When I was at Columbia a professor I had (Andrew Chiappe, now dead, thank god) refused to grade a paper I wrote for him on "The Merchant of Venice" because he thought I'd lifted some or much of it from someplace - the evidence being the way I used one particular word. I hadn't, and he had no actual evidence, just his intuition. Of course I was angry (and flattered, a little) and protested to him, but to no avail. He was a poor teacher - though a very thorough methodologist - and didn't know me from a hole in the wall. I didn't fail his course, but hated him ever since - now more than 30 years ago - and felt his error proved his inferiority. .At 06:43 PM 12/1/99 EST, Harvey R Greenberg Md wrote: >Just to show you that these things can have another spin: > >As a senior in college, I took a course on European Literature with a >wonderful teacher, who I grew increasingly fond of. I wrote a final paper on >THOMAS MANN: THE ARTIST AS FAILURE, in which inter alia I drew analogies >between Mann's more intriguing heros and the Michaelangelo David. The >teacher, who until that time had been quite warmly disposed to me, gave me a >crushing failing grade and said that I had plagiarized -- not citing any >source, only implying that I couldn't have written the paper on my own. > >I was devastated, went to the man with tears in my eyes, and told him every >word had been mine. He believed me, promised to reread the paper, apologized >in his final grading for his "barracks room mentality" -- I still remember >the words. As a poignant conclusion, I wrote a short story for him about a >recent complex evening I had spent with a friend in post romantic despair, >and his critique of this -- not required in the course -- was exceptionally >helpful to my subsequent writing. > >It is therefore conceivable that this student did not plagiarize a line; I >will have to admit to my own barracks room mentality, after all of the above, >and say that I have run across some of these words before, but -- as the song >goes -- can't remember where or when. Best hrgreenberg md endit > >---- >To sign off Screen-L, e-mail [log in to unmask] and put SIGNOFF Screen-L >in the message. Problems? Contact [log in to unmask] > > Paul B. Wiener Special Services: Anglo-American literature, Gifts, Film & Video, Publicity & Programming SUNY at Stony Brook Library 631-632-7253 ---- Screen-L is sponsored by the Telecommunication & Film Dept., the University of Alabama: http://www.tcf.ua.edu