Response to Academic Integrity Blogs with a Focus on Digital Art

Ever since my ASTU class did a section on academic integrity, I’ve been giving it more thought. I notice it more in my day to day interactions. Academic integrity is usually centered around writing, as fellow students in my ASTU classes referenced in their blogs. Kendall mentioned “piece of academic writing” while Nina said “writing done in university” when referencing academic integrity. However, it’s lesser mentioned, but academic integrity is also prominent in visual art.

Right now, I’m taking a class on digital media as my elective for this semester. The course is based around photography, photoshop, and other digital creations such as graphics interchange formats (GIFs). However, in our classes, we also discuss art pieces. One piece that came into discussion was the Kent State Massacre photo by John Paul Filo.

Before and after of the Kent State Massacre photo (https://petapixel.com/2012/08/29/the-kent-state-massacre-photo-and-the-case-of-the-missing-pole/)

In this photo, a pole was removed from behind the screaming girl’s head and the photo was cropped. The main message was made clearer by focusing the viewer’s attention on the main subject. This editing may not seem like much, but the edited photo was used in a journal which viewers saw as depicting the whole truth. So, is the photo still depicting the truth? Does it matter if something that didn’t have a large effect on the image got taken away?

I think the answer lies in the definitions that came up in my ASTU class and in blogs. In her blog, Nina defined it “as an act of honesty” and my learning pod (LP5) saw it as a “moral code to follow involving ethics, honesty, and responsibility”. But what Dr. Moberly Luger brought up that really made me think was the idea of transparency. Being open about where your research comes from is essential.

Learning about academic integrity has changed how I see it and also how other students such as Kendall see it too. She writes “I find that by making so many connections between modern day life and academic citation, I have changed my perspective on academic integrity, and found a way to relate it to my everyday life.” I like how she has worded it in her blog because I feel the same way. Academic integrity is a part of our lives and now it’s more visible to me.

Kendall’s blog: https://blogs.ubc.ca/kendellsblog/2022/09/22/my-view-of-academic-citation/

Nina’s blog: https://blogs.ubc.ca/ninavblog/