge his fellow Senators to reject any amendments to the Global AIDS Bill that would decrease funds for the treatment and prevention of HIV/AIDS, malaria, and tuberculosis. The bill was expected to pass the Senate floor prior to the G-8 Summit, but several Republicans stopped the bill in its tracks. These Senators are retaining their holds on the bill because of concerns over its $50 billion dollar price tag and its family-planning and prevention programs.

UPenn to Digitize its Collection

2008-07-09T12:56:00.000-04:00

Reuter’s reported that the University of Pennsylvania’s Museum of Archaeology and Anthropology will be digitizing the approximately 1 million artifacts in its collection and uploading them to the internet. This initiative will open up the collection, 95 percent of which is in storage, to scholars, researchers, and the general public. Perhaps the most famous pieces at PENN are those from an excavation of the royal tombs of Ur in southern Iraq that were part of the Sumerian civilization of approximately 2500 BC. The project will take about 3 years to complete, but it should be well worth the wait.

Pulse of the Planet #2

2008-07-02T16:42:00.001-04:00

Joan P. Mencher published an article, “The Human Right to Eat,” in CounterPunch this week. Mencher details the impact that political and economic policies in India have on agriculture. Food has become divorced from an idea of sustenance and nutrition, and engrained in profit-making endeavors that come at the expense of people’s health.

Mencher is the second panelist from the "Pulse of the Planet" session at AAA's 2008 annual meeting to turning her conference paper into an op-ed column for CounterPunch, an online news magazine that has agreed to publish papers from the “Pulse of the Planet” session. Panelists’ papers will be published between May and the middle of November. The articles aim to reshape public debate during the presidential race and draw attention to critical issues in human rights and environmental policy.

The first article, "Dam Legacies, Damned Futures," by Barabara Rose Johnston can be found here.

Congress Increases Funding for NIH & NSF

2008-06-30T10:49:00.006-04:00

On June 26, the Senate overwhelmingly approved to increase support for science in an amendment to the supplemental appropriations bill. The measure included $150 million for the National Institutes of Health, $62.5 million for the National Science Foundation and additional funding for the Department of Energy, NASA, and the FDA.

While this increase is still below that levels proposed in the original Senate version of the bill, it is a promising show of support for scientific research and education.

Please show your appreciation to the Representatives and Senators who approved this measure.

Anthropology Graces YouTube

2008-06-26T17:08:00.004-04:00

The Chronicle of Higher Education published an article yesterday about how Kansas State University anthropologist, Michael Wesch, and his students are using video blogs to highlight the impact that Web 2.0 technologies can have on human interaction. He also gave a talk at the Library of Congress on Monday detailing the importance of social media. Wesch has become somewhat of a YouTube star, with his most popular video, “A Vision of Students Today,” receiving close to 2.4 million hits. His videos are available on YouTube and at mediatedcultures.net

Links:
Michael Wesch: Toward and ethnography of YouTube (PBS)

MIT Does Anthropology

2008-06-25T12:13:00.005-04:00

MIT Video Productions has created an online video called “Doing Anthropology,” in an effort to promote public understanding about cultural anthropology and ethnographic fieldwork. The video can be viewed on the AAA website or at MIT TechTV.

AAA “Pulse of the Planet” Series on CounterPunch

2008-06-25T11:59:00.004-04:00

Scholars from the “Pulse of the Planet” session at AAA’s 2008 annual meeting are turning their conference papers into op-ed columns that will be published between May and the middle of November in CounterPunch, an online news magazine. The articles aim to reshape public debate during the presidential race and draw attention to critical issues in human rights and environmental policy. Read the first op-ed, “Dam Legacies, Damned Futures,” by Barbara Rose Johnston, and leave comments on the article below.

Minerva Ignores AAA Concerns

2008-06-17T17:11:00.006-04:00

The Pentagon issued a call for research proposals for the Minerva Project, The Chronicle of Higher Education reported today. Although there is no mention of coordinating with the NSF, the Pentagon has said, "The Minerva program is likely to be closely coordinated with the National Science Foundation."

The AAA previously issued a response to the proposed Minerva Project, in which it expressed concerns about the very same review process that the Pentagon describes in its announcement. The Association will continue to urge the Pentagon to coordinate with agencies (NSF, NIH, NEH) that have extensive experience in peer-review and are familiar with the rigorous standards of our discipline.

