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Unit coordinator: Dr. Timothy Nicholas Laurie (timothy.laurie@sydney.edu.au)

Tutor: Alexandra Heatwole (xandradee@gmail.com)

Lecture: Wednesdays 11am-12pm (Carslaw Lecture Theatre 173)

Screening: Wednesdays 3pm-5pm (D T Anderson Lecture Theatre, Heydon-Laurence Building)

School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry

Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences

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GCST2606 GENRES IN CULTURAL CONTEXT UNIT DESCRIPTION This unit introduces students to some theories of genre and to textual examples of specified genres. Several genres will be studied, including crime and thrillers, romance, sci-fi, horror, hip hop, world music, and fan fiction. In 2013, key themes will include the place of gender in genre, the role of fans and fan communities in shaping genre meanings, the impact of communications technologies on genre formation, and the influence of racial differences and cultural identities on genre codes and conventions.

OBJECTIVES AND OUTCOMES Aims and Objectives:

Give students an understanding of theoretical and historical approaches to genre in gender and cultural studies

Provide different methodological approaches for examining film, music and television genres, including semiotic readings of texts, studies of media technologies, and social analyses of genre communities

Develop students’ critical writing and discussion skills to analyse academic and popular texts with respect to genre

Demonstrate the impact of cultural and political issues on genre formations, especially in relation to gender and racial difference

Course Outcomes: By the end of this course, students should be able to

Articulate the key ways that cultural theorists have understood genre broadly, and in particular, film and music genres

Use these theoretical and methodological approaches to critically analyse the genre in popular culture

LEARNING STRUCTURE This unit will meet as a 1 hour weekly lecture, 1 hour weekly tutorial, and a 2 hour weekly screening (check schedule in outline below). Please note that you must have done all the required readings before the Wednesday lecture and Friday tutorials. Screenings are not compulsory, but will be included in some assessment prompts and will also be discussed in tutorials, so screening attendance may affect students’ participation grades.

ELEARNING

GCST2606 has an eLearning site, which may be used to post lecture notes, links relevant to the units, and occasional class announcements about assignments, exam preparation and so on. To log on to the university’s main elearning system, go to the University homepage. Click on MyUni under Current Students. In MyUni, click on the link, “USYD eLearning”. Alternatively, you can bookmark the login page directly at http://elearning.sydney.edu.au/. Log in with your unikey. You will see a list of all elearning sites available to you. These may be in either the new eLearning system, Blackboard Learn, or the old elearning system, WebCT CE. If you have any difficulties logging in or using the system, visit the Student Help area of the Sydney eLearning site, http://sydney.edu.au/elearning/student/ .

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GCST2606 UNIT SCHEDULE

Unit I: Defining Genre

1. INTRODUCTION: DEFINING GENRE (6 MARCH LECTURE)

No Screening

Frow, John (2006), 'Approaching Genre', Genre (London and New York: Routledge), pp. 6-

28.

Todorov, Tzvetan (1976), 'The Origin of Genres’, trans. Richard M. Berrong, New Literary

History, 8 (1), pp. 159-170.

Optional (available online): Bakhtin, Mikhail Mikhailovich (1986), 'The Problem of

Speech Genres'

Please note that there are tutorials in Week 1.

2. GENRE AND NARRATIVE (13 MARCH LECTURE)

Wednesday Film Screening: Touch of Evil, dir. Orson Welles

Ellroy, James (1990), 'Prologue: February 21, 1950', L.A. Confidential (London: Arrow), pp.

3-6.

Metz, Christian (1974 [1968]), 'Notes toward a Phenomenology of the Narrative', Film

Language: A Semiotics of the Cinema, trans. Michael Taylor (New York: Oxford

University Press), pp. 16-28.

Russ, Joanna (1995), 'What Can a Heroine Do?, or Why Women Can't Write', To Write Like a

Woman: Essays in Feminism and Science Fiction (Bloomington: Indiana University

Press), pp. 79-93.

