Plagiarized by Harvard's President | Dr. Carol Swain | EP 467

Coming up (0s)

• The speaker believes that the defense of Claud Gage is based on racism, claiming that the accusations against her are motivated by prejudice.
• The speaker emphasizes that Gage is a Black woman who has worked hard and achieved distinction as a professor, but the defense is unwilling to acknowledge this.
• The speaker asserts that they have a strong claim against Gage because her PhD dissertation, which launched her career, was based on the speaker's work, and the defense is unwilling to engage in a discussion about this.

Intro (30s)

• This chapter introduces Dr. Carol Swain, a distinguished academic with a remarkable personal journey. She overcame a challenging upbringing to earn five degrees and achieve a successful career in academia.
• Dr. Swain is a professor of political science and law, having taught at prestigious institutions like Vanderbilt and Princeton. She has authored or edited 12 books, including one cited by the Supreme Court three times.
• The chapter highlights Dr. Swain's experience as a victim of plagiarism by Claudine Gay, the former president of Harvard University. Gay was forced to resign due to multiple instances of plagiarism, including the use of Dr. Swain's work without proper attribution.

The esteemed career of Dr. Carol Swain (2m18s)

• Dr. Carol Swain, a prominent figure in the video, shares her humble beginnings, having been born into a large family and raised in rural poverty in Southwestern Virginia.
• She describes her early life in a two-room shack without indoor plumbing and her decision to drop out of school after eighth grade, marrying at the young age of 16.
• Despite these challenges, Dr. Swain later earned her GED, attended community college, and ultimately graduated with a bachelor's degree in 1983, achieving magna cum laude honors. She emphasizes that becoming a university professor was not her initial aspiration, but she was encouraged and guided by white male professors who saw her potential and nurtured her academic journey.

Early education, earning a GED (3m53s)

• Dr. Swain discusses her early life, which included getting married at 16 and having her first child at 17. She faced challenges like the death of a child and struggled with depression and suicidal thoughts.
• Two individuals, a medical doctor and a Muslim orderly, played a significant role in encouraging her to pursue higher education. They saw her intelligence and potential, which she had forgotten due to her difficult circumstances.
• Dr. Swain emphasizes the importance of these mentors and how their encouragement helped her overcome her self-doubt and pursue her GED. She also highlights her own determination and sense of urgency, which she attributes to her childhood experiences.
• Dr. Swain describes her journey through the educational system, including earning her GED, a business degree, and later degrees in criminal justice, political science, and law. She emphasizes the challenges she faced, particularly in math, and the support she received from mentors and her own determination.
• Dr. Swain explains that her motivation for pursuing higher education was to secure a good job and support her family. She also discusses her decision to dress professionally as a student, observing others and learning from their example.
• Dr. Swain concludes by emphasizing the importance of mentors throughout life and her belief that it's never too late to have one.

Graduate school, mentors, work ethic (12m35s)

• Dr. Swain's journey to graduate school was driven by a desire to distinguish herself and advance her career. She initially pursued a criminal justice degree after being told she needed a four-year degree for her desired job. She then decided to pursue a PhD after facing difficulty finding a job in the 1980s recession.
• Mentors played a crucial role in Dr. Swain's academic journey. Her advisor at Virginia Tech, a conservative, exposed her to influential thinkers like Milton Friedman and Walter Williams. However, it was her professors at Virginia Tech, who were progressives, who encouraged her to pursue a career in academia, emphasizing the need for more Black professors.
• Dr. Swain's work ethic and dedication to excellence were key to her success. She worked full-time while pursuing her undergraduate degree, demonstrating her commitment to learning and achieving her goals. She also actively sought out challenging opportunities, such as taking classes with professors who were perceived as difficult, to prove her abilities and gain recognition.

