ANT102 Tutorial Handout

Tutorial Exercise for Week 3

- Split into 4 groups. Group 1 and 2 discuss case 1, group 3 and 4 discuss case 2.
- In each group, make sure someone is appointed as the discussant who will share
thoughts with the entire class.

1. Read the case on the powerpoint and analyze the given situation. Try to answer the
questions below:
- Define exactly what happened. Is any information missing that might be useful?
- What issues and problems does the case raise and why?
- What ethical principle (discussed in lecture) does it remind you of? Why?
- What are courses of action the anthropologist could follow and what would be
the negative and positive consequences of each?
- How would you have acted in the same situation?

There are no right or wrong answers. You, like the anthropologist in the field, may not
have all the information you would like to have before making their decisions.

2. Subsequently consider:
- How can ethical dilemmas shape or modify fieldwork research?
- Are you surprised by any of the ethical dilemmas anthropologists can face?
- What, if anything, can be done to prevent anthropologists from getting into
ethical binds?
- Does social responsibility have to contradict the discipline’s commitment to
cultural relativism?

Make sure to take notes as you discuss!