ANTH 303 Fall 2017
Anthropology assignment on plagiarism
Susan Vincent

Academic research takes place in conversation with other scholars, so learning to acknowledge their work properly is essential. Improper acknowledgement can take the form of plagiarism, one of the most serious academic offences. StFX’s Academic Integrity Policy defines plagiarism this way:

    Although academic work often involves research on, or reference to, the ideas, data, and critical commentary of other scholars, academic integrity requires that any use of another person’s work be explicitly acknowledged.
    Plagiarism is the misrepresentation of another’s work—whether ideas or words, intellectual or creative works, images or data— published or unpublished, as one’s own. Examples of plagiarism include:
    a) quoting, paraphrasing, or summarizing text, even small portions of text, without proper acknowledgement; paraphrasing too closely (e.g., changing only a few words or simply re-arranging the text); and,
    b) downloading from the Web or from a library or any other database all or part of a paper, a journal article, or a book, or downloading any other website material, excluding bibliography makers, and presenting it as one’s own work. (St.FX University 2013)

This assignment has the objective of giving you an opportunity to practice your knowledge of plagiarism. It presents different discussions that use material from a published source (Mullings 2005). Consult this source and determine which example(s) represents plagiarism and why. For further resources about plagiarism, see http://sites.stfx.ca/library/plagiarism.

Example 1.
    Mullings (2005) applies intersectional theory and the concept of the “Sojourner Syndrome” to understand the higher rate of health problems in giving birth among Black women in Harlem. Her research team wished to investigate the reasons that Black women, regardless of their wealth category, were more likely to experience  complications, although these are worse for poor women. She argues that any solutions must take into account the ways gender inequity, racial discrimination, and class inequality impose limitations on access to health care, and more important, on secure jobs, adequate housing, nutrition, and child care, a safe and healthy environment, and social services.

Example 2.
    Mullings (2005) applies intersectional theory and the concept of the “Sojourner Syndrome” to understand the higher rate of health problems in giving birth among Black women in Harlem. Her research team wished to investigate the reasons that Black women, regardless of their wealth category, were more likely to experience  complications, although these are worse for poor women. She argues that any solutions must take into account “the ways gender inequity, racial discrimination, and class inequality impose limitations on access to health care, and more important, on secure jobs, adequate housing, nutrition, and child care, a safe and healthy environment, and social services” (Mullings 2005: 88).


Example 3.
    Mullings applies intersectional theory and the concept of the “Sojourner Syndrome” to understand the higher rate of health problems in giving birth among Black women in Harlem. Her research team wished to investigate the reasons that Black women, regardless of their wealth category, were more likely to experience  complications, although these are worse for poor women. She argues that any solutions must take into account the ways gender inequity, racial discrimination, and class inequality impose limitations on access to health care, and more important, on secure jobs, adequate housing, nutrition, and child care, a safe and healthy environment, and social services .

Example 4.
    This article explores the consequences of class exploitation, racial discrimination, and gender subordination—as expressed in environmental racism, employment insecurity, and problematic housing conditions— on the health and well-being of working-class and middle-stratum women in Harlem. It argues that an intersectional approach, examining the simultaneous interaction of race, class, and gender, tells us more about racial disparities than do explanatory paradigms of biological race or lifestyle choices. African American women address difficult conditions through the development of women-centered support groups, as well as other forms of resistance. The Sojourner Syndrome, an interpretive framework that speaks to the historical dialectic of oppression, resilience, and resistance, is proposed as an approach to understanding infant mortality and other health issues.


    Mullings, Leith (2005) “Resistance and resilience: The Sojourner Syndrome and the social context of reproduction in central Harlem.” Transforming Anthropology 13(2): 79-91.
    StFX University. (2013). “Academic Policies and Procedures.”Approved 2 April 2013, amended 3 March 2015, Accessed 18 January 2016. http://sites.stfx.ca/registrars_office/sites/sites.stfx.ca.registrars_office/files/Academic%20Integrity-Mar_2015_0.pdf.