blog post 1

    Blog Post #1
    Ethics are vital to any subject of study that research is done.  There have been many different scenarios that codes of ethics are vital for in visual anthropology.  The three articles that were read gave several guidelines to make sure any persons or animal subjects do not become exploited by the researcher on their quest for knowledge or the private or public sector that the anthropologist is working for.  The integrity of the person always comes first in any line of study whether it be genetic study or archaeology. 
    The Code of Ethics of the American Anthropological Association is a guideline for anthropologists so the persons or animals that they interact with during their studies do not get harmed or exploited in the pursuit for new knowledge.  The ethics code lays out advice so that all anthropologists can be on the same page on the standards of how people should be treated in relation to how important the research might seem to the researcher. The code of ethics is an effective tool for any anthropologist trying to make sure that the human or animal that they are studying is not misrepresented in any way shape or form, but it is always the anthropologists’ duty to assess the situation and maintain the subjects’ reputation the way that they want to be represented. The ethics code also deals with how teachers should represent the information and the responsibility to the people they are training or educating.  It is useful to have this section in a code of ethics because not only should the teacher be aware that there are moral and ethical lines that they should abide by, but the student or trainee should be alert to the different things that the mentor should and should not be imposing on them.  What is more important to have is the application section in the ethics code.  It shows a few situations that anthropologists should be aware of when anthropologists are dealing with employers and how to be aware of the hostilities that could arise for being an anthropologist. 
In the Visual Anthropology Review article, The State of Ethics In Visual Anthropology Sarah Perry and Jonathan S. Marion bring up important views of the visual ethics discussion meeting and how they have progressed.  Perry and Marion make a point to show that the ethics code in visual anthropology can be applied in other fields of anthropology.  In archaeology, even though the researchers use remains and the things that people throw away or just leave behind because it has no use for them, the researchers recreate the people that they are trying to study and either recreate them with a computer animation or by drawing and could exploit the descendants of the culture in study.  The ways the American Anthropological Association (AAA) and the Society for Visual Anthropology (SVA) have sorted out the problems in ethics of visual anthropology have been useful and the suggestions that Perry and Marion have made in the paper would be even more helpful.  Since there needs to be more information out on the ethics, Perry and Marion have suggested that there be on the AAA’s website they have the ethics code and links to any other discussion about the ethics code to find more information about it or if a researcher has a question about their subject of study they can ask other people and see what they can do.  It is beneficial for anthropologists to get together and further the progress of the science of humanities and fixing the wrongs that could happen so they will not happen.
The code of research ethics was created because people needed help with some of the problems they faced while doing their research and to aid the students who are just learning to do research in the field.  In the International Visual Sociology Association (IVSA) Code of Research Ethics and Guidelines has five general principles and ethical standards for a researcher to abide by so they will not endanger another human.  The principles are somewhat similar to The Code of Ethics by the American Anthropological Association.   A scientist needs to make sure the information is honest and that the people are represented honestly and fairly.  They also need to make sure that the people involved do not get harmed or will be harmed by what the researcher is doing.  Also, there must be informed consent and confidentiality that the person’s information will be held in secret unless they give the researcher the right to let it be public knowledge.  The IVSA’s Code of Research Ethics and Guidelines was similar to the Code of Ethics by the AAA, just a few differences in detail since it had to envelop a couple more subjects of study rather than just anthropology.
Some of the concerns that the film makers of the films we watched had were the unknown exploitation of the indigenous people in Margret Mead’s film.  In the documentary The Cannibal Tours, the director showed the exploitations, but all the while, he was exploiting their way of life and showed how poor some indigenous people are and the tourists lives by making them seem ignorant, oblivious, and not caring of how the indigenous people lived.  Even though the director of the documentary was trying to, and succeeding, on making a point, he made a point at the expense of the people he was filming.  The film was cut in a way that seemed to misrepresent both parties and it seemed like there was no viewing of the film by the people who were in it. 
Ethic codes are an important source for protecting humans and animals that scientists encounter while doing their studies and anthropology is no different.  It may be more important in anthropology since the whole community studies humans.  Scientists need to know the ethical boundaries that surround working with people or else harm or exploitation could arise from trying to gain as much knowledge as they can.  To an anthropologist the way a human or animal is treated should have more priority over what can be learned from the culture.  The anthropologist’s job is to make connections and make sure the way they are representing the culture they are studying is accurately portrayed.