Optional (available online): Barthes, Roland (1970), 'Writing and the Novel’ (Excerpt)

Unit II: Film Genre

3. HOLLYWOOD FILM GENRE (20 MARCH LECTURE)

Wednesday Film Screening: Pulp Fiction, dir. Quentin Tarantino

Tarantino, Quentin (1994), Pulp Fiction (excerpt)

Altman, Rick (1995), 'A Semantic/Syntactic Approach to Film Genre', in Barry Keith Grant

(ed.), Film Genre Reader II (Austin: University of Texas Press), pp. 26-40.

Neale, Steve (1990), 'Questions of Genre', Screen, 31 (1), pp. 45-66.

Optional (available online): Gledhill, Christine (2000), 'Rethinking Genre'

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Unit II: Film Genre (cont.)

4. GENDER, GENRE AND VIOLENCE (GUEST LECTURER: EMILIE JERVIS, 27 MARCH)

Wednesday Film Screening: Black Swan, dir. Darren Aronofksy

De Lauretis, Teresa (1985), 'Aesthetic and Feminist Theory: Rethinking Women's Cinema',

New German Critique, 34, pp. 154-175.

Williams, Linda (1991), 'Film Bodies: Gender, Genre, and Excess', Film Quarterly, 44 (4), pp.

2-13.

Fisher, Mark and Jacobs, Amber (2011), 'Debating Black Swan: Gender and Horror', Film

Quarterly, 65 (1), pp. 58-62.

Optional (available online): Weissmann, Elke and Boyle, Karen (2007), 'Evidence of

Things Unseen: The Pornographic Aesthetic and the Search for Truth in CSI'

<IMPORTANT: Common Vacation Week/Non-Teaching Easter Period>

5. GLOBAL FILM GENRES (1O APRIL LECTURE)

Wednesday Film Screening: Hero, dir. Zhang Ximou

Morris, Meaghan (2004), 'Transnational Imagination in Action Cinema: Hong Kong and the

Making of a Global Popular Culture', Inter-Asia Cultural Studies, 5 (2), pp. 181-199.

Park, Jane Chi Hyun (2012), 'Fighting Women in Contemporary Asian Cinema', Cultural

Studies, pp. 1-15.

Optional (available online): Lau, Jenny Kwok Wah (2007), 'Hero: China's Response to

Hollywood Globalization'

Unit III: Sci-Fi & Fandom

6. RACE AND SCIENCE FICTION (17 APRIL LECTURE)

Wednesday Film Screening: Galaxy Quest, dir. Dean Parisot

Butler, Octavia E. (2005), 'Speech Sounds', Bloodchild and Other Stories (New York: Seven

Stories Press), pp. 89-109.

Kitchin, Rob and Kneale, James (2001) ‘Science fiction or Future Fact? Exploring

Imaginative Geograhies of the New Millenium’, Progress in Human Geography, 25 (1),

pp. 19-35.

James, Edward (1990), 'Yellow, Black, Metal and Tentacled: The Race Question in

American Science Fiction', in Philip John Davies (ed.), Science Fiction, Social Conflict and

War (Manchester: Manchester University Press), pp. 26-49.

Optional (available online): Delany, Samuel R. (2000), 'Racism and Science Fiction'

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Unit III: Sci-Fi & Fandom (cont.)

7. FANDOM AND FAN CULTURES (24 APRIL LECTURE)

No Screening

Jenson, Joli (1992), 'Fandom as Pathology: The Consequences of Characterization', in Lisa

A. Lewis (ed.), The Adoring Audience: Fan Culture and Popular Media (London:

Routledge), pp. 9-29.

Jenkins, Henry III (1988), 'Star Trek Rerun, Reread, Rewritten: Fan Writing as Textual

Poaching', Critical Studies in Mass Communication, 5 (2), pp. 85-107.

Jancovich, Mark (2000), ''A Real Shocker': Authenticity, Genre and the Struggle for

Distinction', Continuum: Journal of Media & Cultural Studies, 14 (1), pp. 23-35.