Links:
Pentagon kicks off social science consortium (Wired's Danger Room Blog)
AAA Responds to Proposed Minerva Consortium (AAA Public Affairs Blog)

RACE Project on NPR

2008-06-12T16:04:00.007-04:00

Dr. Yolanda Moses, vice provost for diversity and conflict resolution and professor of anthropology at the University of California at Riverside, was featured on NPR's News & Notes today to detail AAA's "Race - Are we so Different?" Project.

Links:
Helping Kids Understand Racial Differences (part 1)
What is Race? (part 2)
RACE Project

RACE Blog Ranked as Top Civil Liberty Blog

2008-06-12T14:43:00.004-04:00

The RACE Project's blog was listed as one of the top 100 civil liberty advocacy blogs by Criminal Justice Degrees Guide. The RACE blog details the experiences of race and racism in America. Please feel free to visit the RACE blog and leave a comment on one of the posts.

Researchers Fail to Disclose Funding Sources

2008-06-12T12:30:00.004-04:00

Inside Higher Ed and the NY Times reported that Senator Charles Grassley, a critic of the pharmaceutical industry’s potential to skew research, released evidence that child psychiatrists at Harvard University failed to disclose income received from drug companies over the past eight years. Their failure to disclose this income has many questioning the validity of their research, which has been used to support the use of antipsychotic drugs for bipolar children. Grassley has introduced legislation, the Physician Payments Sunshine Act, which would require pharmaceutical companies and medical device manufacturers to report all contributions made to medical doctors.

The AAA strongly urges all anthropologists to follow the Association’s code of ethics in order to avoid such conflicts of interest and fulfill ethical obligations to the people and communities studied: “In both proposing and carrying out research, anthropological researchers must be open about the purpose(s), potential impacts, and source(s) of support for research projects with funders, colleagues, persons studied or providing information, and with relevant parties affected by the research.”

AAA's Decision to Hold the 2010 Annual Meetings in New Orleans

2008-06-05T10:49:00.003-04:00

Many of our readers received an email detailing the rationale behind the decision to hold the 2010 AAA annual meeting in New Orleans. Excerpts from this memo can be found below. We encourage readers to express their opinions regarding this decision in the comments section at the end of this post.
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In 2005, when the AAA membership was asked to vote to establish AAA policies on meeting sites, in regard to unionized facilities, a minority of AAA members voted to make this a requirement for all meetings. We thus understand that some AAA members would themselves have not acted as the Executive Board did in June 2007, in selecting New Orleans as a meeting site for 2010. But the decision to select New Orleans was in accord with the policy established by the majority of the membership, was judged to be very attractive in terms of the goals we have for our annual meeting, and was judged to fulfill the Association’s goal of being a socially responsible non-profit organization, in the context of post-Katrina America.

AAA’s contracts with all annual meeting hotels have penalty clauses if they are broken by the AAA without cause, as that is defined in the contracts. Were the AAA to change its mind about the 2010 meeting site, because of the relative lack of union facilities, this would be the case and the AAA would be required to pay penalties of $449,908. Costs for the 2010 Annual Meeting would then rise greatly. Projecting 2010 meeting registration at 5,100 (the number of paid registrations at 2002 New Orleans Annual Meeting), individual meeting registration fees will rise by $88 for each attendee at the 2010 Annual Meeting. In our judgment, such an additional amount added on the top of regular registration fees would likely disenfranchise a large segment of AAA’s membership (especially students and recently hired faculty) from the possibility of attending the 2010 Annual Meeting.

Because of its concern about this issue, the Executive Board has initiated an effort to develop contracts for additional sleeping rooms with hotels in New Orleans that are located within walking distance of our meeting location and whose employees are represented by a union. We are pleased to report that this effort has achieved modest success. As a supplement to the original proposal for the 2010 meeting in New Orleans, the choices of hotels in New Orleans will now include a block of rooms at Loews New Orleans Hotel, which is represented by a union (specifically by UNITE HERE and which is on UNITE HERE’s “recommended list.”). There is one other unionized hotel that is within walking distance of our meeting site in New Orleans (the Fairmont), but because it is undergoing a change in management, that hotel is not accepting any contracts for our 2010 dates at this time.

MSNBC Borrows AAA's RACE Timeline

2008-06-04T12:03:00.003-04:00

MSNBC has taken an interest in AAA’s award-winning RACE Project. The project’s timeline of race in U.S. history is currently featured on MSNBC’s website as part of a series on race and ethnicity called “Gut Check America: The Colors of Change.”

The series explores the growing number of multiracial individuals, couples and families living in America and the issues they face. The series includes stories, a video gallery, a discussion platform, and an interactive state-by-state map, in addition to the RACE Project’s historical timeline.