Managing shyness, early tenure, disillusionment (20m2s)

• Overcoming Shyness: Dr. Swain initially managed her shyness by meticulously preparing for presentations and writing out her comments and questions for class participation. She credits her spiritual journey and a realization that she had a message bigger than herself with ultimately freeing her from shyness in her 40s.
• Early Tenure and Disillusionment: Dr. Swain worked tirelessly to achieve early tenure at Princeton, sacrificing personal time and working long hours. Despite her success, she felt disillusioned and out of place within the academic environment. She observed a disconnect between her direct communication style and the more indirect, nuanced communication of her colleagues, which contributed to her feelings of isolation.
• Spiritual Journey and Liberation: Dr. Swain's disillusionment led her on a spiritual journey, culminating in a Christian conversion experience in 1999. This experience, she believes, liberated her from her shyness and allowed her to focus on delivering her message without fear of judgment. She realized that her focus should be on pleasing God, not on conforming to societal expectations. This newfound confidence empowered her to speak freely and authentically, regardless of potential criticism.

Coming to faith, choosing Christianity (25m53s)

• Dr. Swain discusses the story of Moses and his reluctance to lead the Israelites out of slavery. She highlights God's response, which emphasizes that despite personal inadequacies, one's moral responsibility remains. God also encourages Moses to rely on his brother Aaron for support, illustrating the importance of collaboration.
• Dr. Swain shares her own journey of faith, explaining that despite growing up in a Southern Baptist family, she found their practices unappealing. She explored various spiritual paths, including New Age beliefs and comparative religions, before ultimately returning to Christianity in her 40s.
• Dr. Swain attributes her return to Christianity to a sense of being "set aside" and a recognition of the supernatural world. She describes her early success and the guilt she felt, believing it was unfair compared to her siblings. This feeling of being different ultimately led her to a Christian conversion experience, which she describes as a culmination of her spiritual journey.

Not fitting in but finding your place (30m32s)

• Dr. Swain discusses the importance of finding one's place, even if it takes time. She emphasizes that not fitting in during childhood doesn't mean there's no place for someone in the world. She contrasts her own experience of finding her place as an adult with those who peaked in their teenage years and then declined.
• Dr. Swain clarifies that her feeling of being an outlier is not solely due to shyness, but rather a combination of factors including shame about her background and a sense of not fitting in academically. She acknowledges that her success in academia, despite her unconventional background, has contributed to this feeling of being an outsider.
• Dr. Swain attributes her feeling of being an outlier to her directness, bluntness, and transparency, which she believes make people uncomfortable. She shares a personal anecdote about learning to accept "no" as an answer when people don't respond to her communications, highlighting the challenges she has faced in navigating social and professional environments.

“I regard myself as a truth speaker” (35m38s)

• Dr. Carol Swain identifies herself as a "truth speaker" and feels empowered to speak her truth without concern for others' opinions.
• She believes that people are more comfortable around those they can control, but she no longer feels the need to conform to such expectations at the age of 70.
• Dr. Swain emphasizes her commitment to truth and her desire to leave a positive legacy, stating that she wants to be remembered as someone who "ended well." She also believes that attempts to control her in academia ultimately failed because they were ineffective.

Claudine Gay - woefully underqualified (36m38s)

• Claudine Gay, the president of Harvard University, is woefully unqualified for the position. Her academic record is weak, and she likely wouldn't have even gotten an interview for an entry-level position at the University of Toronto.
• Gay was involved in a plagiarism scandal, which was brought to light by Christopher Rufo. She plagiarized from multiple sources, including Dr. Carol Swain, who was the subject of the YouTube video. Gay's dissertation was heavily plagiarized, and she used Swain's work to set up a straw man argument.
• Gay has never apologized for her plagiarism, and she continues to teach a course on reading and research ethics. Despite the scandal, she continues to earn a $900,000 annual salary as president of Harvard.

