Famous professor and historian accused of theft

Star historian Laurent Durkot was arrested for plagiarism and ordered by his university last fall, but escaped sanctions.

He is Professor of History at the University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières (UQTR). Turquoise is constantly called by the media. On Radio-Canada, on TVA.

For the government corporation, he produced, among other things, a podcast entitled Fan D’Histore, in which he featured Kyleine Tremble and Guy A. Discussed with people like LeBeau. On YouTube, he hosts a channel called History with over 375,000 subscribers.

In the summer of 2021, an anonymous complaint was lodged with the Council for Social Science and Humanities Research (SSHRC).

The complaint is about his book Games and Leisure: A History from Origin to the Present, Released in 2016 by Callimart editions.

Criticizes the author

The SSHRC warned the UQTR that it considered the complaint “acceptable” and set up a panel of three academics to investigate 13 paragraphs of the book.

In front of him, Mr. Durkot defended himself as follows: His book was made up of lyric notes, which included sentences copied elsewhere without reference.

He added that he or she may inadvertently remove footnotes, quotations, and references when trying to “expel” text, back and forth with the editor.

The UQTR panel’s ruling in October was, in fact, a “violation of responsible research conduct”.

Mr. In the “Official Letter” sent to Turquoise Registration Sebastien Charles, assistant rector for research at UQTR, writes: “Some of the quotations in your book are not so given. […], Which creates theft. ⁇

“Very serious”

However, “in light of all the facts”, Mr. It was decided that Turquoise would not be allowed. The panel ruled that plagiarism was “deliberate and malicious use”, in a statement Registration Access was (but part of it was edited).

In the interview NewspaperMr. Charles says the plagiarism allegations are “very serious” and that the professor “showed a lack of austerity in creating and editing the book.”

So Mr. The “official letter” to Durcott reminds him of the importance of hard work in preparation. [ses] Publications “.

Joined by Newspaper Twice, Laurent Durkot admits that “some mistakes were made”, but insists: all of this was done without “bad faith.”

University Mr. Durcott was invited to contact his publisher to “agree to the correct course of action”. Colimart confirmed to us that corrections will be made in the reissue.

According to the rules of the University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières, “use all or part of another’s text by sending it as one’s own text or without reference.”

Results

For students

• “Lesson failure
• “The suspension of the program for one or more sessions will not exceed a maximum of 24 months.
• According to the institution “Temporary or permanent exemption from the University of Quebec in Trois-Rivières”.

To the teachers

• Penalties vary. In 2012, UQAM recommended the dismissal of Professor Robert Robillard from the Department of Accounting. An external expert concluded that he was a thief. In 2014, an arbitrator ruled that a six-month suspension was sufficient, which was upheld by the High Court the following year.

In Durcott’s book

“The best place for socializing in all classes of society is the 19th century Parisian cafe^And This century also finds a select place in French literature: from the most luxurious to the most humble, no one escapes the subtle description of the spirit that enlivened them. A place where one sees, a place to see, a scene, it is a kind of theater. ⁇

The original part

“The best place for socializing in all classes of society is the 19th century Parisian cafe^And This century has found a place of interest in French literature: from the most luxurious to the most humble, no one escapes the subtle description of the spirit that enlivened them. The place where one sees, the place where one sees, the scenery, it is a kind of theater [sic]. ⁇

^{Source: Laurent Ports, “Cafes, Bistros, Cabolots …”, 2013, Digital article on BNF’s Calica site}

In Durcott’s book

“The golden age of balls is in the middle of the century and the companies that organize them are not only places of community; they also lend themselves to physical relaxation and sporting achievement.” Strange “proved by the unleashing of planes. High dance venues such as the Maple Ball, the Closery des Lilas, the Moulin Rouge or the Moulin de la Gallet are essential.”

