The Gay Affair: Harvard, Plagiarism, and the Death of Academic Integrity

4.9 4.9 out of 5 stars | 66 ratings

Price: 6.08

Last update: 02-14-2025


About this item

Claudine Gay's resignation on January 2, 2024, as Harvard University's first Black president, after only six months on the job, sent shock waves across the world. However, it did not shock anyone closely following her situation. Gay stepped down less than a month after giving disastrous testimony in Congress about her university's laissez-faire approach to protecting Jews on campus from rising expressions of antisemitism that followed Hamas's terrorist attacks on Israel. A double whammy occurred when it was reported that Gay had committed serial plagiarism involving her 1997 PhD dissertation completed while a student at Harvard and in other published works.

Among those whose work Gay pilfered was Dr. Carol Swain, author of the ground-breaking 1993 book Black Faces, Black Interests: The Representation of African Americans in Congress. In The Gay Affair, Dr. Swain offers a candid, compelling narrative about Gay, Harvard, academic plagiarism, and how she (Swain) was rebuffed and threatened financially when she attempted to seek a legal remedy from Harvard officials. For an insider's look into the world of elite institutional academia and how corners often get cut, Swain's The Gay Affair is a no-nonsense must-listen.

The Gay Affair is the 13th book Dr. Carol M. Swain has either authored or co-authored. In addition to Black Faces, Black Interests, her other notable works include The New White Nationalism in America, Be The People, Black Eye for America, and The Adversity of Diversity. Dr. Swain is a retired university professor who was tenured at Vanderbilt and Princeton Universities. She resides in Nashville, Tennessee.


Top reviews from the United States

  • Noel Thompson
    5.0 out of 5 stars Preface and Foreword alone are worth the read
    Reviewed in the United States on January 8, 2025
    Dr. Swain’s “The Gay Affair” not only gives the reader an immersion into the arena of plagiarism, but also an eye-opening view of how elite educational institutions, in this case Harvard but I’m sure others as well, bully and berate those that would expose them and their secrets into silence and submission. Dr. Swain does an excellent job of taking you through the origins of the scandal and even the pre-origins of the scandal, to the current state of affairs. If you’ve ever wondered “What’s the big deal about stealing/borrowing a few lines?” she also gives insight into just what it takes to compile the information for her dissertation, or anyone’s dissertation, which gives you and understanding of why plagiarism is so vile and painful.
    Dr. Swain provides plenty of documentation to compare and contrast and draw your own conclusions about the actual plagiarism, Ms. Gay’s response (you’ll have to read the book to find out why I don’t refer to her as “Dr. Gay”, Harvard’s response(s), and her own responses and why she chose the path that she has taken. Dr. Swain actually manages, even though she is the party that was wronged, to get the reader to invoke a little sympathy and/or empathy for Ms. Gay. That is not the case for Harvard though. I was left with a feeling of nothing but utter contempt for them, and a much-diminished view of the whole concept of “elite education”, and the morals and values of those that stand in charge of disseminating it.
    I was a little apprehensive at first, thinking that a book about plagiarism would be monotonous or tedious, but I remembered when the scandal broke and the smugness that Ms. Gay had during her congressional testimony and wanted to know more. I was very pleased though and found myself finishing the book quickly. Dr. Swain mixes the seriousness of the situation with a few light-hearted references to some of my favorite movies (again, you’ll have to read it), and the reading flowed nicely. At one point, I found myself thinking of one of my favorite lines from a song - “How you think it feels to see another MC get paid using my rap style…?”, even though it was obvious that Dr. Swain was not motivated by money.
    This is a very interesting and informative book. Anyone who wants or wanted to know anything about this scandal will not be disappointed with what Dr. Swain has offered. I can’t say the same about Harvard or Ms. Gay.
  • Jules B
    5.0 out of 5 stars Grateful for Hearing Dr Swain's Side of the Story
    Reviewed in the United States on January 7, 2025
    I had heard of Dr Claudine Gay's alleged plagiarism, and wondered if I would ever get the details---when I found out that Dr Swain's 1993 work was lifted, she had been harmed professionally because of it and this book was going to lay out the offense--I wanted to read it!

    I am a layperson--not trained in law and I do not have a college degree, but I was able to clearly understand and appreciate Dr Swain's proof of authenticity and how clearly Dr Gay had used her work without simply acknowledging it with quotations and reference. Even I know how to give credit in writing a paper---one learns this in middle school and beyond--at least we did in the 70's!

    This book is readable, short(only 100 pgs) and from the beginning with the Forward by Ms Rion, I was riveted, wanting to know the details. Dr Gay AND Harvard have acted unethically and are unashamedly standing by their besmirched and tattered reputation. This can be seen in these pages, and unlike Dr Gay's dissertation(see Chap 2,Pg14), is well documented and credit is given to the author/source. In the Appendix A, Charts1 & 2, P 62-63, one can see clearly the theft of ideas.

    Dr Swain is courageous and is unafraid to expose "Plagiaritis" (see Chap 2) with other courageous people(you need to read it to find out :-) to shed the light of truth and watch those cockroaches of stealing and theft be unmasked. Thank you Dr Swain!
  • D G B
    5.0 out of 5 stars Excellent Reading
    Reviewed in the United States on January 20, 2025
    For background, I have been following Dr Swain for several years on Twitter, and then X. As most Americans, politics means selecting a political part that fits your needs, and let them do their jobs. Same for academics - great colleges hire great professors. This century many questions have been raised about both. The only thesis I wrote was as a high school senior in 1959 - but I learn from an excellent teacher, and she did note some missing quote. I got a better education from "The Gay Affair." First of all we are given examples of how to do it right - quotes, rephrasing, quotes, notes, and appendices. This book isn't long, but if you use it as a basis of research you will spend more time than you expect. To know that a 50 billion dollar university would fight a retired academian who had proof rather than admit a series of errors, Harvard was an eye opener. Fighting "city hall" can bankrupt a citizen. However, "city hall" can not stop free speech, nor an excellent book that will join her others as a history of our times. I highly recommend this book for anyone interest in verifiable facts, a slice of history, and insight of a woman of integrity.
  • Ronald WT
    5.0 out of 5 stars Dr. Swain Vindicated!
    Reviewed in the United States on January 12, 2025
    I have always appreciated the posts and clips of Dr. Swain on LinkedIn and YouTube. Interestingly I have never read any of her books until now. I became aware of Doctor Gay's problem in the news and after a little bit of digging I realized that it was Dr. Swain’s work that she had plagiarized among others. This book is an opportunity for Dr. Swain to have her day in court without the associated expense and exposure.

    Dr. Swain introduces the reader to the players and to their perspective. There is Dr. Gay on the hot seat and then the lackadaisical attitude of academia when DEI is displayed in all its glory.

    She has clearly detailed all the pertinent facts and included everything that is necessary for the reader to understand her plight. She then (as any good attorney would do) lays out the facts in detail.

    The evidence is clear and Dr. Swain has once again used intelligence, scholarship and facts to present her case.

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