A Harvard history professor has likened the college to a Medieval dictatorship in its handling over the Claudine Gay plagiarism scandal – and says the Ivy League school needs a ‘reset.’
In an op-ed for The Wall Street Journal, James Hankins explained that the value of modern research universities depends upon academic integrity at those institutions and the ability to honestly reflect on mistakes.
Those dismissing recent accusations of plagiarism against President Gay undermine the ‘project of improving human life through research and scholarship,’ he wrote.
Hankins highlighted how students at Medieval universities would simply be taught widely-accepted facts and expected to memorize them – with scholars banned from challenging status quos. He appeared to suggest that the current state of affairs at Harvard over the Gay scandal now resembles a learning institution from the Middle Ages.
‘What concerns me is that the public discussion so far hasn’t shown a sufficient appreciation of how serious academic honesty is in research institutions,’ he said, adding, however, that it may very well be the case that Gay is ultimately ‘fired or asked to resign.’