Origin of the term 1621, from L. plagiarius “kidnapper, seducer, plunderer,” used in the sense of “literary thief” by Martial, from plagium “kidnapping,” from plaga “snare, net,” from Proto-Indo-European base *p(e)lag- “flat, spread out.” Plagiary is attested from 1597. (Harper 2001)
From the Â鶹´«Ă˝ Standards of Academic Integrity (paraphrased)
- On independent assignments, students do not represent the ideas/language of others as theirs
- Students do not destroy/alter the work of others
- Students do not give/receive assistance with exams
- Students do not represent their work done for another course as original for their current course
- Students do not alter or fabricate data for research or laboratory projects
Plagiarism and Center for Speaking, Writing, and the Image (CSWIM)
Views of Knowledge
- Exterior, accessible, measurable, shareable
- Interior, self-generated
- Collaborative, mediated, constructed, social, contextualized
Writing Center Type
- “Storehouse” Centers are “information stations” that give out strategies to individuals
- “Garret” Centers believe in the individual genius; writing centers cultivate individuals and assist them in getting in touch with their knowledge
- Collaborative Centers focus on the social process of thought generation; knowledge is “always contextually bound”
Principles
- positivist
- absolutist
- value disagreement and diversity, not just consensus
Questions to Consider:
- Does the “epidemic of plagiarism” actually threaten core societal values, such as reverence for originality?
- Deciding what qualifies as significant, what can be assumed, and what needs to be cited is a different process in every discipline and the nuances are difficult to understand. How much do we expect students to know and what can the institution rightly punish them for?
- Is there a growth in the cheating culture or just better ability to detect plagiarism?
- Google encourages the idea that information is common property. The concept of owning and stealing ideas is profoundly modern and western, unheard of in Middle Eastern, Asian, and African cultures. Can we own ideas?
Works Cited
Adler-Kassner, Linda, Anson, Chris M., & Howard, Rebecca Moore. “Framing Plagiarism.” Originality, Imitations, and Plagiarism: Teaching Writing in the Digital Age. pp. 231-246. Edited by C. Eisner and M. Vicinus. University of Michigan Press. 2008.
Bawarshi, Anis. “Genres are Forms of Intervention.” Originality, Imitations, and Plagiarism: Teaching Writing in the Digital Age. pp. 79-89. Edited by C. Eisner and M. Vicinus. University of Michigan Press. 2008.
Deitz, Susan M., Editor. Student Handbook, 2007-2008. Â鶹´«Ă˝ Office of Student Affairs. Claremont, CA.
Grossberg, Michael. “History and the Disciplining of Plagiarism.” Originality, Imitations, and Plagiarism: Teaching Writing in the Digital Age. pp. 159-172. Edited by C. Eisner and M. Vicinus. University of Michigan Press. 2008.
Harper, Douglas. Etymology Dictionary. November 2001.
Lunsford, Andrea. “Collaboration, Control, and the Idea of a Writing Center.” The St. Martin’s Sourcebook for Writing Tutors, Third Edition. Edited by Christine Murphy and Steve Sherwood. Bedford/St. Martin’s: Boston, MA. 2008.