Optional (available online): Sontag, Susan (1964), ‘Notes on “Camp”’

Unit IV: Music Genre

8. POPULAR MUSIC GENRES (1 MAY LECTURE)

No Screening

Fabbri, Franco (1982), 'What Kind of Music?’ Translated by Iain Chambers, Popular Music, 2,

pp. 131-143.

Grossberg, Lawrence (1991), 'Rock, Territorialization and Power', Cultural Studies, 5 (3), pp.

358-367.

Bennett, Tony, Emmison, Michael, and Frow, John (1999), 'Music Tastes and Music

Knowledge', Accounting for Tastes: Australian Everyday Cultures (Cambridge, UK:

Cambridge University Press), pp. 170-200.

Optional (available online): Lena, Jennifer C. and Peterson, Richard A. (2008),

'Classification as Culture: Types and Trajectories of Music Genres'

9. COMMERCIAL GENRES (8 MAY LECTURE)

No Screening

Adorno, Theodor W. (1990 [1941]), ‘On Popular Music’, in Simon Frith and Andrew

Goodwin (eds.), On Record: Rock, Pop, and the Written Word (London: Routledge), pp.

301-314.

Sterne, Jonathan (1997), ‘Sounds like the Mall of America: Programmed Music and the

Architectonics of Commercial Space’, Ethnomusicology, 41 (1), pp. 22-50.

Optional (available online): Dyer, R. (1979), ‘In Defence of Disco’

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Unit IV: Music Genre (cont.)

10. WORLD MUSIC AND CULTURAL IDENTITY (15 MAY LECTURE)

Wednesday Film Screening: Bran Nue Dae, dir. Rachel Perkins

Feld, Steven (2000), ‘A Sweet Lullaby for World Music’, Public Culture, 12 (1), pp. 145-171.

Huijser, Henk and Brooke Collins-Gearing (2007), ‘Representing Indigenous Stories in the

Cinema: Between Collaboration and Appropriation’, The International Journal of

Diversity in Organisations, Communities and Nations 7 (3), pp. 1-9.

Optional (available online): Smith, Graeme, and Judith Brett (1998), ‘Nation,

Authenticity and Social Difference in Australian Popular Music: Folk, Country,

Multicultural’

11. HIP HOP AND GENRE AUTHENTICITY (22 MAY LECTURE)

No Screening

Gilroy, Paul (1994). ‘“After the Love Has Gone”: Bio-Politics and Etho-poetics in the Black

Public Sphere’, Public Culture, 7, pp. 49-76.

Mitchell, Tony (2003) ‘Australian Hip Hop as a Subculture’, Youth Studies Australia, 22 (2),

pp. 40-47.

Optional: Negus, Keith (1999), ‘The Music Business and Rap: Between the Street and

the Executive suite’

12. ESSAY WORKSHOP & COURSE REVISION (29 MAY LECTURE)

No Screening & No Readings

Please attend tutorials for Essay Workshop.

TAKE-HOME ESSAY DUE: FRIDAY, JUNE 10 (1500 words)

ASSESSMENTS AND DUE DATES Please note that all assessment tasks are compulsory to pass the unit.

Participation 10% Ongoing

Discussion Question (500 words) 15% Ongoing (in tutorials)

Online blogs (2x400 words each = 800 words total) 20% Due March 18 and May 13

Midterm Essay (1000 words) 25% Due April 8

Take-home Essay (1500 words) 30% Due June 10

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GCST2606 ASSESSMENT TASKS

PARTICIPATION (10%) Participation is based on engagement with ideas from the readings and screenings during tutorials. Students are expected to actively participate in a minimum of 80% of tutorials (9-10) and to attend lectures (again, 9-10) unless special consideration is given. Attendance in tutorials is not part of a participation mark, which is awarded for evidence of preparation of readings and exercises for tutorials or seminars, and active participation in classroom discussion and other activities. An extra mark is thus not awarded solely for attendance at such classes.

