[Air-L] LAST CALL: Digital media and visual ethics, American Anthropological Association conference, Washington, DC

[Sara Perry]

A final reminder about the call for contributions below for an in-person and
online event on visual ethics to be held in conjunction with the American
Anthropological Association conference in Washington, 3-7 December 2014.
Contact Sara Perry, sara.perry at york.ac.uk <mailto:sara.perry at york.ac.uk> ,
for more details. Deadline for proposals: 5 April 2014.

DIGITAL MEDIA AND THE PRODUCTION OF ANTHROPOLOGY: A DISCUSSION ON VISUAL
ETHICS

Organizers: Sara Perry, Terry Wright & Jonathan Marion

More than ten years ago Gross, Katz and Ruby published Image Ethics in the
Digital Age, a pioneering volume whose topical concerns ­ privacy,
authenticity, control, access and exposure, as related to the application of
visual media ­ are arguably just as salient today, if not more so, than in
2003. The ethical dimensions of image use within digital cultures are
necessarily fluid and complex, driven by practical needs, institutional
frameworks, related regulatory requirements, specific research and
intellectual circumstances, not to mention individual and collective moral
tenets. The nature of visuality itself has also been extended via digital
technologies, therein further complicating our interactions with and
applications of visual media. Ethical practice here, then, tends to be
necessarily situated, depending upon recursive reflection and constant
questioning of one¹s research processes, objectives and modes of engagement.
This session aims simultaneously to expose practitioners to, and build a
resource base of, visual ethics Œin action¹ in digital contexts. It relies
upon two streams:
(1)an online forum hosted on the Society for Visual Anthropology¹s webpages
where, prior to the AAA meetings, contributors will submit short
descriptions of the ethical dimensions of their in-progress or
recently-completed visual/digital research. These will provide fodder for
more extensive debate in:

(2)an open, live-streamed presentation and discussion session at the AAA
meetings in Washington, DC in December where various contributors to the
blog will present either on-site or via Google Hangouts, and contribute in
real time to reflections/direct commentary on the online forum itself.

The former will provide a stable space within which ethical debates can be
added to and developed in the lead up to, during, and after the 2014
meetings. The latter offers a concentrated opportunity to channel the
collective wisdom of participants (both at the meetings and online) into the
negotiation and rethinking of ethical visual practice in the digital world.

Deadline:

For those interested in participating, please provide a brief description
(max. 150 words) of the particular scenario or issue you wish to contribute
to the session as soon as possible, and by 5 April 2014 at the latest. You
will also need to indicate whether you plan on presenting in person or via
Google Hangout at the AAA meetings in December. Decisions will be made by 10
April, and contributors will need to register for the conference via the
AAA¹s web-based system by 15 April. All correspondence should be sent to
Sara Perry <sara.perry at york.ac.uk>.

The session will take the form of a series of brief, 10-minute presentations
by participants, culminating in an extended period of group discussion and
debate. Contributors will be expected to submit content for the webpages by
the beginning of September 2014.
 

Dr Sara Perry
Director of Studies, Digital Heritage
Director of Studies, Archaeological Information Systems
Lecturer in Cultural Heritage Management
Archaeology, University of York
King¹s Manor, York, UK, YO1 7EP
sara.perry at york.ac.uk
http://www.york.ac.uk/archaeology/staff/academic-staff/perry