The RACE Project’s timeline charts the history of race relations over the past four hundred years, from the establishment of the first slave codes in colonial Virginia to recent debates on affirmative action and racial profiling. The timeline was prepared for the RACE Project’s interactive website and is viewable at www.understandingrace.com

To view the MSNBC series, “Gut Check America: The Colors of Change,” go to www.gutcheck.msnbc.com.

Culture Matters Responds to Coverage of 'Uncontacted Tribe'

2008-06-02T13:10:00.005-04:00

Culture Matters is leading an interesting discussion on the media's reporting of an 'uncontacted tribe' that was recently photographed in the Amazon.

Feel free to chime in at the end of their post.

Call for Applications: Sustainability Education Fellows

2008-06-02T12:19:00.006-04:00

AAA is a participating member of the Disciplinary Associations’ Network for Sustainability. This network catalyzes education for sustainable development. From the famous 1987 Brundtland Commission, the most common definition of sustainable development is “meeting the needs of the present without compromising the ability of future generations to meet their own needs.” Education for sustainable development was defined at the sustainable development world summit as “enabling people to develop the knowledge, values and skills to participate in decisions…, that will improve the quality of life now without damaging the planet for the future.” Sustainability is about creating healthy ecosystems, healthy communities and healthy economies.

Contribute to a sustainable future at the national level! Apply to be a DANS Sustainability Education Fellow. As a Fellow, you will be an important part of the national trend toward sustainability in higher education. You will spend 4-5 hours each week working with your professional association and other related disciplinary and higher education associations, helping them collect and share quality sustainability information with their members. Fellows will serve as mentors to others doing sustainability work on college campuses. Their role is to nurture, connect, assist and inspire the very important but often challenging work being done by disconnected individuals across the country. The vital role played by the Fellows is crucial to continuing the momentum for education for a sustainable future.

If you are interested in serving as a DANS Sustainability Education Fellow, please consider submitting an application. Application review will begin August 1 for the 2008-2009 academic year.

Fellows will be encouraged to:
•Improve the collection and dissemination of sustainability related information,
•Promote collaborations on sustainability education and practices, and
•Develop training and pedagogical support for future fellows.

You can apply to be a Sustainability Education Fellow by sending an email to Steve Muzzy (smuzzy@secondnature.org). Steve will send you an application with more information. [DANS (www.aashe.org/dans)] is helping coordinate the fellows program and will be connecting the fellows across associations to create a collaborative higher education effort across academic disciplines.]

http://www.aashe.org/dans/EducationFellowsProgram.php

AAA Responds to Proposed Minerva Consortium

2008-05-28T14:51:00.004-04:00

In a recent letter (below) to the White House’s Office of Management of Budget, the AAA has called for a redirection of funding and management of the "Minerva Consortia," a Defense Department program which aims to support social science research in critical security areas such as Iraqi and terrorist perspectives and Chinese military and technology studies.

The letter, authored by AAA President Setha M. Low on behalf of the AAA, supports the overall mission of the Minerva program—to use humanities and social science research to promote a reduction in armed conflict. Yet Low argues that organizations such as the National Science Foundation, the National Institute of Health and the National Endowment for the Humanities would be more effective in funding and managing the project and in reaching out to key scholars.

“Rigorous, balanced and objective peer review is the bedrock of successful and productive programs that sponsor academic research. Agencies such as NSF, NIH and NEH have decades of experience in building an infrastructure of respected peer-reviewers who referee individual grant proposals and give their time on selected panels,” wrote Low.

Low also warned that a program funded by the Defense Department might accept scholars who are not familiar with disciplinary standards, and might fail to attract some key experts that are unfamiliar with Defense Department funding processes.

Readers are encouraged to voice their thoughts on Project Minerva and our response to the proposed program in the comments section below.

Related Links:
AAA Minerva Letter [pdf]
Chronicle of Higher Ed Blog Posting
Inside Higher Ed Article
Wired Magazine's Danger Room Blog Posting
Savage Minds Blog Posting

Open Source Conference

2008-05-22T10:32:00.002-04:00

The Director of National Intelligence 2008 Open Source Conference will be held September 11-12, 2008 in Washington, DC. Last year’s conference featured panels on the social sciences and human terrain, academic outreach, and academic-open source connections. The conference should prove interesting to those who are seeking a better understanding of the intelligence community and how some segments of this community view and employ the social sciences. Registration is free, but all attendees must register in advance.

SfAA Passes Motion Regarding HTS

2008-05-21T11:36:00.011-04:00

The Society for Applied Anthropology approved the following motion regarding the Human Terrain System:

"The board of the SFAA expresses grave concerns about the potential harmful use of social science knowledge and skills in the HTS project. The SFAA believes that social scientists can be helpful to the military by offering training, analysis, and evaluation so long as these activities are compatible with this organization's code of ethics."