Plagiarism (40m53s)

• Dr. Swain expresses confusion about why Claudine Gay's alleged plagiarism hasn't received more attention, especially considering her privileged background and Dr. Swain's own experience of being overlooked despite coming from a disadvantaged background.
• Dr. Swain argues that she would have been a more credible figure to raise these allegations due to her own struggles and achievements in academia. She highlights that she was a successful scholar with a strong academic record, including a National Science Foundation grant and a Harvard Press contract.
• Dr. Swain believes that she was never fully accepted by progressive academics because she didn't fit their narrative of a "victimized" black scholar. She claims that she was often told she didn't need to share her background, which she saw as an attempt to silence her. She also alleges that she was passed over for promotions and opportunities in favor of less qualified black scholars who fit a certain "angry black" stereotype.

When you don’t align with the victim/victimizer narrative (48m11s)

• The victim/victimizer narrative is a core issue in academia and politics. Dr. Swain argues that this narrative, which posits that minorities are inherently victims and cannot succeed without special treatment, is harmful and inaccurate. She believes that this narrative is a form of racism that seeks to maintain the power dynamic between white progressives and minorities.
• Dr. Swain's own experiences in academia demonstrate the dangers of this narrative. She describes how she was ostracized by white progressives for not conforming to the victim role and for achieving success despite her background. She believes that her success, along with that of other successful minorities like Clarence Thomas and Ayaan Hirsi Ali, threatens the victim/victimizer narrative and therefore makes them targets of hostility.
• Dr. Swain believes that the Civil Rights Act of 1964, which focused on non-discrimination and equal opportunity, was more beneficial to minorities than current diversity, equity, and inclusion initiatives. She argues that these initiatives, which are based on the victim/victimizer narrative, actually harm minorities by perpetuating the idea that they are incapable of succeeding without special treatment.

IQ and success rates, disproportionate minorities (56m10s)

• Dr. Swain's research at Harvard revealed that standardized tests like the SATs and GREs are essentially measures of verbal IQ. She emphasizes that this is a fact often denied by those who don't understand the underlying research.
• Dr. Swain discusses the challenges of balancing merit-based admissions with diversity goals. She notes that without affirmative action, there would be very few Black students at Ivy League institutions. However, relying solely on standardized tests would lead to a disproportionate number of Asian and Jewish students.
• Dr. Swain argues that scrapping objective merit-based systems leads to nepotism and favoritism. She believes that while racial and ethnic minorities can meet any standard, lowering standards through affirmative action creates a system where students learn to exploit the system rather than strive for true academic excellence.
• Dr. Swain expresses concern about the impact of DEI initiatives on both minority and non-minority students. She believes that DEI policies create a culture of suspicion and resentment, particularly among minority students who may feel they are not truly deserving of their place.
• Dr. Swain criticizes the concept of "equity" as a goal in higher education. She argues that the pursuit of equal outcomes for all groups, regardless of their proportion in the population, is unrealistic and ultimately harmful. She believes that the focus should be on equal opportunity, allowing individuals to succeed or fail based on their own merit.
• Dr. Swain believes that DEI initiatives have led to a decline in academic standards. She argues that lowering standards to achieve diversity goals ultimately harms students, particularly minority students who may not be adequately prepared for the academic rigor of elite institutions.

Do not hire someone as a favor (1h5m47s)

• Hiring based on favoritism is detrimental to both the employee and the organization. Dr. Swain argues that hiring someone as a favor, without ensuring their competence, sets them up for failure and burdens their colleagues with extra work. This also demoralizes other employees who were hired based on merit.
• The Peter Principle and its impact on minority students. Dr. Swain connects the concept of the Peter Principle (being promoted beyond one's competence) to the issue of unqualified minority students being admitted to universities. She argues that this can lead to a cycle of failure and blame, potentially exacerbating racial tensions.
• The harmful effects of the "victim-victimizer" narrative. Dr. Swain criticizes the progressive narrative that attributes all failures to systemic racism and oppression. She argues that this external locus of control narrative fosters feelings of helplessness, hopelessness, and depression, hindering individual success and perpetuating a cycle of victimhood. Dr. Swain believes that progressives use this narrative to advance their political goals, exploiting the misery of minority communities and the LGBTQ+ community.

