OVERVIEW

 

The organizers of the 2024 Northwest Anthropology Conference (NWAC) are committed to facilitating a safe, respectful environment for all conference attendees. The organizers will work to provide a welcoming and inclusive experience for everyone, regardless of gender, gender identity and expression, age, sexual orientation, disability, physical appearance, race, ethnicity, religion (or lack thereof), marital status, pregnancy, parenthood, veteran status, or any other category. We do not tolerate harassment of conference participants in any form. Sexual language and imagery is not appropriate for any conference venue, including talks, workshops, parties, and/or social media. Conference participants violating these rules may be sanctioned or expelled from the conference at the discretion of the conference organizers. Please refer to the final section of this Code of Conduct for a list of definitions and impermissible conduct. This Code of Conduct applies to all NWAC events, including all conference venues, virtual or in-person, and any conference-related social activities during or after the NWAC Virtual Meeting.

 

COVID-19, XENOPHOBIA, AND RACISM

 

Across the United States right now, COVID-19 infections are increasing along with feelings of anxiety, isolation, and fear. Along with those feelings, the world has seen an increase in misinformation, xenophobia, and racism. This has resulted in physical, financial, emotional, and psychological harm to our Asian and Pacific Islander colleagues, and will not be tolerated during any NWAC event, including this year’s virtual conference. Please only use the names provided by the World Health Organization (WHO), “coronavirus” or “COVID-19,” when discussing COVID-19 topics.

 

RULES AND GUIDELINES FOR DIGITAL DISCUSSION

The primary purpose of the NWAC is to encourage the exchange of ideas and information among members of the anthropological community. NWAC provides a venue for engaging in open dialogue and welcomes diverse perspectives and opinions. In order to maintain an environment that is welcoming, inclusive, safe, and respectful we ask that participants adhere to the following:

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• One speaker at a time. Please allow others to finish before speaking. Please do not interrupt or talk over others

• Please mute your microphone when not speaking or making a comment and utilize digital features, such as “Raise your hand,” to allow for structured discussion

• If possible, silence email and text notifications to avoid interruptions

• NWAC leadership, session organizers, panel organizers, and breakout moderators will coordinate, refocus the group, and minimize crosstalk as needed

• This is a space where we believe the experiences of marginalized individuals (BIPOC, LGBTQIA2S+, the disabled community, social class, and so forth)

• If you are ever uncomfortable, or have a question or concern, and do not wish to speak out loud about it, feel free to send a private message to the program coordinator, session organizer, or NWAC leadership

• It is considered inappropriate to share the specifics of individuals’ experiences, or attribute comments to individuals, when discussing the conference with those outside of the conference. Sharing ideas and experiences are fine, but be respectful of the privacy of your colleagues

• We will not allow microaggressive statements at any time during the conference. If someone makes a microaggressive statement by accident, be understanding when others take notice and call it out. If you hear such a statement occur that goes unnoticed or unaddressed, please reach out to NWAC leadership with pertinent details (i.e. time of the event, session title, names, etc.)

• We recognize that there are many identities among our group and individual conference attendees have many intersecting identities themselves. Attendees and organizers should not feel compelled to share these identities if they do not wish to do so. Furthermore, we will try to express our concerns and thoughts in ways that do not make assumptions about the identities of fellow group members

• Background images should be appropriate, and public domain or owned by Socio

• Avoid attire with offensive messaging or imagery (profanity, nudity, cultural appropriation/insensitivity, etc.)

• No political messaging

• If you’re unsure if something will be allowed, consult above section

 

USE AND REPRODUCTION OF CONFERENCE CONTENT

 

Your registration entitles you to access to the 2024 NWAC Virtual Event Platform for which you have registered. Any and all other costs associated with your attendance shall be borne solely by you, and the 2024 NWAC organizers shall have no liability for such costs.

Use of Likeness: By participating in the 2024 NWAC you acknowledge and agree to grant 2024 NWAC the right at the 2022 NWAC to record, film, live stream, photograph, or capture your likeness in any media now available or hereafter developed and to distribute, broadcast, use, or otherwise globally to disseminate, in perpetuity, such media without any further approval from you or any payment to you. This grant to Virtual Event includes, but is not limited to, the right to edit such media, the right to use the media alone or together with other information, and the right to allow others to use or disseminate the media.

Virtual 2024 NWAC Content: You acknowledge and agree that 2024 NWAC, in its sole discretion, reserves the right to change any and all aspects of the 2024 NWAC, including but not limited to, the 2024 NWAC name, themes, content, program, speakers, performers, hosts, moderators, venue, and time.

