An investigation conducted by The Gainesville Sun revealed multiple instances of
plagiarism committed by James Twitchell, a University of Florida English professor who
has since admitted to multiple acts of copying other authors. Below are passages
uncovered by The Sun and Roy Rivenburg, a freelance writer and former Los Angeles
Times reporter:
***
• "Consider the Forum Shops in Las Vegas, a mall that displays its distinctive theme —
an ancient Roman marketplace — in every detail. The Simon DeBartolo Group, which
developed the mall, fulfills this motif through a panoply of architectural effects. These
include marble floors, stark white pillars, ‘outdoor’ cafes, living trees, flowing fountains
— and even a painted blue sky with fluffy white clouds that yield regularly to simulated
storms, complete with lightning and thunder. Every mall entrance and every storefront is
an elaborate Roman re-creation. Every hour inside the main entrance, statues of Caesar
and other Roman luminaries come to life and speak. "Hail, Caesar!" is a frequent cry, and
Roman centurions periodically march through on their way to the adjacent Caesar's
Palace casino. The Roman theme even extends into some of the shops. A jewelry store's
interior, for instance, features scrolls, tablets, Roman numerals, and gold draperies. The
theme implies opulence, and the mall's 1997 sales — more than $1,000 per square foot,
compared with a typical mall's sales of less than $300 — suggest that the experience
works."
— "Welcome to the Experience Economy" by Joseph B. Pine, II and James H. Gilmore.
Printed in the Harvard Business Review; July/Aug. 98, Vol. 76 Issue 4, page 97-105.
• "Of all the places I visited in Vegas, Caesars Palace seemed to understand best how to
make luxury consumption into a free-standing experience linked by one-way moving
sidewalks. Consider the Forum Shops, for instance. This mall, next to the casino inside
the hotel, displays its distinctive theme — an ancient Roman marketplace — in every
detail. The Simon DeBartolo Group, which is better known for developing innumerable
boring shopping centers off numerous interstate cloverleafs, developed this shopping
'experience,' right down to the mosaics in the men's room. Let's face it: You don't often
enter a mall through a 150-foot-high re-creation of the Pantheon.
"It has marble floors, stark white pillars, hermetically sealed 'outdoor' cafes, living
trees, flowing fountains, and even a painted blue sky with fluffy white clouds that
burst into simulated storms, complete with lightning and thunder. Every entrance to
the Forum Shops and every storefront is an elaborate re-creation of a Roman portal.
Inside the main entrance animatronic statues of Caesar and other Roman luminaries
come to life every hour and speak. "Hail Caesar!" is as frequent a cry as is 'Yo dude,'
as Roman centurions periodically march through crowds of hoi poloi on their way to
the adjacent Caesars Palace casino. I must admit that the casino-anchored mall is a
little much. But still, it's like nothing anything I have ever seen.
"The Roman theme even extends into the shops. A jewelry store's interior, for
instance, features scrolls, tablets, Roman numerals, and gold draperies. The theme
doesn't imply opulence, it shouts it. And the mall's sales repeatedly record the fact. This
mall consistently earns more than $1,200 per square foot per year, compared with a
typical mall's sales of less than $300."
— Twitchell, "Living it Up," pg. 243 (copyright 2002).
***
• “A decade ago, the average supermarket carried 9,000 items; now it carries 24,000. As
TV Guide points out, Revlon now makes 158 shades of lipstick, and Crest markets 36
sizes and flavors of toothpaste.”
— “Would either George or Mike conceivably give 'em hell?” by Richard Louv of the
San Diego Union-Tribune (Nov. 6, 1988).
• “A decade ago, grocery stores carried about 9,000 items; they now stock about
24,000. Revlon makes 158 shades of lipstick. Crest toothpaste comes in 36 sizes and
shapes and flavors.”
