"Plagiarism: Educational disorder or symptom?" - A Faculty Inaugural Lecture by Prof. Diane Pecorari

Join us at the third lecture in the Faculty of Social Sciences Inaugural Lecture Series!

We are delighted to announce that the third lecture in the 2024-25 Faculty Inaugural Lecture Series will be given by Professor Diane Pecorari from the School of Education.

Professor Pecorari is a professor of Teaching English to Speakers of Other Languages (TESOL) whose research is situated within the broad area of educational linguistics. Within this area, her research investigates aspects of English-medium instruction, English for academic purposes (EAP), and academic vocabulary. Her work on EAP includes research on intertexuality, source use, and plagiarism in academic writing. She has also begun investigating the phenomenon of predatory research outlets.

The Lecture

Plagiarism: Educational disorder or symptom?

Abstract

Academics – a notoriously contentious tribe – generally find it easy to agree about plagiarism. It's an academic malaise, and when it happens, we should respond to it seriously. And indeed we do. Universities craft policy, expend staff time on investigating possible cases of plagiarism, commit significant financial resources to technological tools such as Turnitin, and accept that students suffer consequences for academic misconduct, because that is deemed to be better than the alternative, letting plagiarism slide. Yet despite these intensive and expensive mechanisms, we still have plagiarism. There is no evidence to suggest that it is decreasing, and it's easy to find claims that its prevalence is increasing. If our best efforts fail to make a dent in the problem, it may be worth asking whether we are actually treating the problem, or just one of its symptoms.

In the first part of this lecture, Professor Pecorari will examine a selection of high-profile, public episodes of plagiarism in order to identify lessons which are transferable to the university context. She will then turn to current research on academic literacy and in particular a body of work which can help to explain why students, despite stern warnings and copious information, nonetheless plagiarise, and what that suggests for universities in their efforts to treat the root problem and reduce the prevalence of plagiarism. Finally, she will consider how generative artificial intelligence may have changed the landscape in terms of how old-school plagiarism occurs and is responded to.

We would like to welcome everyone – be they colleagues, postgraduate researchers, students, alumni or visitors – to this lecture celebrating the achievement and research contributions of Professor Pecorari.

The lecture will take place on Thursday 14 November 2024 at 17:00 in William Bragg LT (2.37) on the central University of Leeds campus. The lecture will take place from 17:00-18:00 including introductions and a Q&A session, after which there will be a drinks reception.

To register your attendance at this lecture, please complete this short registration form.

If you have any queries about this lecture, or about the series, please direct them via email to Izzy Jenkinson (Faculty Events Coordinator) at I.K.S.Jenkinson@leeds.ac.uk.