Hi everyone from Hungary,
Paula noted,
"but I would have hoped that academic integrity is globally held in
somewhat higher esteem",
to which Russ responded,
"This is really culturally bound. What may be deemed plagiarism in one
culture, could well be deemed acceptable practice in another."
Perhaps this is what Russ means, but I feel it might be more constructive
to speak in terms of the educational expectations of the students based on
the dominant educational ideology they've been exposed to. For example,
here in Hungary, classical humanism represents the mainstream. The point of
writing in this context is, more or less, to demonstrate your mastery of an
esteemed cultural heritage that is gingerly being passed down to you so
that you may pass it on to the next generation. These deeply engrained
assumptions contrast greatly with those of Academic Writing generally held
on this listserv. So I think teaching students AW is about first raising
awareness about what educational ideology they will be working within, and,
within that, what the purpose of writing is.
Thanks!
Thomas
Regards,
Russ Kent
Thomas A. Williams
Assistant Professor
Dept. of English Language Teacher
Education and Applied Linguistics
University of Szeged
6722 Szeged
Egyetem u. 2.
Hungary
+(36-62) 544-024
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