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01/25/2006 Archived Entry: "Plagiary"

Plagiary
Via Scott McLemee, Plagiary, a journal devoted to plagiarism. Holy moly.
There are these moments regarding what matters in higher education when one wishes the enterprise of teaching could finally get over the crap it is obsessed with and start worrying about things of substance. Yet, items like plagiarism still occupy our thoughts. All this attention, and nothing changes. But don't let that stop the editorial board! Let's see. What's upcoming in this new publication:

Textual Re-Use in Journalistic Domains

Plagiarism, Power and Tactics

Automatic Plagiarism Detection

The Paper Mill Industry and "Research Services"

The Da Vinci Code as Borrowed Text

The Cut and Paste Plagiarist Culture

Plagiarism and the Problems of the Deaf and Deaf ESL Learners

Plagiarism and Identity Theft

There is great value in epideictic rhetoric. But isn't this the extreme? How many articles can one read about how awful plagiarism is and how teachers should punish plagiarists completely? Without entering into the typical counter-argument (digital culture, history of copying in our arts and letters, etc.), there is always a nagging point: Why must our work be reduced to "moral" issues, as the journal's editor has argued previously? Education is not religion. It is not a moral institution by any means. Why pretend otherwise? Morality in education? Right. Look to hiring practices and stop right there. Why is writing, for that matter, a moral act? Ya'allah. Let's move on to more important issues already.