This week in class, we read both Literature, Imagination, and Human Rights by Willie van Peer and Democratic Citizenship and the Narrative Imagination by Martha Nussbaum. Just through the titles of both articles, it is clear that they are related. In fact, I found both of articles to be almost entirely alike.
Both Nussbaum’s and van Peer’s articles have similar abstractions. Nussbaum’s abstractions include the effect of imagination on literature and the effect of literature upon imagination. Another abstraction of Nussbaum would be the definition of citizenship.
Van Peer’s abstractions include (again) the impact of literature upon imagination and how imagination defines literature, human rights within literature, and progress through the medium of literature and imagination.
Clearly, these two articles deal with almost the exact same topics since the abstractions (the broad ideas within the article) are practically identical.
In terms of big ideas, the articles are also incredibly similar. In particular, the big idea of becoming a better citizen is heavily conversed upon within both Literature, Imagination, and Human Rights and Democratic Citizenship and the Narrative Imagination. Within the former article, the notion of being sympathetic, empathetic, and compassionate through the medium is highly discussed. Nussbaum explains that by utilizing these components, one can become a better world citizen. In the latter (Democratic Citizenship and the Narrative Imagination) the notion of the edifying effect of literature is discussed, highly similar to the discussion of sympathy, empathy, and compassion within literature in Literature, Imagination, and Human Rights and Democratic Citizenship and the Narrative Imagination.
Most interestingly, the exact same detail is used in both articles. This detail is in regards to the child’s lullaby, Twinkle Twinkle Little Star. In Literature, Imagination, and Human Rights and Democratic Citizenship and the Narrative Imagination, this lullaby is in the context of a story used as an example within her article. The lullaby, however, is considered to be enhance imagination, which is considered a negative thing in context.
In Democratic Citizenship and the Narrative Imagination, the idea that the lullaby Twinkle Twinkle Little Star leads to a stronger imagination, as well. Comparatively, however, this idea is a positive one in the eyes of the author. She claims that learning this lullaby opens up the eyes of a child. Had they not learned this lullaby, Nussbaum believes that the child would be “… deprived of a certain way of viewing…”
Finding all these similarities within these two articles leaves me wondering. Did both authors just happen to find the same conclusion on such a broad topic? Or did one author almost copy the other author completely? I’m not accusing either author of plagiarism, I’m simply aware of the possibility since plagiarism is so heavily stressed at university. Maybe the idea of plagiarism, of not copying another’s work without citation, comes back to human rights. Does receiving credit for one’s work fall into a human right, given to all people in this world? Or is this too vain, to want credentials. Just a thought.