What a fascinating debate! Many of the comments underline for me the need to consider plagiarism - and self-plagiarism - within the broader context of academic literacy practices.
Gerd's points made me think about the inherently intertextual character of texts - "any text is the absorption and transformation of another" (Kristeva) and "woven entirely with citations, references, echoes, cultural languages" (Barthes).
In some academic writing, the text(s) being absorbed or transformed is/are the writer's own; Gerd rightly stresses, I think, the desirability of student writers consciously reappropriating their earlier texts as part of their learning process or journey. I guess the issue is how aware and explicit they are in re-using or reworking earlier writings in later work. I like Rebecca's recommendation that students cite and reference their earlier work rather than simply reproduce it verbatim.
Tony
|