The vote on this motion was:

Yes: 13
No: 0
Abstain: 0

The AAA has also expressed concern about the potential ethical implications of HTS, and our Executive Board, Committee on Ethics, and Ad Hoc Commission on the Engagement of Anthropology with US Security and Intelligence Communities continue to discuss this issue in great detail.

Links:
AAA Statement on HTS
Ad Hoc Commission on the Engagement of Anthropology with US Security and Intelligence Communities

Harrison Ford Becomes an Archaeologist

2008-05-16T14:28:00.008-04:00

Well, not quite. He has, however, been elected to the board of directors of the Archaeological Institute of America. We hope his celebrity will increase the visibility of archaeology and the importance of preserving our cultural heritage.* Now, if we could only get him to join the AAA.

*We recommend using proper excavation techniques, as opposed to running through archaeological sites and taking off with the most aesthetically pleasing artifacts you happen to see.

Links:
AP Story
NPR - Indiana Jones: Saving History or Stealing It?

New Import Restrictions on Iraqi Artifacts

2008-05-16T14:16:00.005-04:00

The Department of State announced that it is imposing import restrictions on Iraqi cultural heritage material under the Emergency Protection for Iraqi Cultural Antiquities Act of 2004. The import restrictions apply to cultural property that has been illegally removed from Iraq since 1990. The restrictions will hopefully stem the trade of an estimated 32,000 artifacts looted from Iraqi archaeological sites and 15,000 items stolen from the Baghdad National Museum. Illegal trade continues throughout the US, Europe, and other parts of the world, and additional action is needed to prevent further looting and protect the culture and history of past civilizations.

Links:
Dept. Homeland Security Announcement

IUAES Conference Postponed

2008-05-12T17:06:00.002-04:00

Members of the International Union of Anthropological and Ethnological Sciences were disappointed to hear that the upcoming conference in Kunming was postponed by Chinese authorities. The Chronicle for Higher Education reported that the People's Republic is concerned about a conference that addresses sensitive topics, such as ethnic diversity and conflict, so close to the start of the Olympics.

Related Articles
The Chronicle for Higher Education

Sign on San Diego

Minorities and Anthropology: Reflecting on 35 Years

2008-05-01T14:21:00.000-04:00

In 1969, the AAA passed a resolution calling for the recruitment of under-represented groups into anthropology and encouraging efforts to hire and facilitate their careers within the discipline. This year, the AAA Executive Board has established the Commission on Race and Racism in Anthropology and the AAA in order to re-evaluate how the discipline’s minority issues have changed over the past 35 years.

The AAA encourages members of the anthropology community or others interested in this subject to reflect on issues of race and racism in professional structures and practices of anthropology. We invite all members of the anthropology community to read the 1973 report and to reflect on what has and has not changed during the past thirty-five years.

Links:
1973 Minority Report

Minorities in Anthropology: 1973 versus 2008, Progress or Illusion *As printed in the April 2008 issue of Anthropology News

Commission on Race and Racism in Anthropology and the AAA

Improving Intellectual Property Law

2008-05-01T12:31:00.001-04:00

The House Judiciary Committee approved the ‘Prioritizing Resources and Organization for Intellectual Property Act’ (H.R. 4279) to strengthen the enforcement of laws against intellectual property piracy and counterfeiting. The bill will increase penalties for copyright infringement, improve agencies tasked with enforcing intellectual property, and increase efforts to combat infringement at both the national and international level.

A video webcast of the hearing is available here

Congressional Subcommittees Discuss the Social Sciences and National Security

2008-05-01T11:27:00.008-04:00

The Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee held a joint session with the Subcommittee on Research and Science Education to discuss the role of behavioral and social sciences in national security. The hearing—which came a week after Defense Secretary Robert Gates proposed a program (the Minerva Consortium) for Pentagon-funded, university-based social science research—included discussions about the potential contributions that the social sciences can make to national security, most notably in form of language instruction, cross-cultural communication, modeling of social networks, and the human terrain system. Several individuals at the hearing called for closer ties between the Pentagon and the National Science Foundation to support research relevant to national security issues. Col. Martin Schweitzer, a brigade commander in the US Army, received a number of questions regarding the Human Terrain System. Shweitzer admitted the teams were not constructed in the most ideal fashion, he maintained that they are instrumental in reducing violence and building relations with local communities.

