On Sat, 18 Aug 2012 07:51:46 -0700, Christopher Green wrote: >Paul, > >I think you've missed the point. Plagiarism has no purpose whatever >when the course is not for credit. These are people for whom plagiarism >has become so habitual, they are unable to not do it, even when there >is no reason to do so.
I take issue with this interpretation and question the assumptions it is based on. I think that there could be other reasons for "plagiarism" other then to obtain, say, course credit. If one views our plagiarism as being similar to "sampling" in hip-hop, then the copying is to achieve an artistic goal, to produce music with a particular structure and relationship to past music. If one really want to get into a heavy theoretical discussion about this, consider Michel Foucault's position on "citing sources" as well as his analysis of writing/publishing as an act versus a product (such as a bicycle). Mickey Hess provides an interesting review of these points; see: http://www.mickeyhess.com/hessfoucault.pdf As odd at it might seem, one can view plagiarism as a style in writing and art, though one probably has to have post-modern or Marxist orientation to understand this. >I used to argue that if we stopped giving grades, plagiarism (and other >cheating) would end because all that the students could get from the course was >the knowledge it provided. Apparently I underestimated how deeply, permanently >corrupting the process of grading is. Boy, you make doing plagiarism sound like it's watching internet porn. ;-) But, if I can be serious for a moment ;-), consider the style known as "mashup"; Wikipedia has entries on various forms of mashup, see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mash_up Most relevant is the use of mashup to produce fiction, such Austen's "Pride and Prejudice and Zombies"; see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mashup_%28book%29 If one extends mashup style to academic projects, it is clear that previous materials will be used in new configurations along with new material. The problem is that some will consider such a style to be a form of plagiarism, depending upon how it is done, at the cost of ignoring an imaginative and creative work. It's probably what the cool kids do. ;-) One can take it even further and use mashup in scientific projects, but I think that this has already been done. ;-) -Mike Palij New York University [email protected] On 2012-08-18, at 9:55 AM, Paul C Bernhardt wrote: > I am shocked, shocked to find there is plagiarism going on in this course > that has no admissions or prerequisite criteria! > > This reads like an Onion article. The professor pleading that it stop is both > pathetic and hilarious. What do these folks think they've created when they > build a course with 39K 'students' and no controls over any aspect of the > students who take the course? It is so idealistic that it is foolish, IMO. > > Paul > > On Aug 18, 2012, at 12:18 AM, Christopher Green wrote: > >> >> >> >> >> >> >> Apparently plagiarism has come unmoored from its instrumental source -- >> viz., receiving higher grades than one deserves. It is now a functionally >> autonomous recreation. /: - | >> http://chronicle.com/article/Dozens-of-Plagiarism-Incidents/133697/ >> --- You are currently subscribed to tips as: [email protected]. To unsubscribe click here: http://fsulist.frostburg.edu/u?id=13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df5d5&n=T&l=tips&o=19836 or send a blank email to leave-19836-13090.68da6e6e5325aa33287ff385b70df...@fsulist.frostburg.edu
