Revolutionary Ideas: Origins, Contexts, and Legacies of American Independence Symposium
A multi-day scholarly symposium convening leading thinkers to examine the philosophical, political, and cultural foundations of the American Revolution.
Two days. Leading scholars. Charleston's most storied stage.
Join us for this landmark symposium: Revolutionary Ideas: Origins, Contexts, and Legacies of American Independence.
What makes a revolution—and how do its meanings endure? This two-day symposium brings together an extraordinary group of international scholars to explore the origins, experiences, and legacies of the American Revolution from a variety of perspectives.
An extraordinary journey through the various facets of the American Revolution
Peter Mancall joins us to examine the roots of revolutionary change, while Vince Brown situates the era within the wider Atlantic world of the slave trade, the Caribbean, and South Carolina. Andrew O’Shaughnessy offers insight into the British view of the conflict, and Maya Jasanoff reconsiders loyalism and those who resisted independence. Katharine Carté explores the role of religion, and James Grant traces the Revolution’s intellectual legacies (and lingers on some key figures from the time).
Pulitzer-prize winning historian Jon Meacham reflects on the broader arc of history through primary source documents and their contemporary importance. The symposium will culminate in a panel moderated by the UK’s Ditchley Foundation featuring a number of speakers including Sir Michael Fallon, the former UK Secretary of Defence, on the American Revolution’s lessons for today.
Over two days, these conversations invite us to reconsider not only what made the American Revolution possible, but why it still resonates today.
June 24–25 at Dock Street Theatre.
Presented by Charleston Literary Festival and SC250 Charleston.
In collaboration with International African American Museum (IAAM), Charleston Library Society, South Carolina Historical Society, and the Ditchley Foundation (UK).
Tickets go on sale early May. Sign up to our mailing list to be the first to know.
*photo credit Val & Ed Photography
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