DISCUSSION QUESTION (15%)

This assessment has two sections.

Stage One: Discussion

Each week in tutorials the first 15-20 minutes will be devoted to small group discussion. Each

group will have one question based on the readings for that week. The question will explore one

or several elements of the specific arguments or insights from the readings. In tutorial 2, the

tutor will provide the question for the groups to discuss. From the Week 3 tutorial (“Hollywood

Film Genre”) onwards, students will provide the questions. You will choose which tutorial

(between Weeks 3 and 11) you wish to present your question in. Please consult your tutor as soon

as possible if you are absent for the allocation of weeks to students.

Stage two: Summary (500 words)

In the discussion summary you are expected to clearly outline the main points of the reading,

and to include analysis of the main issues it seeks to address. You will then discuss your question

and the discussion that it elicited in your group. Explain why you chose your question, how it

relates to the reading, and the point(s) you were hoping to make through your question. You

may also choose to examine how successful the question was in achieving your aims, or how the

question was interpreted by your group. You are required to submit this summary within two

weeks of your question/presentation in class. Please hand it in to the SOPHI office and attach

the appropriate Cover Sheet.

BLOGS (20%) 2x400 words each = 800 words total You will submit two blogs, one at the beginning of Week 3 and one at the beginning of Week 10. The blogs are meant to help you engage with ideas in the readings and primary texts, which you will later develop into longer and more cohesive arguments in the essays. It is acceptable to write in a more personal or informal (albeit still critical) tone in the blogs. The first blog will ask you to compare and contrast the arguments of the two of the theorists discussed in class through a reading of an appropriate text on YouTube. More details will be provided in Week 2. The second blog will ask you consider how an “other” or “others” are represented in one of the literary or media texts discussed in class. More details will be provided in Week 9.

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MIDTERM ESSAY (25%)

1000 words In the midterm essay you will draw on the readings to do a close reading of a particular scene from a film or passage in a short story discussed in class. More details on this assessment and tools to help you perform close readings will be provided in Week 4.

TAKE-HOME ESSAY (30%) 1500 words For the final assessment you will have the choice of doing a research paper or a creative project, responding to one of three questions that will be provided in Week 11. More details on the creative assessment will also be given in that week.

READING REQUIREMENTS Course packets containing all the required readings for the unit are available for sale at the Copy Centre. All optional readings will be available through the eLearning/Blackboard site. Some suggested references have also been included to help with your assignments, and these will be available at Fisher library. Readings are also on reserve at Fisher library, and most of these readings are accessible electronically through the USyd library website: http://opac.library.usyd.edu.au/search/r (Go to “Databases and Electronic Resources” and click on “Reserve-course readings”). We will also be using Blackboard for course communication, online discussions and assignments, and related course material (both required and recommended). You will receive more detailed instructions on how to use our course website in class and via email.

ASSESSMENT CRITERIA This unit uses standards referenced assessment for award of assessment marks. For reference to

grade descriptors, please consult standards at

http://sydney.edu.au/arts/gender_cultural_studies/undergrad/grade_descriptors.shtml

The final grade a student receives is based on the standard of his or her own performance across all the tasks set for a unit. Assessment tasks are designed so students can demonstrate how well they have achieved a unit’s outcomes. While marks for individual assessment tasks may give a good indication of the likely final mark or grade for the unit, they do not guarantee a specific grade or final mark. From time to time, final results for a unit may need to be adjusted or scaled. This can happen, for example, if it is found that the marking process has not accurately represented the actual standards achieved by students. If adjustment to raw scores is needed, this is always done with care and attention to individual students’ work. The marking process involves consultation and cross-checking to ensure that results faithfully reflect standards expected in the Faculty of Arts at the University of Sydney.