— “Dumbing Down: Essays on the Strip Mining of American Culture,” Twitchell, edited
by Katharine Washburn and John Thornton. Reprinted in The Wilson Quarterly (June 22,
1996).
***
• “True Religion's big break, analysts say, came in connecting with celebrities such as
Jessica Simpson and Cameron Diaz, who appeared in magazines wearing the jeans.”
— “The Market Is Getting Tight for High-End Jeans” by Leslie Earnest of the Los
Angeles Times (Dec. 19, 2005).
• “True Religion’s big break came in connecting with celebrities such as Jessica
Simpson and Cameron Diaz, who appeared in magazines wearing the jeans.”
— Twitchell, “Shopping for God,” page 67 (2007).
***
• “When customers enter the Ralphs supermarket near UCLA, they see a sign announcing
how many different fruits and vegetables the produce department has on hand: ‘724
produce varieties available today,’ it says, including 93 organic selections.
... Over in the cheese section, this pretty run-of-the-mill supermarket offers 14 types of
feta alone. …
During the last couple of decades, the American economy has undergone a variety
revolution. Instead of simply offering mass-market goods, businesses of all sorts
increasingly compete to give consumers more personalized products, more varied
experiences, and more choice.
Average Americans order nonfat decaf iced vanilla lattes at Starbucks and choose from
1,500 drawer pulls at The Great Indoors. Amazon gives every town a bookstore with 2
million titles, while Netflix promises 35,000 different movies on DVD. Choice is
everywhere, liberating to some but to others a new source of stress.”
— “Consumer Vertigo” by Virginia Postrel of Reason Magazine, (June 1, 2005).
• “Whole Foods Market. Check out its fruit and vegetables: ‘724 produce varieties
available today—93 organic selections.’ Over in the cheese section, 14 types of feta
alone. Go to Starbucks. Look at the menu. What’s nonfat decaf iced vanilla latte all
about? Forget food. Home Depot has more than 1,500 drawer pulls. Amazon.com gives
every town a bookstore with 2 million titles, while Netflix promises 35,000 different
movies on DVD. The supplying of choice, needless choice, is everywhere, liberating to
some, but to others a new source of stress.
During the last couple of decades, the American economy has undergone a variety
revolution. Instead of simply offering mass-market goods, businesses of all sorts
increasingly compete to give consumers more personalized products, more varied
experiences, and more choice.”
—Twitchell, “Shopping for God,” page 70 (2007).
***
• “Indeed, with the exception of furniture and major appliances, it is possible to outfit an
entire home in Christian products — bird feeders to body lotions, luggage to lamps.”
— “Material World of Christianity” by Roy Rivenburg of the Los Angeles Times (Sept.
24, 1995).
• “Indeed, with the exception of furniture and major appliances, it is possible to
outfit your entire self and home in Christian products — bird feeders to body lotions,
luggage to lamps.”
— Twitchell, “Shopping for God," page 67 (2007).
***
• “Things like music, clothing and art help anchor you into something … It's a part of
asserting your place in a multicultural world where people use objects and icons to say, 'I
am a Mexican American' or 'I am a lesbian.' . . ."
—“Material World of Christianity” by Roy Rivenburg of the Los Angeles Times, quoting
religion historian Colleen McDannell (Sept. 24, 1995).
• “Clearly, religiously informed objects are now a part of the modern scene, asserting
their place in a multicultural world. Just as we use manufactured stuff to say, “I am a
Mexican American,” or “I am gay,” so too do we say, “I am an evangelical Christian.”
— Twitchell, “Shopping for God,” page 68 (2007).
***
• "But it is wrong to think of the DYI (sic) aspect of our culture as self indulgent, giddily
wrong headed or opportunistic. This is to miss the anthropological point, and to
underestimate how formidable is DYI as a competitor for even faithful hearts and minds."
— By Grant McCracken, writing on his blog cultureby.com (August 22, 2005).