Prepared statements and audio transcripts from this hearing are available at
http://armedservices.house.gov/hearing_information.shtml

Democrats Push for Additional Food Aid

2008-04-30T11:40:00.000-04:00

Senators Dick Durbin (D-IL) and Robert Casey (D-PA) held a news conference Monday afternoon to call for an additional $200 million in emergency food aid on top of the $350 million in aid that Bush is requesting for the

Iraq

supplemental spending bill. However, Bush has threatened to veto the bill if it exceeds the $108 billion Iraq package he proposed. Durbin is hoping that Secretary of State Condolleeza Rice will be able to generate support for additional aid in the White House and among congressional Republicans. Although Rice has expressed support for the increased funding of food programs, she has stopped short of saying she would support an increase of $200 million.

Genetic Nondiscrimination Bill

2008-04-24T11:52:00.004-04:00

A genetic nondiscrimination bill that has been in Congress for over a decade is likely to find its way to the White House this week. The bill, originally stalled in the Senate by Sen. Tom Coburn (R-OK), was passed by the Senate today after Coburn lifted his objections to the bill following negotiations. The bill makes it illegal to deny insurance or employment to people based on their genetic information. The bill is expected to pass both the House and the White House with little resistance.

Congress Daily Article

NY Times Article

UN Forum on Indigenous Issues

2008-04-22T13:12:00.002-04:00

The Seventh Session of the United Nations Permanent Forum on Indigenous Issues is being held in New York from April 21 – May 2, 2008 with a special focus on “Climate change, bio-cultural diversity and livelihoods: the stewardship role of indigenous peoples and new challenges.” The forum will address human rights violations, environmental abuses, discrimination, and the negative political and economic impact that indigenous peoples have experienced over the years, and how these issues have been exacerbated by climate change.

7th Session

UN Press Release on Forum

Funding from the Pentagon?

2008-04-21T16:38:00.000-04:00

As many of our members are aware, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates recently announced a plan to increase Pentagon support for research in the social sciences and humanities. Given the debate surrounding the HTS program, this new program--the Minerva Consortium--has many academics on edge. We expect to hear more on this issue when the Terrorism, Unconventional Threats and Capabilities Subcommittee meets with the Subcommittee on Research and Science Education later this week for a hearing on the role of the social and behavioral sciences in national security.

For those interested in attending, the joint hearing will be held on April 24, 2008 at 9:00am in the 2118 Rayburn House Office Building in Washington, DC.

AAA Press Release

Inside Higher Ed Article on Minerva Consortium

Human Terrain Teams in the Media

2008-04-18T15:35:00.005-04:00

The human terrain system made an appearance in the mainstream media this past week. Newsweek published an article entitled, “A Gun in One Hand, A Pen in the Other” that details the military’s efforts to recruit experts for HTS. The story is largely critical of the program, and is reinforced by comments from past HTT members. A major criticism of HTS is the recruitment of candidates who lack any regional or linguistic expertise in the Middle East.

One of the main architects of HTS, Montgomery McFate, has already written a response to Newsweek that has been included, in full, on Wired magazine’s Danger Room blog.

The AAA has also written a letter to Newsweek expressing two concerns it has with the article. First, the AAA is continuing to take a proactive approach in examining the full spectrum of issues associated with HTS and other related security and intelligence programs. The Ad Hoc Commission on the Engagement of Anthropology with the US Security and Intelligence Communities was formed to address the potential ethical implications of the military application of anthropology. Second, the association highlights the fact that anthropologists only represent a small percentage of HTS members, and that ethical considerations associated with the program bear relevance to the entire social science community.

As always, readers are encouraged to express their thoughts on the intersection of ethics, anthropology, and the military in the comments section below.

House Passes Student Loan Bill

2008-04-10T11:13:00.003-04:00

"The Ensuring Continued Access to Student Loans Act of 2008" (H.R. 5715) easily passed through the House after receiving approval from both the House Education and Labor Committee and the House Rules Committee. However, the bill is expected to face some roadblocks in the Senate, and negotiations are likely to occur before it is finally passed. This legislation will increase limits on federally backed student loans by $2,000 per student, and will increase the total amount of federal loans students can borrow.

Additional information can be found below:

Copy of the bill [pdf]

Committee press release

Connecting Through Film

2008-04-01T17:01:00.005-04:00

Documentary filmmaker Jehane Noujaim, whose prior work includes “Control Room,” is hoping that her new project, “Pangea Day,” will give people across the globe the opportunity to film life from their particular sociocultural perspectives. Amateur filmmakers made short videos highlighting their unique viewpoints, and underprivileged filmmakers did the same using donated cell phones equipped with video cameras. The videos were uploaded to YouTube, and have been compiled into a four-hour video that will be broadcast live on May 10, 2008 for free. Please inform your colleagues and students.