Limitations on Use: By registering for the 2024 NWAC you agree not to sell, trade, transfer, or share your access, unless such transfer is granted by the 2024 NWAC Planning Committee. If the 2024 NWAC Planning Committee determines that you have violated this policy, they may cancel your access, retain any payments made by you, and ban you from future NWAC events.

Recording, Live Streaming, and Videotaping: Participants may not record or broadcast audio or video of sessions at 2024 NWAC.

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INCIDENT REPORTING AT THE CONFERENCE 

 

Conference attendees who experience or witness harassment as defined in this Code of Conduct and/or the Northwest Anthropological Association’s Policy on Harassment; and/or who are aware that a conference participant has been (or is in the process of being) sanctioned for assault or harassment by an adjudicating body and can provide documentation of the outcome; are encouraged to report such information.

 

The incident reporting system is not intended to constitute legal advice. In the event of any conflict between this Policy and applicable laws or institutional policy, the applicable laws or institutional policy prevails. Members and institutions are encouraged to seek their own counsel for advice regarding any specific situation. NWAA is not an adjudicating body; however, there are processes in place to support members in getting their grievances addressed when unwanted behaviors occur in the context of NWAA sponsored events and activities (e.g. conferences, editorial activities, governance events). In accordance with the Northwest Anthropological Association (NWAA) Policy on Harassment Effective February 25, 2020, the NWAA Board of Directors will: 

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1. Receive complaints of harassment in the context of NWAA settings and activities. 

2. Discuss the complaint with the alleged harasser and give them an opportunity to respond to the complaint if the complainant wishes for the Board to actively participate in resolving the complaint. 

3. Record the dates, times, and facts of the incident and the results of the resolution process. 

4. Be authorized to deem a complaint to merit no further pursuit by NWAA. 

5. Make clear to any complainants that the Board is not providing legal advice and that the availability of the Board is not intended to substitute for a complainant’s either making use of internal institutional mechanisms for addressing complaints, for consulting expert legal advice, or for seeking formal legal redress. 

6. Make clear to all parties that NWAA can only promise confidentiality within the parameters of the law. 

7. Prepare an annual report containing general information about the number and types of complaints received. This report will be made available to NWAA members.  

Identification with documentation of prior adjudication needs to be provided to bar an individual from participating in NWAC events. If concerns about an individual are raised but documentation of adjudication cannot be provided, the review of the complaint will follow the procedures outlined above. Reports of incidents and prior sanctions can be made via the Northwest Anthropological Association website anonymous reporting page: www.nwaconference.com/report.

Please contact any or all members of the NWAA Board of Directors to discuss any concerns.

 

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

 

By registering for NWAC, you accept the obligation to treat everyone with respect and civility. You also accept the obligation to uphold the rights of all participants and attendees (including organizers, moderators, and ombudsmen), to be free from harassment. Attendees are bound by the Northwest Anthropological Association’s (NWAA) Policy on Harassment (2020) and this conference’s Code of Conduct. Attendees should also be aware that they are also bound by the codes of conduct at their home institution(s). 

 

By registering for NWAC, you commit to maintaining respectful, ethical, and professional decorum throughout the conference. The organizers reserve the right to remove any individual(s) violating this Code of Conduct without warning or refund, and to prohibit attendance at future NWAC conferences. Should the organizers have concerns about an individual’s attendance at this conference creating a safety (physical or mental) issue, the organizers may bar the individual from registering for and attending this or future conferences and related events.

 

Individuals proven to be harassers and/or assailants will be barred from participation in this conference. Late and/or day-of registrations will be rescinded immediately should information be received documenting a proven violation. Documented harassers/assailants should be identified to NWAC organizers by survivors or other reporters as early as possible. The organizers of this conference will not conduct their own investigation(s), but will allow investigations by law enforcement agencies, the RPA, the EEOC, universities, and employers.
 

 

DEFINITIONS AND EXAMPLES OF IMPERMISSIBLE CONDUCT

 

The organizers understand that anthropological research presentations may include discussions and/or imagery of sexuality or sexual representation. Presentations may also include content on gender and/or gender identity, age, disability, physical appearance, body size, race, ethnicity, religion, and other categories. Should your presentation include any of the aforementioned sensitive content, please be sure that approval for their use has been obtained by appropriate entities/institutions, and that you provide the audience with an adequate warning of the type and nature of sensitive content.  