• "But it is wrong to think of the D-I-Y aspect of our culture as self-indulgent,
wrong-headed, or opportunistic. This is to miss the anthropological point, and to
underestimate how formidable commercial marketing has become for even the
faithful hearts and minds."
—Twitcehll, "Shopping for God," page 93 (2007).
NOTE: McCracken’s blog about the Pope’s statements on “D-I-Y” or “do-ityourself” religion had an error (using DYI instead of DIY), but the passages are
otherwise practically identical.
***
• "This essay begins with Diderot sitting in his study bemused and melancholic.
Somehow this study has undergone a transformation. It was once crowded, humble,
chaotic and happy. It is now elegant, organized, beautifully appointed, and a little grim.
Diderot suspects the case of the transformation is his new dressing gown."
— "Culture and Consumption" by Grant McCracken (1991).
• "As he looked and glanced around his study, Diderot noticed that it had been
transformed by mysterious forces. It was once crowded, humble, chaotic, and happy.
Now it was elegant, organized, and a little grim. What happened?
Diderdot suspected that the cause of the transformation was right before his eyes. It was
a new dressing gown."
— Twitchell, "Living it Up," page 84 (2002).
NOTE: Virginia Postrel, a columnist with The Atlantic Monthly and former
editor of Reason Magazine, forwarded these similar passages to The Sun.
***
• "We all know that 'America' and 'Made in the U.S.A.' stand for individual freedom and
prosperity' …”
— "The Rise of the Brand State: The Postmodern Politics of Image and Reputation" by
Peter van Ham (Foreign Affairs Oct. 10, 2001).
• "On one hand, of course, we know that 'America' and 'Made in the U.S.A.' stand for
individual freedom and prosperity.'
— Twitchell, “Branded Nation: The Marketing of Megachurch, College, Inc., and
Museumworld,” page 295 (2004) .
NOTE: Twitchell actually credits Van Ham two pages earlier, but doesn't
acknowledge him or use quotation marks in this verbatim passage.
***
• "Belgium has decided to introduce a new logo and hip colors and will sport the cool
Internet suffix ‘.be’ as its international symbol."
— "The Rise of the Brand State: The Postmodern Politics of Image and Reputation" by
Peter van Ham (Foreign Affairs Oct. 10, 2001).
• "More successful is Belgium, where Prime Minister Guy Verhofstadt has hired a team
of image makers to introduce a new logo and hip colors."
— Twitchell, “Branded Nation,” page 295 (2004).
***
• "Brand states will compete not only among themselves but also with superbrands such
as the EU, CNN, Microsoft, and the Roman Catholic Church (boasting the oldest and
most recognized logo in the world, the crucifix)."
— "The Rise of the Brand State: The Postmodern Politics of Image and Reputation" by
Peter van Ham (Foreign Affairs Oct. 10, 2001).
• "In the globalized future, brand states will compete not only among themselves but
also with superbrands such as the EU, CNN, Microsoft, and perhaps even the Roman
Catholic Church (the oldest and most recognized brand state in the world)."
— Twitchell, “Branded Nation,” page 295 (2004).
NOTE: Twitchell actually credits Van Ham two pages earlier, but again doesn't
acknowledge him or quote when exact phrases are used.
***
• "The conundrum was prefigured by Farouk's grandfather, Khedive Ismail, a grandee
who died in 1895 while trying to guzzle two bottles of champagne in one draft. Khedive
Ismail kept a harem of 3,000 women ... Why, exactly?"
—"The Shoes of Imelda Marcos” by Lance Morrow of Time Magazine (March 31,
1986).
• "His conundrum was prefigured by his grandfather, who died in 1895 while trying
to guzzle two bottles of champagne in one draft. The senior Farouk kept a harem of
three thousand women. But why?"
— Twitchell, "Living it Up," page 241 (2002).
NOTE: Morrow is credited just two paragraphs earlier, but Twitchell doesn't
acknowledge him when using a verbatim descriptions.