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ATTENDANCE REQUIREMENTS Departments in the School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry (SOPHI) require satisfactory class attendance as part of participation in a unit of study. Attendance below 80% of tutorials/seminars without written evidence of illness or misadventure may be penalised with loss of marks. Students should be aware that non-attendance at 50% or more of classes without due cause is likely to result in them being deemed not to have fulfilled requirements for the unit of study; they thus run the risk of an Absent Fail result being returned. Attendance at less than 50% of classes, regardless of the reasons for the absences, will automatically result in the student’s case being referred to the Departmental examiners’ meeting for a determination as to whether the student should pass or fail the unit of study, or, if a pass is awarded, the level of penalty that should be applied. Students should not take a unit of study unless they can meet the above attendance requirement. For further details see the Faculty of Arts Attendance Policy at: http://sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/policies.shtml

SUBMISSION OF WRITTEN WORK Essays and assignments must be submitted in typewritten hard copy by 4.00pm on the due date through the School (SOPHI) office, located on Level 3, Lobby H, in the Main Quadrangle. Students may not hand essays or assignments directly to their lecturer or tutor. Online submission of essays and assignments through elearning is available in some units of study. A completed and signed cover sheet must be attached to the front of all written work submitted through the School office. Written work will not be marked if the plagiarism policy compliance statement on the cover sheet is unsigned. All incoming essays and assignments are date stamped. Students submitting work through elearning must read and accept the plagiarism policy compliance statement for their work to be submitted. Students must retain a copy of all written work submitted.

LATE SUBMISSION AND EXTENSIONS

Essays and assignments not submitted on or before the due date are subject to penalty. SOPHI departments conform to the Faculty’s Policy on Late Work which states that late work is penalised at the rate of two marks (out of 100) per day. In this instance, ‘two marks’ means two full points off the awarded mark, not two percent of the awarded mark. For assignments marked out of a maximum total other than 100, the penalty will apply pro rata. For example, for assignments marked out of 40, the penalty will be 0.8 marks per day.

Only coordinators, either of individual units or of the junior and/or senior curricula have the authority to grant extensions. Requests for extension must be made via the Faculty’s online assessment consideration system at http://sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/online_application.shtml

Late essays or assignments will not be accepted (except where applications for special consideration are lodged) beyond the designated return date for the relevant written work. In cases where documented misadventure or serious illness prevents students from submitting work before the designated return date an alternative assessment task will be set.

For further details see the Faculty’s Late Work Policy at: http://sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/policies.shtml

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SPECIAL CONSIDERATION: ILLNESS OR MISADVENTURE Student requests for special consideration are assessed in accordance with the principles set out in Part 5 of the Academic Board policy on Assessment and Examination of Coursework. Students intending to submit an application for special consideration should make themselves familiar with the full details of this policy. Applications for Special Consideration must be made as soon as possible and within five working days of the due date of the assessment. Where circumstances prevent this, a student may still apply but must provide a reasonable case for the delay in submitting their application. Only illness or misadventure during the session or occurring at the time of an examination will warrant Special Consideration for academic performance. The academic judgement as to whether Special Consideration will be granted will depend upon both the nature of the illness or misadventure and its timing with respect to the assessment. All applications for Special Consideration must be made via an online system. To access this system please go to: http://sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/online_application.shtml If students miss an exam because of illness or misadventure they should first notify the department concerned and then apply for Special Consideration using the online system. Requests for Simple Extensions of less than five working days for non-examination based assessment are also covered by the online system. Special arrangements Special Arrangements may be made available to any student enrolled in a Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences unit of study, who is unable to meet assessment requirements or attend examinations, because of one or more of the following situations:

1. essential religious commitments or essential beliefs (including cultural and ceremonial commitments)

2. compulsory legal absence (e.g. jury duty, court summons, etc), 3. sporting or cultural commitments, including political/union commitments, where the

student is representing the University, state or nation, 4. birth or adoption of a child, 5. Australian Defence Force or emergency service commitments (including Army Reserve),

and 6. Where the Faculty can form the view that employment of an essential nature to the student

would be jeopardise and that the student has little or no discretion with respect to the employment demand

Applications for special arrangements are also handled through the same online system as Special Consideration (see above). Applications for Special Arrangements should be made at the beginning of semester with regard to religious beliefs or commitments relating to moveable feasts, prayer or worship times, or with regard to other requirements of a student’s religion. Applications for other types of commitment should be made as soon as possible after being notified of a requirement to be absent from the University. With regard to examinations held during University-wide examination periods, applications should be submitted within two weeks of the examination timetable.

