ABSTRACT
Whereas the previous chapter outlined some of the broad concerns teachers and policy-makers hold about plagiarism and detailed a model for teachers to use in reflecting on their teaching practices, this chapter briefly details the historical origins of plagiarism. It is important to understand the birth of plagiarism because the way in which plagiarism has been applied in educational settings such as schools, colleges and universities in many countries around the globe is closely aligned to its historical roots in English and international law. The origins of plagiarism and the differences in the competing ideas about originality in writing, intention to plagiarize and the very concept of what it means to be an “author” are covered in this chapter. The debate that continues to rage, particularly in cyberspace, about concepts of authorship and ownership of text is derived from the early legal cases involving the “Romantic” notion of authorship.