Pangea Day Website

AFP: Film event uses digital-age technology to unite cultures

Soaring Food Prices, Decreasing Aid

2008-03-25T15:58:00.002-04:00

Conflict, drought, population growth, rising oil prices and shipping costs, and a booming biofuel industry have greatly raised commodity prices across the globe. This poses a particular problem for food aid programs. Global food prices rose nearly 40% in 2007 and show few signs of receding. The Financial Times reported that the UN’s World Food Program has a funding gap of about $600-$700 million, and is requesting governments to donate at least $500 million by May 1st to avoid rationing food. Domestically, the largest US food aid program, Food for Peace, is in need of $600 million—approximately a 70% increase—to avoid gaps in food donations. Congress is currently mulling over legislation that will increase supplemental spending for aid funds.

As always, we encourage our members and visitors to share their thoughts on this impending crisis.

Financial Times: WFP plea for $500m to avoid food aid cut

Reuters: US groups urge 70 pct jump in 11th-hour food aid

Guardian: Food aid to poorest countries slashed as price of grain soars

Indian Country in the News: Budget Woes, Healthcare Legislation, and a US Apology

2008-03-18T14:59:00.005-04:00

The President’s proposed budget will cut general welfare assistance, used to improve living conditions and provide basic needs for poor American Indian families and children, by $22 million for FY09. With the country slipping into a recession and unemployment rates well above the national average, the President’s proposed budget fails to meet the needs of Indian Country. House and Senate budget resolutions also decrease overall funding for Indian programs, but still allocate more funds than the President’s budget plans. The Senate Committee on Indian Affairs is requesting additional funds to improve health care, housing, education, public safety and justice—-and for the federal government to satisfy its obligations towards Indian tribal governments.

Committee on Natural Resources Press Release on Bush's Budget Proposal for Indian Country

In contrast to this funding decrease, the Senate recently passed the Indian Health Care Improvement Act by a vote of 83-10, and the act is now under consideration by the House of Representatives. As the first update to Indian Health Care legislation in 16 years, this act will benefit over 1.8 million American Indians and Alaskan Natives on reservations by infusing $35 billion into the Indian Health Care system over the course of 10 years. If enacted, the bill would allow for the modernization and construction of new health clinics, increase access to Medicare and Medicaid, bolster mental health programs, increase cancer and diabetes screenings, expand disease prevention programs, help recruit nurses and doctors to serve American Indian populations, and improve or create a number of additional programs. Under treaties signed by the US government and Indian populations, the federal government is responsible for providing health care for American Indians. This legislation will help erase disparities that exist between American Indian healthcare and that of the average American.

Seattle Post-Intelligencer on American Indian Healthcare Bill
US Senate Committee on Indian Affairs Press Release

Following Australia’s formal apology to Aborigines for years of racist policies and abuse, Senator Sam Brownback (R-Kansas) pushed for an amendment to the Indian health care bill that would offer an official apology from the US federal government to American Indians. The amendment, which recognizes the impact of unjust federal policies and acts, including—but not limited to—forced displacement, mistreatment and broken treaties, passed by voice vote on the Senate floor.

Indian Country Today Reports on Apology
Senator Brownback's Press Release on Apology Amendment

Global Anti-Semitism on the Rise

2008-03-18T14:39:00.004-04:00

According to a recent report by the US State Department's Office of the Special Envoy for Monitoring and Combating Anti-Semitism, global anti-Semitism is on the rise. Regions that have seen a rise in anti-Semitic rhetoric and violence include parts of the Middle East, Central and Eastern Europe, Argentina, Australia, Canada, South Africa, Germany, France and the UK.

The full report can be found here.

News Coverage:
Reuters
CNN
House Foreign Affairs Committee Press Release

Climate Refugees

2008-03-13T16:56:00.003-04:00

Climate Refugees in Political Pass-the-Parcel

By Megan Rowling

LONDON (Reuters) - The islanders of Tuvalu could lose their homes and much of their land in the coming decades. But the world has yet to figure out how it will deal with them, and millions of others, who may be displaced by climate change.

"It's a game of political pass-the-parcel," said Andrew Simms, policy director at British think-tank New Economics Foundation. "No one wants to be left holding the problem of climate refugees."

It's a problem with immediate resonance in the nine tiny Pacific islands that make up Tuvalu.

The group of atolls and reefs is on average barely two meters above sea-level. The United Nations climate panel estimates that oceans will rise by 18-59 cms by 2100.