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Appeals The Department stands behind its marking process. All care is taken to ensure that marking is consistent and fair and that markers adhere to the assessment criteria as advertised. Marking is regarded as an important part of the teaching and learning experience and markers provide constructive feedback to assist student progress. In some rare cases, a student may be of the opinion that the mark does not reflect the quality of his/her work. In pursuance of the University of Sydney ‘Student Appeals Against Academic Decisions’, if a student wishes to lodge an appeal against the grade awarded, the Faculty resolves to adhere to the guiding principles of that document as follows. Step 1: The student should contact the Unit of Study Coordinator in writing to arrange for a time to discuss the mark. At this stage the student must complete and take with them an Appeal for Reassessment (Departmental) form which can be downloaded at: http://sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/undergraduate_forms.shtml)

Section B of this form is completed by the Department. This should happen within fifteen working days of marks being made available to students. If the Unit of Study Coordinator is not available the student should contact the Chair of Department/Program Director or Undergraduate Coordinator. Normally this consultative process is productive and the student is satisfied with the outcome achieved at this point.

Step 2: If the student is not satisfied with the outcome of the discussion with the coordinator or chair, then he/she may appeal formally against the grade awarded. Before beginning a formal appeal at the Faculty level the student should first read the Academic Board Resolution on ‘Student Appeals Against Academic Decisions’. Students are advised to lodge the appeal within 15 working days of the outcome of discussions at department level as outlined above. The appeal must be lodged through the Faculty Office (attention Dean of the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences) and include the following:

A completed Appeal for Reassessment (Faculty) form (student to fill in) which can be downloaded from: http://sydney.edu.au/arts/current_students/undergraduate_forms.shtml

A written statement outlining the reasons for appeal. The written statement should draw attention to such matters as perceived injustice in terms of bias or inconsistent application of the grade descriptors published by the Department;

A completed Appeal for Reassessment (Departmental) form (Section B of this form must be completed and signed by the Department);

Your relevant assessment task Any additional supporting documentation.

Learning Assistance Students experiencing difficulties with their written expression, including essay writing style or structure can seek assistance from the Learning Centre, which runs workshops on a range of subjects including study skills, academic reading and writing, oral communication, and examination skills. The centre offers programs specifically designed for students from a non-English speaking background. The Learning Centre is located on Level 7 of the Education Building A35 (beside

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Manning House); contact them on 9351 3853 or email learning.centre@sydney.edu.au . For further information visit the Learning Centre website at http://sydney.edu.au/stuserv/learning_centre/. Online learning assistance is available via the Write Site, which offers modules on grammar, sources and structure to help students develop their academic and professional writing skills. Each module provides descriptions of common problems in academic and professional writing and strategies for addressing them. Students can view samples of good writing and also do some practice activities in error correction. For further information visit the Write Site at http://writesite.elearn.usyd.edu.au. Learning assistance is also available to Indigenous Australian students via the Koori Centre and includes academic skills group workshops covering topics such as concentration strategies, writing for specific disciplines, time management, research and reading strategies, academic writing styles and referencing. The Koori Centre is located on Level 2 of Old Teachers College A22; contact 9351 2046 or 1800 622 742 (toll free) or email koori.centre@sydney.edu.au. For further information visit the Koori Centre website at http://sydney.edu.au/koori . Other support services Disability Services is located on Level 5, Jane Foss Russell Building G20; contact 8627 8422 or email disability.services@sydney.edu.au. For further information visit their website at http://sydney.edu.au/stuserv/disability/. The Counselling Service is located on Level 5, Jane Foss Russell Building G20; contact 8627 8433 or email counsell@stuserv.usyd.edu.au. For further information visit their website at http://sydney.edu.au/stuserv/counselling/. Note: All Academic Board policies referred to above are available online at http://sydney.edu.au/policy.

