To turn back to Spenser, for a moment, I wonder if Donne had Spenser's Error
in mind when he wrote the passage Dr. Warley shared with us (thanks!). I'm
thinking specifically, of course, of poorly digested books that reappear in
abject form . . . . Perhaps pairing Donne's poem with Spenser's description
of Error would assist in driving the point home.
Maren L. Donley
Ph.D. Candidate, ABD
Department of English
University of Colorado, Boulder
On 6/2/05 8:21 PM, "Christopher Warley" <[log in to unmask]> wrote:
> I have found a bit of Donne shockingly effective in combating plagiarism
> (along
> with all the things other people have mentioned). We go over it at the start
> of
> each semester:
>
> But he is worst, who (beggarly) doth chaw
> Othersı witsı fruits, and in his ravenous maw
> Rankly digested, doth those things out spew,
> As his own things; and they are his own, ıtis true,
> For if one eat my meat, though it be known
> The meat was mine, thı excrement is his own.
>
> ---- Original message ----
>> Date: Thu, 2 Jun 2005 16:40:14 -0400
>> From: "David L. Miller" <[log in to unmask]>
>> Subject: Re: pursuing plagiarism
>> To: [log in to unmask]
>>
>> I strongly agree, Michael. That's what I tell my students in the
>> first-day admonition: that I will prosecute offenders because I believe
>> that I owe it to the majority of students who work hard for their
>> grades.
>>
>> David Lee Miller
>> Professor of English & Comparative Literature
>> University of South Carolina
>> Columbia, SC 29208
>>
>> [log in to unmask]
>> http://www.cas.sc.edu/engl/faculty/faculty_pages/miller/miller.html
>> 803 777-4256 (office)
>> 803 777-9064 (fax)
>> 803 466-3947 (cell)
>>
>>
>>
>>>>> [log in to unmask] 6/2/2005 4:11:01 PM >>>
>> Well, I'm happy that you went the full route -- I had similar
>> experiences of showing undue mercy (an F on the paper, but less than
>> full administrative censure) only to see a repeat instance. If it
>> helps, I view this primarily not as me protecting myself from getting
>> cheated, but rather I view pursuing these cases as an opportunity for
>> me
>> to show loyalty to my "honorable C" students; those who are appealing
>> people, but for whatever reason (aptitude, effort, circumstance) get a
>>
>> C. Those are the ones who, I think, we are most serving when we go
>> after a plagiarist's attempt to get a better grade illegitimately.
>>
>> Michael
>>
>> Margaret Christian wrote:
>>
>>> Hello, everyone. I will second David's admonition to follow the
>>> institutional protocol so that repeat offenders can be disciplined
>>> appropriately.
>>>
>>> In my story, the student took Bible as Lit in 2001 and plagiarized
>> her
>>> second essay (10 weeks into a fifteen week course). I found it on
>> the
>>> web and, like David's colleague, did not file paperwork with the
>>> appropriate administrator--instead I gave her a stern warning and a
>>> zero. (She ended up failing the course.) She came back in 2003 to
>>> take a Shakespeare course from me (???) and plagiarized her third
>>> essay (due exam week). By this time, I was serving on the Academic
>>> Integrity Committee, so I pursued the process with exemplary
>>> punctiliousness. But my colleagues on the committee did not see fit
>> to
>>> handle it as a repeat offence, because the earlier case was not on
>>> file--my fault. But at least she had to un-invite her family and
>>> friends to graduation. Grrr!
>>>
>>> I hasten to add that this student was not an English major (both her
>>
>>> courses with me would have, if she had passed them, fulfilled gen ed
>>
>>> requirements). Somehow it is worse to hear about Anne's
>>> advanced-standing liberal arts majors (or so I assume) plagiarizing.
>>
>>> I naively thought the grass was greener on your side, Anne.
>>>
>>> Margaret
>>>
>>> At 12:10 PM 6/2/2005, you wrote:
>>>
>>>> Hannibal & others,
>>>>
>>>> The best guards against plagiarism are have been around a while,
>> and
>>>> they involve prevention, not detection.
>>>>
>>>> 1. Assign topics for which it will be hard to find prefab
>> materials.
>>>>
>>>> 2. Require students to submit work in stages so you can see an
>> essay
>>>> develop.
>>>>
>>>> Once the horse is out of the barn, it's very important for faculty
>> to
>>>> report cases to the appropriate administrator. Most universities up
>> the
>>>> ante for repeat offenders, but this is undercut by faculty who
>> handle
>>>> matters on their own; and it's the habitual offenders one most
>> wishes to
>>>> apprehend. I handled a case once from a student in political
>> science
>>>> who submitted a paper cribbed from the internet. The teacher gave
>> him a
>>>> stern warning and let it go. Later that same day he returned with a
>> new
>>>> paper--again cribbed from the internet. Him we managed to prosecute
>> as
>>>> a repeat offender, but his teacher would have made matters easier
>> had
>>>> she turned him in the first time.
>>>>
>>>>
>>>>
>>>> David Lee Miller
>>>> Professor of English & Comparative Literature
>>>> University of South Carolina
>>>> Columbia, SC 29208
>>>>
>>>> [log in to unmask]
>>>> http://www.cas.sc.edu/engl/faculty/faculty_pages/miller/miller.html
>>
>>>> 803 777-4256 (office)
>>>> 803 777-9064 (fax)
>>>> 803 466-3947 (cell)
>>>
>>>
>>> Margaret R. Christian, Ph.D.
>> [log in to unmask]
>>> Associate Professor of English Office:
>> (610)
>>> 285-5106
>>> Penn State Berks-Lehigh Valley College Home: (610)
>> 562-0163
>>> 8380 Mohr Lane
>>> fax: (610) 285-5220
>>> Fogelsville, PA 18051 USA
> Christopher Warley
> Assistant Professor
> Department of English
> Oakland University
> 248-370-2256
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