This roundtable discussion is being organized by the SVA Ethics Committee to continue, deepen, and expand the critical reflections and dialogues on visual ethics. Highlighting this year’s theme of “Circulation”—including “what is at stake in these processes, and for whom; and what their consequences might be”—this session is intended to explore the ethical considerations implicated and involved in the intersections of images and circulation. Key issues raised in previous sessions (the 2007 AAA special event discussions and the 2008 and 2009 roundtables on visual ethics) that can be elaborated on, developed, or added to include: (a) negotiating representational authority; (b) the decontextualization/circulation of images (and the problem of lack of control); (c) presumed vs. actual outcomes of image display; (d) relations with and responsibilities toward research subjects/communities; (e) balancing privacy vs. publicity (depending on subjects’ wishes); (f) the importance of communication with and consent of subjects/communities at every stage of the research process; and (g) the collection and dissemination of visual materials within the context of globally expanding media savvy and presence.

The SVA Ethics Committee thus welcomes any proposals that can serve as focal cases for collaborative discussions of real-world ethical considerations and dilemmas faced by anthropologists (and others) working with, thinking about, and engaged in the circulation of visual data.

Those interested in participating should contact Jonathan S. Marion (jsmarion@gmail.com) as soon as possible, and by March 28th at the latest.