In the age of Gen-AI, we all need to practice ways of discerning when its use is helping our thinking and when it gets in the way. In this course, I emphasize reflective reading and writing as a meditative practice with the purpose of discovering something about yourself and your unique relationship with nature. Using Gen-AI will be an obstacle in this endeavor and instead further disconnect you from your experience and deeper knowing.Â
For this reasion, the use of generative AI is not allowed for any tasks in this course, including, but not limited to: summarizing texts, transcribing notes, brainstorming topic ideas, or producing assignment text (even if only for a preliminary draft).
This will give you space to read for self-discovery and write from your own experience. There are environmental and other ethical issues at stake in the decision to use or not to use AI.
We trust that you will comply with the Honor Code. We also know that it sometimes difficult to discern exactly what constitutes plagiarism, particularly if you are coming from a different cultural context where the rules for citing may be different than in the US. Generally speaking, plagiarism is any attempt to take credit for work done by another person or AI. To be sure, academics rely on the work of others to shape their own knowledge and interpretations. In writing, we need to acknowledge the importance of other works through footnotes and/or direct textual references to influential books, articles, and ideas. Not acknowledging the work of others, or transposing sentences, words, and concepts into your own work without using quotation marks or citations can result in plagiarism. Working with a professor, tutor, or friend to clarify your ideas and organization for a paper or presentation is generally not plagiarism. Using an outline or thesis given to you by someone else without substantial modification is considered plagiarism. If you have any questions about what may constitute plagiarism, please consult with us. We value you giving us a chance to clear up any confusion!