Article begins
The Members’ Programmatic, Advisory, and Advocacy Committee (MPAAC) is off to a flying start in 2021 with a number of projects underway.
A new Anthropolicy Twitter account has been created to enhance the participation of anthropologists in public policy and the visibility of the contributions made by anthropologists. Moderated by MPAAC Policy Seats Rosalyn Negron and Alayne Unterberger, the account will develop research capacities, identify the policy implications of anthropological scholarship, amplify methodological and empirical understandings, and promote scholarly and advocacy work in different policy spheres. Add your voice and follow us @Anthropolicy_. The policy seats are looking to get more members thinking in terms of policy and are building a database of AAA researchers doing policy-relevant work. If you’d like to be included, send an email along with your expertise (or just overall interest) to [email protected], [email protected], and [email protected].
In other news, MPAAC has established an ethics subcommittee to carry on some of the tasks of the former Committee on Ethics. Among these is maintenance of the Ethics Forum, which features content for professional and aspiring anthropologists of all subfields working in academic and applied settings. You can think of it as a slowly accumulating online casebook. The Ethics Forum is also the home of the annotated AAA Ethics Statement.
MPAAC Ethics Seats Lise Dobrin and Jayne Howell are also pleased to announce that, after a long hiatus, the Ethics Forum is once again publishing new material. The most recent post by Kerry Fosher explores “Ethical Questions about Who Counts as an ‘Anthropologist’ in Military Organizations.” If you are interested in contributing to the Ethics Forum, Lise and Jayne are eager to hear from you and can be reached at [email protected].
The ethics seats are available if you have ethical concerns related to your research, workplace, or studies. Ethics queries are directed to the AAA’s Ethics Advisory Group, which has provided confidential feedback and support to anthropologists for over a decade. If there are ethical issues you’d like to discuss, please don’t hesitate to contact the seats directly.
What’s on your mind?
MPAAC was convened in 2017 for the purpose of responding to AAA member needs and interests, with a particular focus on the key areas of ethics, human rights, labor and workforce, public policy, anti-racism and social justice, gender equity, the practicing-applied-public sector, world anthropologies, and student interests, as these areas relate to anthropology, anthropologists, and the Association.
In keeping with the values of collaboration, dialogue, diversity, equity, solidarity, and transparency, the committee would like to hear from our members regarding particular topics or issues they’d like to see addressed. Visit MPAAC to see more about the committee, as well as the respective seats and their contact information.
Jeff Martin is the AAA’s director of communications and public affairs.
Cite as: Martin, Jeff. 2021. “MPAAC off and Running in 2021.” Anthropology News website, March 2, 2021. DOI: 10.14506/AN.1589