January’s Books of the Month

The general interest book for January comes from the pen of my colleague Charles Lipson: Doing Honest Work in College: How to Prepare Citations, Avoid Plagiarism, and Achieve Real Academic Success. This is really two books in one. The second part of the book is a quick guide to citation ctyles across the myriad disciplines. This section is more accessible than the Chicago Manual of Style, which makes it great for undergraduates. [Yes, but this is the general interest book, not the “specifically for undegraduates” book!!-ed] Ah, yes, but the first part of the book is devoted to the Three Principles of Academic Honesty, which are laid out on the first page of the book:

When you say you did the work yourself, you actually did it.

When you rely on someone else’s work, you cite it. When you use their words, you quote them openly and accurately, and you cite them, too.

When you present research materials, you present them fairly and truthfully. That’s true whether the research involves data, documents, or the writings of other scholars.

Lipson’s book is intended for undergraduates, but in light of the rash of plagiarism that exists among professors — particularly at the Harvard Law School for some reason — these maxims should not only be imbibed by undergraduates [What about outside academia?–ed. An excellent question for the commenters — are these rules appropriate for non-academic forms of employment that require research and writing? My gut says yes, but I’m curious to hear counterarguments.] The international relations book for January is Franklin Foer’s How Soccer Explains the World: An Unlikely Theory of Globalization. While I started this book last October, I only finished it over the break. Foer doesn’t really provide a theory of globalization — God knows there are enough of those already. Foer does something better — he uses soccer as a lens to discuss the ways in which nationalism coexists, conflicts, and occasionally compliments the economic interdependence underlying globalization. The book consists of a series of national vignettes, some of which are fascinating (why Brazilian soccer retained its corrupt practices despite the best efforts of foreign direct investors) and some of which are counterintuitive (Berlusconi’s soccer club mirrors his presidential style — and this is a good thing for both Italian soccer and Italian democracy). Given recent developments, the chapters on Ukraine and Iran are also worth checking out. Oh, and if by any chance you happen to be a Catalan nationalist, buy the book — the effusive praise Foer heaps upon his favorite team FC Barcelona, is a veritable paean to the wonders of the Catalan people’s ability to express their identity without any of the uglier downsides of nationalism (see the chapter on Bosnia for that outcome).