Childers to drop Ambrose in future

After initially saying that he would continue to use the works of noted writer and historian Stephen Ambrose in his class despite allegations of plagiarism against the author, Penn History Professor Thomas Childers announced Monday that he has changed his mind.

More than a week ago, Ambrose admitted to using phrases and passages that were very similar to Childers' 1995 historical work The Wings of Morning in his latest book, The Wild Blue. Both chronicle the experiences of a B-24 bomber crew during World War II.

However, later in the week, it was revealed that this was just one of several instances where Ambrose may have taken sentences and phrases from other authors.

Childers stands by his decision to keep Band of Brothers, another bestselling book by Ambrose set in the context of World War II, on this semester's syllabus for History 431 "A World at War."

But Monday, Childers told the class that he has changed his mind about using Ambrose's works in future classes and announced that in years to come, he will not incorporate Ambrose into the curriculum.

Childers came to this new decision after learning that Ambrose's reported plagiarism was not an isolated incident. Other works by Ambrose that have come into question include his 1975 book Crazy Horse and Custer.

Another factor in Childers' decision was a New York Times interview with Ambrose in which the best-selling author discussed the methods he uses in crafting his popular books.

That article, which ran in the Times on Jan. 11, read: "'I tell stories,' Mr. Ambrose said. 'I don't discuss my documents. I discuss the story. It almost gets to the point where, how much is the reader going to take? I am not writing a Ph.D. dissertation.'"

Childers said that quotes such as this were troubling for him and ultimately led him to rethink the issue of having his students read Ambrose's books.

"The revelations about other cases of plagiarism plus Stephen Ambrose's own explanation of his working methods where he was saying flat out 'if I find things I like, I use them and just put a footnote,' --which I found really disturbing -- were enough to make me think it was time to reconsider," Childers said.

Childers' students have mixed feelings about his decision to keep Band of Brothers -- which was turned into an HBO miniseries last fall -- on the reading list, while simultaneously announcing he will remove Ambrose's works from reading lists in years to come.

"I think it was a good move to keep [Band of Brothers] on the syllabus," Wharton junior Thomas Fan said.

Fan added that "on the other hand, in reading part of it, it's a very good book. It is a shame that he decided to take it off for future semesters."

Childers said that his ultimate decision on whether or not to continue using Ambrose's book was complicated by the fact that Ambrose's historical work has been very valuable.

"The problem is the book is actually a valuable book for teaching World War II," Childers said. "I think any student that is looking at the research over the last decade on World War II has to know the work Stephen Ambrose has done and is capable of doing. I just don't see myself using these things in the future."

Band of Brothers is not one of Ambrose's books that has been found to contain questionable passages.

Childers said he also realizes that some students will object to using the book this semester. And for this reason, he told "conscientious objectors," who oppose reading the book for the class not to buy it.

And that is exactly what College and Wharton senior Stefan Krasowski plans to do. Krasowski said he will be checking out Band of Brothers from the library.

"I'd rather not spend money on Ambrose's books," Krasowski said. "He may be scorned in academia, but he's still going to be laughing all the way to the bank."

Childers said he will use the fact that the book is included on the syllabus to jump into a larger discussion of plagiarism and its consequences.

The class is scheduled to read Band of Brothers the week they begin writing papers -- an unplanned coincidence that Childers said presents an opportunity to delve into plagiarism and how not to do it.

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