Cluster B personality disorders (1h10m43s)

• Cluster B personality disorders are characterized by a tendency to manipulate and victimize others. These disorders include histrionic, narcissistic, borderline, and antisocial personality disorders. Individuals with these disorders often present themselves as victims or allies of victims to gain power and attention.
• The "Progressive Movement" often utilizes the victim-victimizer narrative to advance their ideology and gain power. They exploit the suffering of marginalized groups to justify their own agendas, even if they are contributing to the suffering themselves. This behavior is similar to how individuals with Cluster B personality disorders manipulate their own families, often victimizing their children to appear as martyrs.
• Individuals with Cluster B personality disorders are strategically brilliant in their manipulation. They position themselves as compassionate and loving, making it difficult to challenge their views without being labeled as uncaring or even predatory. This tactic effectively silences dissent and discourages individuals with a strong moral compass from speaking out.

Pursuing a career in academia, holding the Ivy Leagues accountable (1h16m14s)

• Dr. Swain argues that Harvard University has a deep-rooted problem with plagiarism, citing the case of Claudine Gay, the university's president, who allegedly plagiarized Dr. Swain's work. She believes that Harvard's response to her accusations, which downplayed the plagiarism as "de minimis" and "fair use," demonstrates a lack of conscience and a willingness to protect its own.
• Dr. Swain highlights the fear that prevents many academics from speaking out against Harvard, fearing repercussions for their careers. She emphasizes the need to hold Harvard accountable for its actions, suggesting a class action lawsuit to represent those harmed by the university's plagiarism.
• Dr. Swain discusses the legal challenges she faces in pursuing her case, including the lack of precedent for plagiarism cases in academia and the difficulty in quantifying the value of her stolen ideas. She acknowledges the risk of financial ruin if she loses the lawsuit, but remains committed to exposing Harvard's actions and upholding academic integrity.

The fight has just begun (1h27m0s)

• The fight against Harvard's corruption has just begun. Dr. Swain believes that the case against Harvard is pivotal in exposing the deep-rooted corruption within Ivy League institutions. She argues that Harvard's actions, including appointing a seemingly unqualified and potentially corrupt president, are a clear indication of a systemic problem.
• Dr. Swain's case is a difficult pill to swallow for many. Despite her personal love for Harvard and its history, she acknowledges that her case is challenging for those who hold a positive view of the institution. She believes that her case is a stark reminder of the institution's decline and corruption.
• Dr. Swain is driven by a sense of justice and a desire to hold Harvard accountable. She emphasizes that her fight is not about personal gain but about exposing the systemic issues within higher education. She believes that her case could serve as a catalyst for change and accountability within universities, preventing further injustices against students.

Be afraid of the right thing: losing your tongue (1h31m42s)

• Dr. Swain shares her experience with facing adversity and how it parallels the story of Job in the Bible. She believes that when one stands firm in their beliefs and speaks truth, even in the face of hardship, they will find support and ultimately experience greater abundance.
• Dr. Swain acknowledges the fear of losing comfort and security, but emphasizes the greater fear of losing one's voice and soul. She believes that remaining silent in the face of injustice is a far worse outcome than facing potential consequences for speaking truth.
• Dr. Swain's decision to speak out publicly in 2016 was driven by her refusal to allow bureaucrats to control her speech. She understood the dangers of silencing dissent and was unwilling to compromise her integrity, even at the risk of personal hardship.

DEI is unconstitutional, we need diversity without discrimination (1h35m36s)

• Dr. Swain feels compelled to fight against DEI programs, believing they are unconstitutional and violate civil rights laws. She draws parallels to the Supreme Court's decision on race-based college admissions, arguing that DEI programs are similarly discriminatory.
• Dr. Swain believes that diversity can be achieved without discrimination, and that minorities can meet any standard set before them. She criticizes the "victimhood" narrative promoted by critical race theory, which she sees as harmful and divisive.
• Dr. Swain is concerned about the impact of DEI programs on education, particularly the shaming of white children based on their race. She believes that these programs are destructive to society and hopes to see a transformation in academia and K-12 education.