{"title":"Front and Back Covers, Volume 40, Number 2. April 2024","authors":"","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12805","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12805","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Front and back cover caption, volume 40 issue 2</p><p><b>THE ETHNOGRAPHER'S LABYRINTH</b></p><p>The path of ethnographic research winds through a labyrinth of ethics procedures, each a potential minefield of doubt and uncertainty. How do I uphold my commitment to my research interlocutors when my every step faces scrutiny from probably well-meaning but theoretically detached oversight bodies?</p><p>The overseers demand consent forms, but what of those unspoken moments of shared understanding? What if the most illuminating insights are offered only after trust is established, with no document to seal the pact? My informants, my friends, might change their minds and withdraw their words. But how can I know with certainty? Should I second-guess their smiles, their hesitation? What right do I have to dissect and categorize the complexities of their consent?</p><p>The questions spiral endlessly. What if their traditions or past experiences forbid signing? What if they sign with an inscrutable shrug of the shoulders? What if I do not know enough to read their non-verbal signals? Should I abandon my cherished research altogether? But … what if my work, however imperfect, might be useful or a source of pride for the people I study? What would they say if I never used all the precious insights they gave me?</p><p>Ethics committees, populated by colleagues unfamiliar with my informants’ worlds and my methods, view friendship as suspect, threatening objectivity. Yet isn't connection at the heart of what we do? Meanwhile, lawyers loom, citing obscure regulations that threaten my university and, through it, my work. The once distant spectre of ethics oversight solidifies into a barricade, its voices a chorus of suspicion.</p><p>I desperately cling to my ethical principles, but will they be understood as such? Can I navigate this maze, safeguarding the trust of my participants while justifying my approach to those who hold my research – and my career – in their hands? This special issue explores the challenges ethnographers face as they navigate the ethical tensions now complicating the very foundations of knowledge and understanding.</p><p>BUREAUCRACY VS ETHNOGRAPHY</p><p>While presumed to be well-intentioned and designed to protect researchers and participants, the bureaucratization of research ethics poses a fundamental challenge to ethnography. Ethics boards, often prioritizing biomedical or legalistic models, struggle to grasp our work's immersive, relationship-driven reality. Rigid protocols replace nuanced and contextual insight, forms undermine painstakingly built trust and fixed-term approval timelines clash with the open-ended nature of long-term fieldwork.</p><p>This special issue investigates how ethnographers experience and face these tensions, balancing ethical principles with respect for the practices and perspectives of the communities they study. Contributors explore the disconnect between universalist ethics frameworks and the specific cul","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":"40 2","pages":"i-ii"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1467-8322.12805","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140333218","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"The reporter's responsibility: Journalists and anthropologists","authors":"Eric Laursen","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12869","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12869","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This guest editorial explores the parallel ethical responsibilities and institutional challenges faced by anthropologists and journalists, highlighting their shared commitment to reporting faithfully on the complexities of global conflicts, cultural transformations and sensitive social issues. It examines the pressures both professions encounter from institutional review boards and media sponsors, which can impede their ability to conduct in-depth, culturally sensitive research and reporting. The text underscores the importance of honesty, expertise, open-mindedness and courage in navigating the intricate cultural situations and conflicts within contemporary global issues. By examining the institutional pressures that demand conformity to specific ethical models or journalistic practices, the article calls for re-evaluating these constraints to support reporters’ investigative integrity and ethical obligations better in both fields.</p>","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":"40 2","pages":"1-2"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140333247","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Fieldwork? Better not: Ethics bureaucracy in Eastern Europe","authors":"Lenka J. Budilová, Marek Jakoubek","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12873","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12873","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 <p>This article discusses the methodological and ethical challenges posed by the bureaucratization of research ethics in Eastern Europe, particularly as this impacts the practice of anthropology and fieldwork. It reflects on the authors’ extensive fieldwork among Czech-speaking Protestants in Bulgaria and the Czech Republic, highlighting the discrepancy between Western and Eastern European academic norms regarding ethnography. The authors argue that increased formalization and ethical regulation favour more easily bureaucratically managed methodologies, to the detriment of traditional anthropological fieldwork, which is critical for deep cultural understanding.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":"40 2","pages":"11-13"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1467-8322.12873","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140333257","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Experiences of GDPR in Norway: Politics of autonomy and control","authors":"Jan Ketil Simonsen, Elisabeth L'orange Fürst","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12875","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12875","url":null,"abstract":"<div>\u0000 <p>This article explores the challenges Norwegian anthropologists face owing to the implementation of the General Data Protection Regulation (GDPR). The authors’ analysis reveals a tension between the need to comply with data protection regulations and preserve research autonomy and methodological integrity. The authors document how GDPR's bureaucratic control mechanisms have influenced researchers’ conceptualization of ethics, leading to a split between legalistic adherence and critical responses within the anthropological community. This situation has necessitated negotiations with various stakeholders and re-evaluating participatory observational methods, particularly in health research, where access has become increasingly difficult. The article highlights the anthropological community's efforts to navigate these regulations through national debates, establishing forums for ethics in ethnographic research and developing strategies to maintain methodological standards while ensuring GDPR compliance. The authors advocate vigilance against the colonization of bureaucratic logic and seek to secure anthropological representation in regulatory bodies to safeguard the discipline's interests.