Plagiarism and Voice in the Age of Information

The purpose of this work is to explore the issue of plagiarism in various contexts relevant to the teaching of English composition. Since definitions of plagiarism vary by culture and by history, an account of its expression at various points in Western history has been offered. Preliminary findings linked the use of technology for the expression of ideas to cultural and legal definitions of plagiarism. In addition, our own time further complicates any desire to arrive at definitive notions of intellectual property because of information technology facilitating cross-cultural exchange of ideas. In this “Information Age,” as it has been called, technology like the Internet further blurs legal and ethical definitions of the ownership of words.

Since plagiarism varies in definition by culture, a brief overview of cross-cultural teaching of English composition has been offered. This review concludes that plagiarism actually aids the learning process in some non-Western cultures, and that these cultures place less value on individual “voice” in writing than our own.

Concluding the work is a brief explication of postmodern contributions to the question of intellectual property, with some suggestions for future research.