The original part

“The golden age of the ball is in the middle of the century […] Place in sociality; It also helps with physical relaxation and sports achievements. This is evidenced by the unleashing of “strange” planes by famous dancers such as “Calabas”, “Polka” or “French Cancun”, Grill d’Gaut or Valentine le Tessos. […] High dance venues such as Maple Ball, Closery des Lilas, Moulin Rouge or Moulin de la Gallet are essential. ⁇

^{Source: Paul Gerbot, “About Parisian Retirement in the 19th Century”), French Ethnology, Volume 23, Number 4, 1993, p. 616}

In Durcott’s book

“Of the approximately 230 chariots and rebels listed, only one trainer was born free. ⁇

“In his twenty-four year career, he has won at least 4257 races. ⁇

The original part

“Of the approximately 230 chariots and rebels listed, only one trainer was born free. ⁇

“In his 24 years of life, he has competed in 4257 races. ⁇

^{Source: Jocelyn Nellis-Clement, “Circus Industries, From Rome to Byzantium: Between Text and Picture”, Courier to Center Gustav Klots, Vol. 13, 2002, p. 274}

He admits the mistake “in good faith.”

In the first interview with NewspaperLaurent Durcott denied any responsibility for the theft in his book.

On the second call, the educator admitted that he and others may have made “mistakes”.

“We are always responsible for our speech,” he said. Turquoise.

He insists he never wants to “fit” the work of others.

The complaint stems from retaliation by a “colleague” who “harassed” him for seven years.

“He attacked me physically and verbally!”, He begins.

The deletion of quotation marks and notes is explained in the paragraphs of the accused, in most cases with respect to him.

These “course notes” are transformed into a “compilation book”, “the general public,” he insists.

Also, halfway through his study of sports and leisure history he decided to turn his notes into a book. Since then, he would have been “very precise” in what he mentioned.

Letter from the lawyer

In many of the cases raised, he swears by the initial version of the manuscript because the quotations were actually there. He did not send this Registration As we demanded.

On March 23, he sent us a letter from his lawyer, Jean-Franois Bertrand, in which he attempts to explain 13 cases:

• For three columns copied from a website, Mr. Durkot quoted books they had actually published before, books he had consulted and elsewhere in his work. But he argues that all three of these references were unfortunately obscured during the editing process.
• The other seven paragraphs that were copied and used without quotation marks are from works quoted elsewhere. Games and leisure, He argued. Mr. Turkot sees this as evidence that he is not trying to hide his evidence.
• According to our analysis, for the other three areas, Turquoise could not provide any clear explanation.

The historian says that when he learned of the complaint, he acted swiftly. In August, he published an expanded list of books on a website (laurentturcot.ca), including 13 missing references. In his view, it “set things right”.

From the point of view of the author in charge of Laurent Durcott’s book, the mistakes that the university professor blames are only “mistakes”.

When contacted in Paris, Sophie Cucoanis, head of the Folio History Collections in Gallimard, said: “All of this is disproportionate to what we did wrong.”

In his view, that too was a “shared mistake”.

“The author, thinking he was doing the right thing, cut out the quotation marks and the evidence that weighed in on the subject, so the publisher did not realize these types of cuts.

He further added that no “author or publisher” of the plagiarism had made any complaint about the book.

Laurent Durcott says the university reviewed his book and found no additional cases of theft.

“These are only 13 cases,” he insisted.

He noted that UQTR has “software that can see where parts of a book are coming from”.

However, in the sub-rector for research, the function is put into perspective.

“To sift, it may be a little stronger,” replied Deputy Rector Sebastien Charles.

Also, the file was sent Registration Includes 13 theft cases analyzed by UQTR. But in the 14th of these, a paragraph with no more precise footnote was added and Mr. Durkot is like being taken from a website not mentioned in his book.

Also, on March 23, Newspaper Received another anonymous submission exposing a similar case in relation to another website. So this is 15^And Possible case of theft.

⁇ Witnesses in similar cases? Write to me in secret [email protected]