</p>\u0000 </div>","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":"40 2","pages":"18-20"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-04-01","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1467-8322.12875","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"140333259","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Guns, gangs and metal: The double-edged sword of protection inside Beirut's scrap economies","authors":"Elizabeth Saleh","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12863","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12863","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In Beirut, the role of ‘local strong men’, known as the <i>masoul</i>, has significantly transformed, particularly in Lebanon's financial crisis and since the devastating Beirut port explosion in August 2020. Traditionally, these armed henchmen, affiliated with mainstream political parties, have exerted control over the scrap metal industry, from collection to transportation. However, the increasing profitability of scrap metal, notably copper and iron – long-standing leading exports – has led to new forms of ‘local strong men’, termed ‘<i>asabet</i> (gangs). These groups have escalated violence, breaking from what was previously considered normative behaviour. This article examines these evolving protection practices and their implications for Lebanon's sociopolitical landscape.</p>","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":"40 1","pages":"12-15"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139676828","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Front and Back Covers, Volume 40, Number 1. February 2024","authors":"","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12804","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12804","url":null,"abstract":"<p>Front and back cover caption, volume 40 issue 1</p><p><b>EYE IN THE SKY: ANTHROPOLOGY IN THE DRONE ERA</b></p><p>A civilian contractor launches a V-BAT surveillance and reconnaissance drone from the USS Rushmore in the Philippine Sea. Manufactured by the California-based startup Shield AI, the V-BAT takes off vertically and operates autonomously without operator guidance or GPS (global positioning system). Its ‘swarming’ capability allows for potential combat use.</p><p>Drones have had a profound impact in theatres of war for decades, causing lethal outcomes for combatants and non-combatants alike. The US-led ‘war on terror’ in regions like Afghanistan, Pakistan and Yemen has seen drone strikes causing tens of thousands of deaths, including many civilians. Beyond the direct, destructive impact, American drone pilots report significant mental health issues like anxiety, depression and PTSD due to the nature of remote-controlled warfare.</p><p>Recent conflicts in Ukraine and Gaza have seen an expansion in the types of drones used, ranging from inexpensive commercial drones with explosives to advanced armed drones. While traditionally operated remotely, there is an increasing shift towards autonomous functioning.</p><p>This escalation in drone warfare technology, particularly the development of lethal autonomous weapon systems, has led to warnings of a global AI arms race involving powers like the US, China and Russia. The concept of ‘sensor-to-shooter’ machine learning infrastructures by military planners underscores the ethical, moral and sociopolitical dilemmas in a world increasingly leaning towards algorithmic warfare.</p><p>In this issue, Roberto González argues that anthropologists need to illuminate how drone warfare impacts societies, the effects on both operators and targeted populations and the broader sociopolitical implications of autonomous weapons. This critical, publicly oriented anthropological perspective is essential to navigating the complex interplay of technology, ethics and human values in modern warfare, offering a deeper understanding of the societal impacts of these rapidly evolving military technologies.</p><p><b>UNRAVELLING ‘REAL’ KINSHIP</b></p><p>This thought-provoking Illustration shows the contrast between the idealized concept of unilineal descent and the intricate realities of kinship in everyday life. The left side of the image displays a simplified, stylized, unilineal family tree. With its clear, vertical lines, this depiction symbolizes kinship as a straightforward, linear progression. It embodies an idealized perspective on lineage, where relationships are traced through a single ancestral line, mirroring classical kinship theory.</p><p>Conversely, the right side of the image presents a more complex and interwoven family tree. This part challenges the simplistic notions of unilineal descent, revealing kinship's rich, multifaceted nature. Here, the interconnected lines represent a spectrum of relationships ex","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":"40 1","pages":"i-iv"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/epdf/10.1111/1467-8322.12804","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139676816","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"OA","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Precision Medicine, Future Risk and the Present Self","authors":"Lisa M. Hoffman","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12864","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12864","url":null,"abstract":"<p>In May 2015, my mother was diagnosed with stage IV pancreatic cancer and passed away three months later at the age of 78. Two years later, my older brother, only 53 at the time, was also diagnosed with pancreatic cancer. He passed away 15 months later. With this news, we engaged in the genetic retelling of family histories and connections, drawing genealogical maps on pieces of paper that reminded me of teaching Anthro 101 and starkly reimagined which relatives ‘mattered’ in our lives. As an anthropologist interested in subject formation and spatiality informed by a Foucauldian analytic, I have been propelled into exploring what it means to become ‘high risk’ (as a biologically related daughter and sister), subject to new regimes of surveillance and self-management espoused by the field of precision medicine. This paper addresses this experience and thus contributes to questions of subject formation within the already-existing truth-making practices of genetic probability and personalized risk management.</p>","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":"40 1","pages":"16-19"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139676822","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
{"title":"Diaspora, war, Gaza","authors":"Hugh Gusterson","doi":"10.1111/1467-8322.12860","DOIUrl":"https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8322.12860","url":null,"abstract":"<p>This guest editorial examines how diasporic communities influence modern wars amidst globalization and rising ethnonationalism. It discusses historical tensions between states and diasporas during conflicts, referencing world wars and recent issues involving Chinese Americans in the US. The editorial highlights the roles played by diasporas in various conflicts, including the internment of Japanese Americans in World War II, scrutiny of Chinese Americans during Trump's presidency, and Irish expatriates’ involvement with the IRA. It focuses particularly on the Israel-Gaza conflict, noting the active participation of Israeli and Palestinian diasporas in North America, often marked by internal disagreements. The piece argues that these diasporas, though physically distant from the conflicts, significantly influence global perspectives and the nature of warfare through public opinion and social media, thereby reshaping the contemporary understanding of war.</p>","PeriodicalId":46293,"journal":{"name":"Anthropology Today","volume":"40 1","pages":"1-2"},"PeriodicalIF":1.3,"publicationDate":"2024-01-31","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":null,"resultStr":null,"platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":"139676821","PeriodicalName":null,"FirstCategoryId":null,"ListUrlMain":null,"RegionNum":0,"RegionCategory":"","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":"","EPubDate":null,"PubModel":null,"JCR":null,"JCRName":null,"Score":null,"Total":0}
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