Problems of Anthropological Research in Latin America

Abstract

A workshop on problems of anthropological research in Latin America was held in Washington, D.C., December 3, 1980, in conjunction with the 79th annual meeting of the American Anthropological Association. The workshop was sponsored by the Latin American Anthropology Group, which had received grants from the Wenner-Gren Foundation for Anthropological Research and the Organization of American States to invite a number of Latin American anthropologists. Forty-five anthropologists from various parts of the Americas met to discuss the general research climate in Latin America and procedures for conducting research. Participants were asked to make general statements regarding the state of anthropological research and the research situation in their respective countries and to present specific information on pertinent legislation, governmental institutions, anthropological institutes and university programs, professional societies and national planning boards, museum and library facilities, and formal and informal procedures for visiting scholars. This material is currently being incorporated into a guidebook on anthropological resources and research procedures in Latin America to be published by LAAG. Although the workshop was concerned with the problems confronted by all anthropologists in carrying out their research in Latin America, particular emphasis was given to research across national borders. The research situation is extremely variable from one area to the next. Some countries have been highly receptive to visiting scholars while others have been relatively closed; some have strict regulations governing anthropological research while others have informal mechanisms. Whatever the degree of accessibility, however, all countries have certain requirements for conducting research that must be anticipated by visiting scholars. While research across national borders has ethical implications, the workshop was based on the premise that one cannot enforce or even teach ethical conduct. Nor was there any interest in spelling out an ethical code or defining ethical standards. Although ethical issues cannot be ignored, the workshop was concerned primarily with the legal and practical considerations underlying the relationship between the visiting anthropologist and the host government/nation. What are the procedures for conducting anthropological research in each country? What are the norms, regulations, formal and informal procedures of special relevance for anthropologists? Obviously, it is impossible to anticipate every eventuality, but bringing this material together in a guidebook may provide the visiting anthropologist, and especially the anthropologist undertaking fieldwork for the first time, with sufficient information to assess his particular research situation. Despite problems that have arisen in the past, research carried out by visiting anthropologists can be scientifically beneficial to the host country. In the course of the workshop, it became clear that foreign researchers have frequently experienced di'fficulties in certain countries as the result of factors ranging from sociopolitical realities basically beyond one's con-