We've updated GrubStreet's Workshop Ethical Guidelines to deepen the information, resources, and practices we share regarding our plagiarism, copyright, privacy/confidentiality, and appropriation policies.

We encourage everyone in our community to read the updated Workshop Ethical Guidelines here. With this updated resource, we aim to articulate boundaries that are as healthy as possible and practices that continue to enable good work within the community.

These updated guidelines are included in our general Student Guidelines, which we share before the start of every GrubStreet class and are also viewable on our website.

Below, you'll find more information about our process for making these updates, additional resources for the community, and what we've got planned for next steps.

Our Process

Led by GrubStreet's Artistic Director, Dariel Suarez, and new Head of Faculty, Emmanuela Maurice, the process for updating our Workshop Ethical Guidelines included a cohort of GrubStreet instructors as collaborators, including Theresa Okokon (general nonfiction), Kelly Dalke (fiction), Aimee Suzara (poetry), and Michelle Bowdler (memoir), to whom we're immensely grateful.

Over the course of last year, the cohort took the following steps to update our guidelines:

1) Held group discussions and individually assigned tasks aimed at interrogating gaps, improving language and process, and providing definitions and context to students entering a GrubStreet workshop;

2) Engaged two experienced consultants specializing in the areas of plagiarism, copyright infringement, fair use, and cultural appropriation;

3) Put together resources for current and future work in these areas;

4) Collected feedback and suggestions from a diverse group of instructors on the revised guidelines and supplemental materials;

5) And strategized around next steps and recommendations to expand and deepen this work moving forward.

Notes on Cultural Appropriation

Given the clear distinctions between plagiarism and cultural appropriation, the cohort has determined that a separate process is needed to unpack the latter, discuss with and train our instructors, and include language in our guidelines.

In the “Next Steps” section below, we are noting how we plan to engage with this work going forward.

For now, we're including a couple of resources shared with us by a cultural appropriation scholar Jaymee Goh, which we found relevant and useful:

• Bruce Ziff and Pratima Rao's introduction to their anthology Borrowed Power: essays on cultural appropriation.
• Ella Shohat and Robert Stam's introduction to Unthinking Eurocentrism.

Additional Resources

The following resources were prepared by one of our consultants, Jessica Silbey, on behalf of GrubStreet to clarify basic concepts concerning plagiarism, copyright, confidentiality, and the public domain:

• A memo on plagiarism, copyright, privacy, and the public domain, December 2022
• A short video describing the differences between plagiarism, copyright, and breach of confidentiality.

Next Steps

Based on what we’ve learned throughout this process and the suggestions and feedback provided by the larger group of people we engaged, it was obvious that no one document, set of guidelines and examples, or list of resources will address the complexities of these topics on their own. Thus, we are focusing on the following next steps as a continuation of this project:

• We will continue to revise the Student Guidelines on a regular basis to ensure they are up to date and reflect the pressing issues that come up in classes.

• Update our Instructor Guidelines (and share them with the community) to ensure continued alignment between the expectations and process for instructors related to classroom management with what’s reflected in our Student Guidelines.

• Expand resources and instructor trainings on the topics of plagiarism, privacy, and cultural appropriation, including the engagement of additional consultants and groups specializing in these areas, such as the Writing the Other workshops.

• Share our internal pedagogical accountability process for instructors, students, and staff, as well as our programs and HR process for when issues arise in classes and when power dynamics are at play.

• Provide more visible and accessible pathways for students and community members to contact program staff and senior team members to offer feedback and share concerns related to all of the above.

Thank you for reading the guidelines, engaging with the material, and, as always, being a part of GrubStreet.