 

Definitions

 

Discrimination: the unjust or prejudicial treatment of others based on human differences

 

Harassment: offensive, belittling, threatening, or otherwise unwelcome behavior directed at someone based on protected characteristics. Harassment includes, but is not limited to:

 

• Comments or actions that minimize a person’s lived experiences[i], identity, or safety

• Deliberate misgendering or use of “dead”[ii] or rejected names[iii]

• Deliberate “outing” of any person’s lived experiences or identity without their consent

• Sustained disruption of talks or other events

• Physical contact without consent or after a request to stop

• Unwelcome sexual attention

• Deliberate intimidation or stalking of any kind – in person or online

• Collection or distribution of harassing photography or recordings

• Threats or acts of violence

• Advocating for, or encouraging, any of the above behavior

 

Discrimination/Harassment is not:

 

• Feeling persecuted for your social privilege

• ‘Reverse’ -isms, including ‘reverse racism,’ ‘reverse sexism,’ and ‘cisphobia’

• Reasonable communication of boundaries, such as “leave me alone,” “go away,” or “I’m not discussing this with you.”

• Refusal to explain or debate social justice issues when the person being asked is put in a defensive position based on their lived experience, personal identity, or safety

• Communication in a ‘tone’ you don’t find congenial

• Discussion of sensitive topics

• Criticizing racist, sexist, cissexist, or otherwise oppressive behavior or assumptions

 

BIPoC: An acronym used to refer to Black, Indigenous, and People of Color. It is based on the recognition of collective experiences of systemic racism. As with any other identity term, it is up to individuals to use this term as an identifier 

 

Bullying: Seeking to harm, intimidate, or coerce someone perceived as vulnerable

 

Trigger: A reminder of a past trauma caused by a stimulus (a smell or sound, specific words or topics, etc.)

 

Microaggression: The verbal, nonverbal, and environmental slights, snubs, insults, phrasing, or belittlement, whether intentional or unintentional, which communicate hostile, derogatory, or negative messages to target persons based solely upon discriminatory belief systems

 

Consent: Permission for something to happen or agreement to do something

 

People of Color: A collective term for people of Asian, African, Latinx, and Native American backgrounds, as opposed to the collective “White”

 

Privilege: A special right, status, advantage, or immunity granted or available only to a particular person or group

 

Gender identity: An individual's personal sense of having a particular gender. Gender identity may or may not relate to a person’s birth sex

 

Cisgender: Denoting or relating to a person whose sense of personal identity and gender corresponds with their birth sex

 

Transgender: Denoting or relating to a person whose gender identity is different from the gender they were thought to be at birth (e.g., a trans man is someone who was born biologically female but who now lives and/or identifies as a man); often shortened to "Trans"

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Non-binary: A term used to describe genders that don't fall into one of the two “binary” categories: male or female

 

Queer: Describes sexual and gender identities other than heterosexual and cisgender. It is sometimes used to express that sexuality and gender are complicated, change over time, and might not fit neatly into traditional binary identities

 

LGBTQIA2S+: An inclusive acronym for those who identify as lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer, intersex, asexual, and two-spirit

 

Personal pronouns: The pronoun that a person prefers to be used when they are referred to, in order to indicate their gender identity (e.g. “Anna lost her car keys”; “Taylor is an artist. They enjoy drawing and painting”). Often presented in the format (she/her/hers), (he/his), (they/them/theirs), etc. People may use more than one pronoun or use them interchangeably (e.g. him/him/they)

 

Cultural appropriation: The use of objects or elements of a non-dominant culture in a way that doesn't respect their original meaning, give credit to their source, or reinforces stereotypes or contributes to oppression

 

Decolonize: The active and intentional process of unlearning values, beliefs, and conceptions that have caused physical, emotional, or mental harm to people through colonization. It requires a recognition of systems of oppression

 

Safe space: Refers to an environment in which everyone feels comfortable expressing themselves and participating fully, without fear of attack, ridicule, or denial of experience

 

Tokenism: Presence without meaningful participation. For example, a superficial invitation for the participation of members of a certain socially oppressed group, who are expected to speak for the whole group without giving this person a real opportunity to speak for them self

 

Additional definitions:

https://environment.uw.edu/about/diversity-equity-inclusion/tools-and-additional-resources/glossary-dei-concepts/ 

https://www.antiviolenceproject.org/glossary/#microaggressions 

 

Attribution: this Code of Conduct is based on examples from the SHA Virtual Conference Presenter Access Guide (Quinlan 2020), the NWAA Policy on Harassment (2020), and American Alliance of Museums | 2021 AAM Annual Meeting & MuseumExpo.

[i] “lived experiences” means the first-hand accounts and impressions of living as a member of a minority or oppressed group.

[ii] “deadnaming” means to use someones old name. It specifically refers to the practice of deliberately referring to a trans person by their pre-transition name. Not only is it disrespectful, it can be considered an act of violence, especially when a person is not publicly out as trans.

[iii] “rejected name” can also include persons who have changed their names for non-transition related reasons such as relationships, political statements, etc. Malcolm X changed his name for very specific reasons related to his identity; it is disrespectful to refer to him as anything besides Malcolm X