This, along with environmental degradation, could make large parts of Tuvalu uninhabitable.

Japanese activist and journalist Shuichi Endo has set himself the daunting task of photographing 10,000 Tuvaluans -- nearly the entire population -- in a bid to draw political attention to the threat they face from global warming.

"If industrialized countries like Japan and the United States don't cut their greenhouse gas emissions, the Tuvaluans won't be able to carry on living here," Endo said by telephone from Funafuti island, as children laughed in the background.

"Their culture will be lost, the Tuvaluans will no longer exist, and that would be very sad. Here, people live in tune with the natural environment. They don't emit carbon, and we can learn a lot from them," Endo said.

No one seems to know where the Tuvaluans would go if their islands disappear -- something one study said could happen in just 50 years.

Australia has been approached by the islands' authorities, but has not agreed to let the 12,000 islanders resettle there. New Zealand accepts 75 Tuvaluans a year under a regional immigration quota, but has no explicit policy to take in people from Pacific island countries due to climate change.

Tuvalu's plight does not augur well for millions of others -- from Africa's Sahel region to Bangladesh in south Asia -- who could be forced from their homes by climate change.

"There is a lack of concern about this right now," said Frank Biermann, a professor at Vrije University's Institute for Environmental Studies in Amsterdam.

"A crisis is unlikely to occur before 2030 or 2040," he said. "But if we don't want to see people in camps, violence and other nasty consequences, we need to start planning now."

MIGRATORY PRESSURE

Besides higher sea levels, the U.N. climate panel warns that rising global temperatures -- caused by human activities led by burning fossil fuels -- are likely to bring more droughts, flooding and stronger storms.

Experts predict climate change-related stresses -- including disasters, food and water shortages and conflicts over scarce resources -- could permanently uproot 200 to 250 million people by mid-century.

This week, European Union leaders will be told to prepare for "substantially increased migratory pressure" due to climate change.

A report by EU foreign policy chief Javier Solana and the executive European Commission, to be delivered at this week's summit, says people who already suffer from poor health, unemployment or social exclusion will be hit hardest.

That could amplify or trigger mass migration within and between countries, sparking increased conflicts in transit and destination areas, it warns.

"Some countries that are extremely vulnerable to climate change are already calling for international recognition of such environmentally induced migration," the report says.

LEGAL LIMBO

Unless that demand is met, those fleeing the consequences of climate change will find themselves in a legal limbo.

The U.N. refugee agency, UNHCR, has not endorsed proposals to bring them under its mandate, and there is even a dispute over what exactly to call people made homeless by the effects of climate change.

"UNHCR is afraid that its capacity to deal with political refugees is already over-stretched, and if you introduce a new element, they simply wouldn't be able to cope," said Simms.

"The system is moving further away from meeting the needs, and the countries that are becoming more restrictive (on migration) are those who are largely responsible for global warming."

Biermann says the refugees should be given legal status through the U.N. Framework Convention on Climate Change -- the international treaty that is the basis for worldwide efforts to reduce global warming and cope with any temperature increases.

Biermann also recommends creating a new fund to pay for protecting and resettling the refugees.

He argues that long-term strategies like moving people away from high-risk coastal zones could avert a crisis later.

"We don't want people grabbing their suitcases," he said. "They need new land, new jobs and seeds."

Measures that could help vulnerable people adapt to climate change have risen up the agenda at U.N. climate talks. December's meeting in Bali, Indonesia, agreed to launch a U.N. fund to help poor nations cope with the impact of global warming.

"The issue is emerging, even if it's not called climate refugees," Biermann said.

(Reporting by Megan Rowling; Additional reporting by Paul Taylor in Brussels; Editing by Clar Ni Chonghaile.)

Anthropologists Defend Their Position on Marriage and the Family

2008-03-07T09:43:00.026-05:00

Focus on the Family, the American evangelical group founded by James Dobson, published a press release this week titled, "Anthropologists Agree on Traditional Marriage."

In the release, Glenn Stanton, an employee of Focus in the Family who does not identify himself as an anthropologist, claims "a family is a unit that draws from the two types of humanity, male and female." He also states that there is a clear consensus among anthropologists on this definition.

This statement is a gross misrepresentation of the position of the anthropological community on gay marriage. To counter the egregious claims of the Focus on the Family release, the AAA Public Affairs department has issued the following letter:

Dear Sir:

My name is Damon Dozier, and I am the American Anthropological Association (AAA) Director of Public Affairs. In this capacity, I am responsible for the Association's full range of government relations, media relations, and international affairs programs. Founded in 1902, the AAA—11,000 members strong—is the world's largest organization of men and women interested in anthropology. Its purposes are to encourage research, promote the public understanding of anthropology, and foster the use of anthropological information in addressing human problems.

