Dear Folks,
I'm sorry to report that even among scholars, plagiarism remains a problem.
A recent book review written by Daniel William for TMR, which was followed
up by a lively exchange in L-Medieval, points up the fact that sloppy
scholarship, often fed by the publish or perish marketplace or simply
ambition, is to be found even among medievalists. The only reason it is not
detected more often is that we often don't readily discover such behavior
unless the plagiarist has copied from our own work. Further, the vast
number of universities prefer to keep such misdemeanors secret, and the
'guild' gets together to protect its own. Nevertheless, browsing through
the Chronicle of Higher Education may be instructive. Such professional
organizations as the American Historical Association have issued statements
defining plagiarism and warning of its malevolent results. But the wording
indicates the diffculty entailed in reaching some consensus on its
definition. And very often even good scholars fall into one or another form
of plagiarism without even realizing they are doing so. Those of us who
feel we may have been victimized by this phenomenon, often barely have any
recourse.
Best to all,
Michael Goodich
e-mail: [log in to unmask]
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