| Description |
In a context where most academic institutions impose researchers to demonstrate their ethical commitment, and in a pressing socio-political context where researchers are growingly expected to contribute to social change, a collaborative reflection on the ethics of research of geography is required.
Ethics has, so far, predominantly been understood by academic institutions – including ethics committees – as a procedural issue, involving the enforcement of legal and moral principles such as non-plagiarism, informed consent, anonymity of sources, and lack of harm. But what if informed consent was not fit to all practices of research? What if covert observation might be accompanied with a quest for social justice? Ethics, a growing number of researchers argue, is before anything a pragmatic practice that has to be adjusted to social and political contexts and to the varying degrees of vulnerability of specific publics. However, a more positive and proactive definition of ethics can also make it embrace the pursuit of social change, empowerment and justice. It has, in sum, also to do with the definition of the researcher's role in society.
This workshop will question the limits of the procedural approach to ethics and explore the links between ethics and commitment to social justice. It will present participatory methods as a possible approach towards more ethical research.
In terms of format, the workshop will give room for PhD students to reflect upon ethical issues in their own research. It will be organized around discussion panels and workshops, aimed at collectively sharing, discussing, and hopefully resolving ethical dilemma and issues. Besides keynote addresses by senior researchers, PhD students will play an active role as panellists in roundtables and will be asked to work in groups during workshops. Advanced researchers will share their experiences and discuss issues with PhD students on an egalitarian basis. |
| Information |
15 September: Research ethics: sensitivity, engagement, justice
10:00-10:30: Coffee
10:30-11:00: Welcome address, roundtable and introduction
11:00-12:30: Introductory Conference & Discussion
Claudine Burton-Jeangros (Unige): Ethics, a question of procedure? Genealogy, roles and philosophy of an academic ethics commission.
12:30 – 14:00: Lunch
14:00-15:00: Keynote Addresses & Discussion
Research ethics and social justice
Amy Ritterbusch (University of Los Andes)
Michele Lancione (Cardiff University)
15:30-16:00: Coffee Break
16:00-18:00 Parallel panels
a) Ethics on and after the field : risk, sensitivity and vulnerability
b) Ethical commitment and social engagement: relationships with communities and institutions
19:00 Dinner
Night at the Courtil
16 September: Participatory geographies for a more just practice of research
9:30-12:30: Participatory workshop
Led by Amy Ritterbusch and Michele Lancione.
12:30-14:00: Lunch
14:00-15:00: PhD students' writing workshop
15:00-16:00: Final discussion
PhD students are expected to read recommended texts and prepare a 5-minute presentation to take place during one of the panels on the 15 September. A preparatory document should be sent to [email protected] and [email protected] by the 5th of September (see attached file for detailed information). PhD students who will do fieldwork and/or work on collected data during summer are also expected to keep track of their daily ethical questions/dilemmas in the form of a research field diary.
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