Informed consent in the jungle

[Laura C Robinson]

Hi John & all,

In response to your comment:

> So in summary, I'm personally not interested in offering to limit access
> because restricted data would not meet my goals of helping them shore-up the
> strength of their language & oral culture, particularly for future
> generations, and to share knowledge of it with the world. Also, trust is a
> minor problem because I (and my colleagues here) have the good fortune to
> live in-country and have very long-term relationships with the people.  Both
> of these situations, no doubt, are rather rare in the broader LD context.

I don't think that either of these situations are rare, at all.  They
apply to my own field situations in both the Philippines and
Indonesia, and I haven't had the opportunity to develop the very
long-term relationships that you have.   I hazard to guess that most
language researchers working in PNG, Indonesia, the Philippines, and
the Pacific would echo your comments. In fact, when I do bring up
issues of consent, the people I'm working with seem to be a bit
distressed, as though I thought they did not trust me (and this after
knowing them for only a few weeks or even a few hours).  On the other
hand, this kind of blind trust can be found rampantly in Western
contexts, as well.  For example, I would assume that most
undergraduates participating in linguistic experiments on a university
campus do not read the consent form, but we seem less concerned about
that situation than the one you describe above.

I tend to discuss the research and dissemination plans only very
broadly with new people, and I allow the discussion of my research to
develop more naturally over time with those that I work with on a
regular basis.  Presenting a checklist or script the first time I meet
someone is extremely intimidating, even though I have worked
exclusively in communities where the general attitude is that making
everything public is not only okay, but very cool.  I realize this
stance is a not quite in line with my assertion in the paper, but that
is how I am feeling about the issue after my latest fieldwork in
Indonesia.

Also, since you mentioned in your first email that you lack access to
the literature, I want to make sure everyone knows that my article
(Informed consent among analog people in a digital world) and other
relevant articles are available on the RNLD website under Events
(www.rnld.org).  Mine is also available on my own website
(http://go.alaska.edu/lcrobinson).

Cheers,
Laura

--
Laura C. Robinson
Postdoctoral Researcher
Department of Linguistics
University of Alaska, Fairbanks
http://go.alaska.edu/lcrobinson