Posted on 05/22/2006 8:21:58 AM PDT by george76
Ethnic studies — a relatively new field — could be harmed by the plagiarized passages and made-up facts discovered in University of Colorado professor Ward Churchill's work, a panel found.
But scholars of ethnic studies, and those who have been closely watching the investigation, have varying opinions on whether there will be a "Churchill effect" on the field.
The stinging report that became public last week rejected Churchill's assertion that there are different research standards for ethnic studies scholars.
Panel members also found that the tenured professor strayed from the "bedrock principles" of scholarship.
The five-member investigative panel arrived at its conclusion that Churchill's patterns of academic misconduct were "serious" largely by looking at the damaging effect his misconduct has on his colleagues at CU and those who study American Indian issues.
Vernon Bellecourt, a senior leader from the Minneapolis-based American Indian Movement, said Churchill's work does irreparable harm to the cause and discredits the scholarly work of others.
"We really think his work is an attack on academia," Bellecourt said.
"I'm also concerned about all the students — particularly Native American students — who have gone through Churchill's classes and were exposed to his shoddy research."
Scholars who have cited Churchill are "innocent" because they did not know Churchill fabricated information, but they also could have done more thorough research, said Tom Brown, a sociology professor at Lamar University in Beaumont, Texas.
(Excerpt) Read more at dailycamera.com ...
With the exception of water fluoridation? If I remember, National Lampoon once proved without a doubt using a flow chart the link between fluoridation and communism.
Did you notice that the one who addressed you referred to "womens, blacks" - perhaps an argument for remedial education but not "cake" couses like ethnic studies.
Sad, but true for most of the classes in the humanities these days.
Wow. Anyone who thinks that Churchill has harmed the *cough* academic integrity of the "studies" curricula is kidding himself. These are not fields of scholarship, they are political grievances.
"... and those that can't teach, teach gym."
- Woody Allen
Ward could not even teach Gym.
Gym has more academic integrity than the "studies" curricula.
Because having to document and research would hurt their feelings, so it must be banned.
bump
This is bad, how????
Untrue. Most professors in teaching schools are teaching 3-4 classes per term. That includes classtime, grading papers, meeting students, preparing for lectures/labs, etc. Then there's committee work. And, in case you haven't heard of 'publish or perish' before, even in teaching schools you have to do some kind of research and writing to get tenure. For most profs with classroom responsibilities, that's done during the 'free summer.'
Even in research environments where the teaching load is less, the burden on your time for research and writing takes up the time that other profs use in the classroom.
I was a lawyer in private practice. I know what long hours are. I am now about to get my PhD and I fully expect my hours to be just as long. The benefit is that I can do some of my work from home, on my own time and I don't have to be in an office from 9-5. The profs I know work long and hard to get tenure. The tenured profs continue to work hard. Maybe things are different in small schools, but at a major Research I school, people are putting in their time, all year long.
Many people get nice retirements (profs contribute to theirs, like other Americans) and vacation time. We can discuss the benefits/problems of tenure until the cows come homw. That's a different issue. But tenure aside, I think most non-academics have no idea what kind of time and effort a prof in a Research I school does, or how much effort teaching many class sections takes. Is it ditch digging? No. But many Americans do knowledge work (rather than product creation) these days, and profs are no different in the time and effort they put in on the job.
This is bad from the liberal media view and bad from the liberal university professors view.
The professors might actually have to work !
The lazy bumbs might have to do some original work instead of copying someone else's original work.
The University of Colorado's report on the investigation of Ward Churchill's alleged scholarly misconduct has just been released.
Churchill was found guilty of deliberate false assertions, misrepresentation of sources, and plagiarism.
Among other things, Churchill was found guilty of passing off others' work as his own (plagiarism), but also of passing off his own work as others'.
This "permits the author to create the false appearance that his claims are supported by other scholars when, in fact, he is the only source for such claims"...
http://www.homofactuspress.com/2006/05/south_end_press_needs_damage_c.htm
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