ANN ARBOR—A three-part series of talks at the University of Michigan will discuss ethics in research, particularly in the fields of anthropology and history. Titled “Science–Ethics–Power: Controversy over the Production of Knowledge and Indigenous Peoples,” the series will address issues raised by the recent publication and reception of Patrick Tierney‘s book, “Darkness in El Dorado,” and provide a forum for discussion of questions concerning research, ethics, and the portrayal of indigenous peoples by researchers and scholars.

Tierney’s book caused a furor in academic circles when it was published in the fall of last year. It alleged that actions on the part of anthropological and medical researchers had caused serious harm to the Yanomami, an Amazonian indigenous people living in Venezuela and Brazil. Many of the book’s major claims have been rebutted by the U-M.

“The aim of this colloquium is to open up an in-depth dialogue concerning the implications of a number of issues raised in the Tierney book,” said series moderator Fernando Coronil, director of the Doctoral Program in Anthropology and History and associate professor of anthropology and history.

“While public attention has focused on the measles vaccine given to the Yanomami, broader issues that have long been debated within the anthropological community concerning the relationship between researchers and those they work with have not received adequate attention,” he said.

Sessions in the series, which begins on Friday (March 9), are as follows.

[Central Campus map, Rackham Building left center, Social Work Building (see below) lower center]

The series is sponsored by the Office of the Provost with additional support from the Program in the Comparative Study of Social Transformations, the Latin American and Caribbean Studies program, and the Rackham School of Graduate Studies. Support also was provided by the Ford Foundation, under a grant awarded to the International Institute titled “Crossing Borders: Revitalizing Area Studies.”