ACADEMIC DISHONESTY SOPHI departments are committed to the principles of academic honesty as set out in the Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism in Coursework Policy. Students have a responsibility to familiarise themselves with these principles. According to the Policy the definition of academic dishonesty includes but is not limited to:

recycling: the resubmission for assessment of work that is the same or substantially the same as work previously submitted for assessment in the same or in a different unit of study;

fabrication of data;

the engagement of another person to complete or contribute to an assessment or examination in place of the student, whether for payment or otherwise;

communication, whether by speaking or some other means, to other candidates during an examination;

bringing into an examination forbidden material such as textbooks, notes, calculators or computers;

attempting to read other student’s work during an examination; and/or

writing an examination or test paper, or consulting with another person about the examination or test, outside the confines of the examination room without permission.

copying from other students during examinations

inappropriate use of electronic devices to access information during examinations.

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PLAGIARISM

Plagiarism is the theft of intellectual property. SOPHI departments are opposed to and will not tolerate plagiarism. Students have a responsibility to understand the full details of the University’s Academic Dishonesty and Plagiarism in Coursework Policy which can be downloaded from the University’s Policy online website (visit http://fmweb01.ucc.usyd.edu.au/pol/).

All students are required to include a signed statement of compliance with work submitted for assessment, presentation or publication certifying that no part of the work constitutes a breach of the University’s policy on plagiarism. This statement of compliance is printed on all assignment/essay cover sheets and written work will not be marked if the compliance statement is unsigned.

According to the policy, plagiarism means presenting another person’s work as one’s own by presenting, copying or reproducing the work without appropriate acknowledgment of the source. Common forms of plagiarism include but are not limited to:

presenting written work that contains phrases, clauses, sentences, paragraphs or longer extracts from published or unpublished work (including from the internet) without appropriate acknowledgement of the source; or

presenting written work of another person without appropriate acknowledgement of the source.

Legitimate cooperation between students is permitted and encouraged but students should be aware of the difference between cooperation and collusion. Discussion of general themes and concepts is allowed but students are not permitted to read each other’s work prior to submission or cooperate so closely that they are jointly selecting quotes, planning essay structure or copying each other’s ideas.

While plagiarism is never acceptable, there is a distinction between negligent plagiarism and plagiarism that involves dishonest intent.

Negligent plagiarism is defined in the policy as “innocently, recklessly or carelessly presenting another person’s work as one’s own work without appropriate acknowledgement of the source”. In cases of negligent plagiarism the student will be counselled and referred to appropriate services for assistance. Further action may be taken, including requiring the student to resubmit or undertake another assessment task, undertake remedial action, or in some cases a fail grade may be applied to the work or part of the work.

Dishonest plagiarism is defined in the policy as “knowingly presenting another person’s work as one’s own work without appropriate acknowledgement of the source”. Where academic dishonesty or dishonest plagiarism is proven as not serious enough to constitute potential student misconduct under Chapter 8 of the University of Sydney By-Law 1999 the student will be counselled and referred to appropriate services for assistance. They will also be issued with a written warning explaining the consequences of any subsequent breaches of the University’s policy. Further action may be taken including requiring the student to resubmit or undertake another assessment task, undertake remedial action, or in some cases a fail grade may be applied to the work or part of the work, or a fail grade or mark penalty may be applied to the unit of study.

In cases where academic dishonesty or dishonest plagiarism is proven as serious enough to constitute potential student misconduct under Chapter 8 of the University of Sydney By-Law 1999 the case will be referred to the Registrar.

Students are encouraged to think for themselves. In assessing students’ work academic staff look for evidence of understanding and capacity for independent thought; it is always disappointing to discover plagiarism. Written work containing plagiarism will be assessed according to its academic merit, but may fail because it does not meet the minimum standard required.