I write to address the gross misrepresentation of the position of the anthropological community on gay marriage in your March 3, 2008 Citizen Link press release, “Anthropologists Agree on Traditional Definition of Marriage.” In the release, Glenn Stanton, an employee of your organization who does not identify himself as an anthropologist, asserts that “a family is a unit that draws from the two types of humanity, male and female.”

In point of fact, the AAA Executive Board issued in 2004, the following statement in response to President Bush’s proposal for a constitutional amendment banning gay marriage:

The results of more than a century of anthropological research on households, kinship relationships, and families, across cultures and through time, provide no support whatsoever for the view that either civilization or viable social orders depend upon marriage as an exclusively heterosexual institution. Rather, anthropological research supports the conclusion that a vast array of family types, including families built upon same-sex partnerships, can contribute to stable and humane societies.

I am alarmed and dismayed at this example of irresponsible journalism and deliberate misrepresentation of the anthropological community. In the future it is my hope that your organization will accurately and honestly convey and communicate the views and interests of the AAA, its 11,000 members, and the social science community at large.

Damon Dozier
Director of Public Affairs
American Anthropological Association
2200 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 600
Arlington, VA 22201
703.528.1902

Additional Links

AAA Statement on Marriage and the Family

Why Marriage? - by Ellen Lewin, as printed in the May 2004 issue of Anthropology News

Box Turtle Bulletin - read the responses to the Focus on the Family release from three anthropologists (and AAA members) --Bill Maurer, Tom Boellstorff,and Patrick Chapman

Department of Homeland Security Search and Seizure Policy--A Threat to Anthropologists?

2008-02-26T13:25:00.036-05:00

On February 15, NPR's Morning Edition reported that two civil liberties groups—the Electronic Frontier Foundation and the Asian Law Caucus—are suing the Department of Homeland Security to force it to disclose its policy for searching US citizens and their electronic devices when re-entering the United States.

The NPR piece, “Suit Accuses Homeland Security of Illegal Searches” opens with the story of a naturalized US citizen who recently returned from a three-week trip to Jordan. According to the piece, customs agents demanded to know the names of everyone the woman met in Jordan and the addresses of all the places she visited. They confiscated her cell phone, and when it was returned, her record of recent calls had been erased.

Many anthropologists may not be aware of the rights of the government to copy all documents, including electronic documents, carried across the borders. As scholars and professionals who frequently conduct research outside the US, anthropologists may be placed in a difficult and potentially unethical position if required to reveal confidential information about their informants to US customs officials.

Share your thoughts. Have you ever been subject to search and seizure policies at US Customs? In light of Homeland Security policies, what precautions should anthropologists take to protect those whom they study? What actions, if any, should the AAA take to uphold its Code of Ethics?

Related Links

CNet News article

Boing Boing article - includes a pdf copy of the EFF complaint

AAA Code of Ethics

Welcome Back

2008-01-24T10:45:00.000-05:00

Thanks to everyone for their comments on the Human Terrain System (HTS) Statement. Discussions on this topic were so lively that we want to continue to use this blog to encourage public conversations on a broad range of AAA public affairs activities.

The newly named, "AAA Public Affairs" blog will function as an interactive space where AAA staff can share information and receive questions and feedback on AAA policy and advocacy efforts, statements and resolutions, public policy briefs, and commission activities.

By actively participating, you can share your knowledge and help guide future AAA policy and advocacy actions. We appreciate your courteous comments and look forward to many more lively conversations.

AAA Board Statement on HTS

2007-11-07T09:57:00.000-05:00

On October 31, 2007, the American Anthropological Association’s Executive Board passed a statement concerning ethical aspects of the U.S. military’s Human Terrain System (HTS) project. The project, which has received widespread national and international media coverage, embeds anthropologists and other social scientists in military teams in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Ethical and procedural concerns regarding anthropologists working with U.S. military and intelligence agencies have been under investigation by an ad hoc commission of the AAA. The Ad Hoc Commission on the Engagement of Anthropology with US Security and Intelligence Communities will submit their final report on this subject—which extends beyond the particulars of the HTS project—during the AAA’s Annual Meeting in Washington DC.

To facilitate discussion on this subject, the AAA has created this blog as a forum for members to post comments regarding the Executive Board statement and related issues.

Read the Executive Board Statement on HTS

Read the Code of Ethics