Watch this 13-minute video below that challenges the ways that teachers often talk about and surveil for plagiarism.
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The required plagiarism policyBecause the assignments of the course strive to be highly original, the likelihood of plagiarism is diminished. Nonetheless, university policy requires a plagiarism policy clearly explained on the syllabus. So, in the event that you intentionally copy someone else’s words, you will have to sit down with Carmen and make amends to each author whose work you have hi-jacked. Creative borrowing is cool. Str8-biting someone's style is not.
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Let’s take this website— it is certainly NOT original given the texts, images and sounds that are borrowed from all over the internet. In fact, the food policy even has a James Brown song loaded into the page. So it’s all good: no one is in here acting like we went and made these images ourselves, that James Brown's lyrics are ours, or that these songs on this website are by us! Let these folk shine on their own and get your own shine besides them. Go ‘head and RE-MIX in fabulous ways, yes-yes, but know that straight hi-jacking is not cool… we will talk about the differences.
For the purposes of this class (and, if you so choose, for your identity as a writer), a Yoruba proverb will be our guide: “We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us.” Standing on the shoulders of your elders, ancestors, and community/communities means that you acknowledge them. When you are inspired by someone’s wisdom and vision, when you are conscious of their imprint, you say THAT... you release that acknowledgement into the universe. There are many kinds of cultural motifs that can help us understand the importance of such acknowledgement: ceremonies that begin by the audiences calling the names of heroes, sheroes, and ancestors to name them and bring them into the room; formal libations AND informal libations (pouring some out for the homies who were taken from us--- for those of you who know the practice.) Please take seriously the philosophy guiding this Yoruba proverb and the practices just described: you always stop, take notice, and make mention of where you come from and who got you there. Let that guide you as a writing practice.
Make the ways of citing and siting your sources of wisdom a deeper practice than just summarizing, paraphrasing, and memorizing the rules of APA, Chicago, or MLA style so no one can accuse you of plagiarism. Pay homage to the shoulders you are standing on. It makes a difference.
For the purposes of this class (and, if you so choose, for your identity as a writer), a Yoruba proverb will be our guide: “We stand on the shoulders of those who have gone before us.” Standing on the shoulders of your elders, ancestors, and community/communities means that you acknowledge them. When you are inspired by someone’s wisdom and vision, when you are conscious of their imprint, you say THAT... you release that acknowledgement into the universe. There are many kinds of cultural motifs that can help us understand the importance of such acknowledgement: ceremonies that begin by the audiences calling the names of heroes, sheroes, and ancestors to name them and bring them into the room; formal libations AND informal libations (pouring some out for the homies who were taken from us--- for those of you who know the practice.) Please take seriously the philosophy guiding this Yoruba proverb and the practices just described: you always stop, take notice, and make mention of where you come from and who got you there. Let that guide you as a writing practice.
Make the ways of citing and siting your sources of wisdom a deeper practice than just summarizing, paraphrasing, and memorizing the rules of APA, Chicago, or MLA style so no one can accuse you of plagiarism. Pay homage to the shoulders you are standing on. It makes a difference.