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Title: Digital Archaeological Ethics and Virtual Places
Speaker: L. Meghan Dennis, Research Associate (The Archaeological Research Facility, UC Berkeley) and Postdoctoral Researcher for Data Interpretation and Public Engagement (AAI / Open Context)
Abstract:
Building on work out of digital ethnography concerning ethics in digital spaces of play, such as online games and communities, a framework will be presented for conducting ethical archaeologies within these immaterial places. This framework includes ethical considerations and approaches to research regarding material culture and heritage sites, with an emphasis on community interaction and the co-participation as researcher and player necessary for ethical data collection and dissemination. A proposed code of ethics for researchers engaged in these research areas will be illustrated, as well as connections to existing codes of ethics within the archaeology, museology, and heritage sectors. Survey data on attitudes towards archaeology in games and virtual places will be presented.
About the Speaker:
Meghan Dennis (PhD, University of York) is Postdoctoral Researcher for Data Interpretation and Public Engagement at the AAI / Open Context, where she is collaborating to develop a Data Literacy Program. Meghan brings a background in digital archaeological ethics and the impacts of ethical representations of archaeology in interactive media, 20+ years in archaeological and heritage field practice, teaching at the secondary and collegiate level, and experience within the video-game industry. Currently, Meghan is an ethics officer with the Computer Applications & Quantitative Methods in Archaeology (CAA) organization, where she was involved in designing and implementing the organization’s first code of ethics, and is a member of the organization’s Code of Conduct working group. Combining her interests in public education, ethical practice, and games media, Meghan aims to develop further research in how the use of interactive media can influence youth participation in ethical interactions with heritage and archaeology.