I didn't really know I'd entered into a “flap” here when I posted awhile ago that a person plagiarizing should be punished as such, but apparently I've done just that, since I'm beginning to get a bit of heat from the literary crowd, some of whom I know and respect as such, so I thought I'd revisit the issue and poke around and see if I could figure out what was what.
And here's what I come up with... I have absolutely no interest in going through Brad Vice's book and comparing it word for word with Stars Fell on Alabama (the book Mr. Vice is accused of plagiarizing). To me it's very nearly beside the point. I'm quite positive that had Mr. Vice realized the extent of The University of Georgia Press's reaction to their discovery that certain aspects of the book were very similar to another work (removing it from publication and likely having the entire print run pulped), he would have at least requested that the University of Georgia Press include the original (from its dissertation form, as noted by Jason Sanford in the StorySouth blog) “epigraph from Carl Carmer's book Stars Fell on Alabama. When the dissertation was published as The Bear Bryant Funeral Train, this epigraph was left off for some reason.” Had he left this epigraph, he likely would not have been accused of plagiarism. Again I say “oops.”
As most reasonable composition teachers will tell you, there are different levels of plagiarism. At the light gray end of the spectrum are simple matters of poorly cited sources and forgetful sloppiness (of which we all are capable and probably guilty at some point in our lives/careers), and at the red hot end is the direct use of material with the intent of misleading the reader (be it an instructor or publisher or book-reading public) into believing someone else's text is actually yours. From the collected evidence it seems to me that Mr. Vice's culpability falls squarely in the very light gray arena of plagiarism activities... bad form, yes, but hardly intolerable. And it is not entirely clear to me whose fault it is... there seems to be plenty to go around--Mr. Vice, The University of Georgia Press (and likely its trustees or board or whoever is behind the green curtain), the newspapers and blogs (mine included), and whoever else might have been mumbling and grumbling. I wish I knew why that epigraph was removed. Does Mr. Vice have an answer for us? I don't know.
Should the University of Georgia Press have taken away his prize and divorced itself of their relationship? Probably not. But as has been pointed out elsewhere, the University of Georgia Press has a lot to lose (funding) by not acting swiftly and strongly. They cannot appear to support plagiarism, and though they might have gained as much (or more) as they lost in a battle to defend Mr. Vice, I'm not in a position to make decisions on their behalf, and we can pretty much expect them to play it as safely as possible when it comes to keeping the status quo. (Take note... if submitting your work there, mind your manners very very strictly... they appear to be a very mannered crowd).
Unfortunately it looks as if a lot of mistakes were made, and they continue to be made. I made some myself, in part by making a flip and quick (and heavily quoted) remark when news of The Pulping of Bear Bryant became news. But from the news stories printed at the time, it did seem Mr. Vice was being a bit flip himself. I say it seemed that way because I don't know how much of this flippancy came as a result of selective quoting by media with a lead in mind.
What I hope is that we've all learned something. And maybe this is too much to hope for. Should we be expected to use our brains? Should we admit when we're wrong? Should we share blame when there is blame to be shared? What are you asking of us, Mr. Bain?
I do hope that Mr. Vice's book finds a comfortable home elsewhere... perhaps under a different title, with bibliography of sources, or a complete list of citations, or a map to the location of his dissertation in the library. And I hope that the University of Georgia Press finds a way to generate a backbone. Doubtless a great bundle of unmarked bills would help.
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