Integrity and History
Virtual Session

In the last two years, the historical profession has been rocked by some major scandals relating to plagiarism, committed both by "public historians"--Doris Kearns Goodwin and Stephen Ambrose--and by a professional historian, Michael Bellesiles, in an award-winning book. Today, we'll examine what (if any) offenses these three historians committed, and what (if any) message the profession should take from the controversies.

The Arming America Controversy

bullet James Lindgren provides an overview of the controversy
bullet Michael Bellesiles defends himself against his critics
bullet Jack Rakove examines the broader issues in the issue
bullet Joyce Malcolm makes the academic critique of Bellisiles
bullet The National Review makes the structural critique of Bellesiles

Goodwin/Ambrose

bullet John Dichtl discusses integrity and history
bullet Doris Kearns Goodwin defends herself
bullet Mark Lewis questions Goodwin's actions
bullet Natasha Berger claims the "Borking" of Doris Kearns Goodwin; Philip Nobile responds
bullet The New York Times summarizes the case against Ambrose
bullet Forbes raises more charges against Ambrose
bullet Richard Jensen defends Ambrose

Ralph Luker looks beyond the controversies