Harvard's plagiarists
The NY Sun runs a story that Senator Kerry "outsourced" his book to others, without crediting them for the work he plagiarized. Now that's a surprise.
The article goes on to say, "recent spate of stories about plagiarism allegedly committed by high-profile figures, such as a Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe ... and Doris Kearns Goodwin" a graduate of Harvard.
In March 2002, Timothy Noah, writing in Slate, told us "Goodwin continues to deny that what she did was plagiarism ('There is absolutely no intent to appropriate anyone else's words as my own, which is what plagiarism is')." Thanks, Doris, for clearing that mystery up. Click here for more details on Goodwin's conduct.
April 30, 2003, Maureen Dowd, "Hypocrisy & Apple Pie," quoted Professor Niall Ferguson in her op-ed piece, who had given a talk at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), regarding his notional theory on American imperialism. Ferguson stated during the CFR's Q&A
When I read the Ferguson quote in Dowd's piece, I knew he had borrowed it from another, so I sent an email to the NY Times asserting that Ferguson had plagiarized Professor AJP Taylor's The Struggle for Mastery in Europe.
In my email to the NY Times, I stated: "In 1954, Professor Taylor wrote 'Granville promised withdrawal ... and this promise was repeated sixty-six times between 1882 and 1922.'"
Since I had accused Ferguson of "plagiarizing" Taylor's work, I copied him on my email and he responded to my complaint. (Note: I have hardcopies of our emails to prove my statements contained herein are true.)
When it was all said and done, Ferguson and I traded 3 emails. In Ferguson's initial response, he asserted: (1) his statement was "a well-known fact, " (2) Professor "Taylor did no original archival research," (3) Ferguson said "Where I come from, we refer to errors of this kind as malapropism [sic]," and (4) Dowd should have "[published] appropriate footnotes to words of mine."
After Ferguson's initial response, I was like a hound with a gristly bone, for I knew I was being shined. That evening I went to Barnes & Noble to research Ferguson's Empire to see if Taylor's Mastery was footnoted or referenced.
In Empire, Chapter 5, Maxim Force (Page 235, hardcover edition), Ferguson stated: "a reassurance repeated no fewer than sixty-six times between 1882 and 1922." Taylor's Mastery was not footnoted or listed in the bibliography.
Nowadays, Professor Niall Ferguson teaches history at Harvard. How's that for a history lesson in "pedantry" -- as Ferguson artlessly accused me of being engaged in.
Both Goodwin and Ferguson would have us believe they had "no intent to appropriate anyone else's words" as their own, but they did.
Perhaps, Tribe, Goodwin, and Ferguson should read what Harvard calls "Misuse of Sources."
The article goes on to say, "recent spate of stories about plagiarism allegedly committed by high-profile figures, such as a Harvard law professor Laurence Tribe ... and Doris Kearns Goodwin" a graduate of Harvard.
In March 2002, Timothy Noah, writing in Slate, told us "Goodwin continues to deny that what she did was plagiarism ('There is absolutely no intent to appropriate anyone else's words as my own, which is what plagiarism is')." Thanks, Doris, for clearing that mystery up. Click here for more details on Goodwin's conduct.
April 30, 2003, Maureen Dowd, "Hypocrisy & Apple Pie," quoted Professor Niall Ferguson in her op-ed piece, who had given a talk at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR), regarding his notional theory on American imperialism. Ferguson stated during the CFR's Q&A
"In fact between I think it was '82 and 1922, they promised the international community they would leave Egypt 66 times, which I think must be some kind of record for diplomatic mendacity."Dowd's quotation reads: "From 1882 until 1922, the British promised the international community 66 times that they would leave Egypt."
When I read the Ferguson quote in Dowd's piece, I knew he had borrowed it from another, so I sent an email to the NY Times asserting that Ferguson had plagiarized Professor AJP Taylor's The Struggle for Mastery in Europe.
In my email to the NY Times, I stated: "In 1954, Professor Taylor wrote 'Granville promised withdrawal ... and this promise was repeated sixty-six times between 1882 and 1922.'"
Since I had accused Ferguson of "plagiarizing" Taylor's work, I copied him on my email and he responded to my complaint. (Note: I have hardcopies of our emails to prove my statements contained herein are true.)
When it was all said and done, Ferguson and I traded 3 emails. In Ferguson's initial response, he asserted: (1) his statement was "a well-known fact, " (2) Professor "Taylor did no original archival research," (3) Ferguson said "Where I come from, we refer to errors of this kind as malapropism [sic]," and (4) Dowd should have "[published] appropriate footnotes to words of mine."
After Ferguson's initial response, I was like a hound with a gristly bone, for I knew I was being shined. That evening I went to Barnes & Noble to research Ferguson's Empire to see if Taylor's Mastery was footnoted or referenced.
In Empire, Chapter 5, Maxim Force (Page 235, hardcover edition), Ferguson stated: "a reassurance repeated no fewer than sixty-six times between 1882 and 1922." Taylor's Mastery was not footnoted or listed in the bibliography.
Nowadays, Professor Niall Ferguson teaches history at Harvard. How's that for a history lesson in "pedantry" -- as Ferguson artlessly accused me of being engaged in.
Both Goodwin and Ferguson would have us believe they had "no intent to appropriate anyone else's words" as their own, but they did.
Perhaps, Tribe, Goodwin, and Ferguson should read what Harvard calls "Misuse of Sources."
posted by Tony Harrison at 10:43 AM
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