COMING FALL 2026 to Pressbooks!

INFocus: A Praxis Primer on the Fundamentals of Visual and Object Ethics

Visual + Material Culture Research Ethics OPEN EDUCATIONAL RESOURCE (OER)

What started as the idea for a Visual + Material Culture Research Ethics Non-Credit Micro-Credential Program. quickly shifted to present a new opportunity to students at UBC that would foster a space for applied skills in research ethics with a focus on visual methods and object analysis. However, to reach beyond UBC, this training program will go live in Fall 2026 as an Open Educational Resource (OER) via PressBooks under a share-alike Creative Commons License. Stay tuned for INFocus.

This project began in response to the ALT 2040 objective to develop approaches, resources, activities, or programs that support diversity and build capacity for inclusion in teaching and learning contexts. Currently, in Canada, no such non-credit program exists that allows students to think about ethical approaches to still and video capture, as well as object documentation. This applies whether one continues in academic research or moves to government, non-profit, or other industries, recognizing that the ethical use of capturing images of humans in public and private spaces is paramount. In the Government of Canada’s Tri-Council Policy Statement: Ethical Conduct for Research Involving Humans (TCPS2 Core), only Module 10 addresses the use of photography, but it does not go into sufficient detail on the use of video and still photography. In addition, there is a need to extend training to address the ethical use of visual, material, and audio materials under Canada’s Copyright laws. Our Open Educational Resource allows us to offer training in Visual Anthropology courses that focus on ethics in visual and object research, and enables students to translate these skills to future employers.

RESEARCH TEAM

Fiona P. McDonald, CE2 Lab Director, Assistant Professor, Department of Community, Culture and Global Studies, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

Joel Thiessen, Senior Emerging and Digital Media Specialist, UBC Studios Okanagan

Rachel Meneghetti, Undergraduate Research Assistant

Suzi Asa, Graduate Research Assistant

Ahlam Bavi, Learning Design Intern, UBCO Centre for Teaching + Learning
 

FUNDED BY

Aspire Learning and Teaching (ALT) Fund Awarded in the Program and Learning Experience Enhancement Stream.

The Office of the Provost established the Aspire-2040 Learning Transformations Fund ( ALT-2040 Fund) to accelerate the transformative learning recommendations of the Aspire Vision. The fund focused on transforming student learning through innovations implemented at the academic program level.