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Make sure to backup your files before 301 and that you have FTP access just in case something happens. I agree with Claudio's answer.

Some great responses here and although I agree with contacting webmasters first and requesting manual removal of links, I think its good to mention what to do if you are hit with a negative SEO blast where all the new links are from spammy blog networks and de-indexed domains etc where conveniently, there are no contact details on site or with WHOIS. In this case, its probably better going down the disavow route using caution and common sense before submitting final disavow file.

If i strictly stay up to the question then i would go this way... 1. If the content is really awesome for for duplicate but always ad the canonical tag so that you do not die in the SE world. 2. If the content is just tons of words on the page to fill the container... its better to let the container go empty!