Agawu's chapter on ethics spans an array of topics. He begins with a generic definition of 'ethics', which he applies to different aspects of music - performance and interpretation, re-appropriation, copyright infringement, etc. But above all, he uses ethnomusicology as an example because it 'is the subdiscipline that has dealt most directly with ethical questions'. He discusses a few examples of fieldwork - his stay in the village of Akpafu-Odomi, Ghana, as well as the village of Avenui-Awudome. His anecdote about photographing the war-drum is quite interesting; the consequences of revealing the true identity of the man from Peki certainly absolve the group's lie.
Agawu discusses deception on page 204. He then provides examples of his deception in the field, as an ethnomusicologist. Was it morally wrong to deceive the chief of the Avenui-Awudome village? Is it 'good enough' to have the intention of full disclosure, while employing deception in only life and death situations? Is Herbie Hancock 'deceiving' his listeners and his 'brothers' by re-appropriating the pygmy music?
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