Conferences and Symposia

Conferences and Symposia

Academic conferences constitute a major vehicle for engaging a global audience in Jefferson’s ideas.  The ICJS has organized dozens of conferences and seminars on a wide range of topics and has co-sponsored a number of scholarly symposia with the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Sons of the American Revolution, and the University of Virginia.  The ICJS has also sponsored international conferences at academic institutions in Australia, China, Cuba, Russia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Britain, Poland, Austria, and Italy; these international symposia are headlined by prominent historians, including Annette Gordon-Reed, Gordon Wood, Peter S. Onuf, and David Armitage. The ICJS regularly hosts lectures, informal talks, and panel discussions with invited speakers, visiting researchers, and Monticello scholars.

2025

Representing a Nation: The Making of a Diplomat. Co-sponsored by the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, and Monticello's Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies. November 21, 2025, Montalto. 

2024

Intellectual Histories of the American Revolution. August 15-17, 2024, Kylemore Abbey Global Centre, Ireland.

2023

Democracy in the Americas: The Monroe Doctrine and the Past and Present of U.S. Policy in Latin America. Co-sponsored by the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, and Monticello's Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies. November 17, 2023, Montalto. 

Studying the Past, Planning the Future: Commemorating the Centennial of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation. 

2022

Diplomacy and the Environment. Co-sponsored by the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, and Monticello's Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies.

2021

Fiske and Marie Kimball: Shaping Our Experience of Buildings and Objects. A virtual conference hosted by the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies. March 20, 2021. 

Transatlantic Slavery Symposium. Co-sponsored by the Robert H. Smith Scholarship Centre at Benjamin Franklin House, the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at George Washington's Mount Vernon, and the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies.  August 9-13, 2021.

News, Propaganda, and Diplomacy. Co-sponsored by the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, and Monticello's Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies. October 30, 2021, Montalto.

2020

Does Europe Still Matter to America? A virtual conference co-sponsored by the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, and Monticello's Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies. October 24, 2020.

2019

American Support for Democracy: A Path Full of Pitfalls. Co-sponsored by the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, and Monticello's Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies. October 26, 2019, Montalto. 

The 75th Anniversary of Eric Williams' Capitalism & Slavery. Co-sponsored by the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello, The Centre for the Study of International Slavery at the University of Liverpool, and the Wilberforce Institute for the Study of Slavery and Emancipation. November 1-3, 2019, Liverpool, U.K.

2018

Interpreting and Representing Slavery and its Legacies in Museums and Sites: International Perspectives. March 19- 21, 2018.

Education in the Early Republic and the Founding of the University of Virginia. Co-sponsored by the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies and the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. May 24-25, 2018.

The Spirit of Inquiry in the Age of Jefferson, Co-sponsored by the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies and the American Philosophical Society in Philadelphia. June 6-7, 2018, Philadelphia, PA.

Tribalism and the Perils of Self-determination, Co-sponsored by the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, and Monticello's Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies. October 27, 2018, Montalto.

Hamilton vs. Jefferson: On History, Freedom, and Republican Government. November 15-17, 2018. 

Independence, Revolts, and the Early Americas. Co-sponsored by the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies and the University of Notre Dame. December 4-6, 2018, Santiago, Chile.

2017

Ireland, America and Empire in the Age of Jefferson. May 8-20, 2017, Galway, Connemara, and Dublin.

America's Security Alliances: What's the Price? What Are They Worth? Co-sponsored by the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, and Monticello's Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies. October 28, 2017, Montalto. 

2016

Diplomatic Challenges for the Next Administration. Co-sponsored by the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, and Monticello's Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies. October 22, 2016, Montalto.

Propaganda, Persuasion, and the Press in the American Revolution. April 2016,
Hong Kong (Hong Kong University).

2015

Diplomacy and Elected Autocrats. Co-sponsored by the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, and Monticello's Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies. October 24, 2015, Montalto. 

Thomas Jefferson: Local and Global. May 18-19, 2015, University of Milano Cattolica.

The Marquis de Lafayette and the European Friends of the American Revolution. Co-sponsored by the Sons of the American Revolution (SAE), the Friends of Lafayette, Friends of Hermione–Lafayette in America, and Monticello’s Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies. June 13-15, 2015. 

2014

Diplomacy and Violent Jihad. Co-sponsored by the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Center for Politics at the University of Virginia, and Monticello's Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies. October 25, 2014, Montalto.

Natural Rights in the Post-Revolutionary Arab World:  Realities & Challenges, April 18-20, 2014
The Arab Center for Scientific Research & Humane Studies in partnership with the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, in collaboration with Ibn Tofail University.
Kenitra, Morocco

Institutions of Knowledge and the Future of Enlightenment, May 1-2, 2014
The University of Virginia and the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, linking with the Re:Enlightenment Project.
On Grounds at the University of Virginia and at the Robert H. Smith Center at Montalto 

Jeffersonians in Power:  A Celebration of the Work of Peter Onuf, May 9-10, 2014
At the Robert H. Smith Center at Montalto
 

2013

Diplomacy and Transitioning Governments: Critical Lessons, October 26, 2013
Co-hosted by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation and the American Academy of Diplomacy
Lord Paddy Ashdown, keynote speaker. At the Robert H. Smith Center at Montalto.

Federalism in the Age of Jefferson,   June 24 - 26, 2013
Discussions about Jefferson’s federalism and the European Union.
Estoril Political Forum, Portugal

DAACS Research Consortium: Opening Conference, May 22 – May 23, 2013
This two-day event brought together for an initial planning session partners in an innovative collaborative project designed to advance the archaeological study of slavery in North America and the Caribbean. The project builds on the foundation of the Digital Archaeological Archive of Comparative Slavery (www.daacs.org ), based in the Smith ICJS at Monticello, and is funded by a recent grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. Jefferson Library at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies.

Arctic Archives Conference on Digital History, May 23-24, 2013
Co-sponsored with Jefferson Institute in Washington DC and Serbia
At the Robert H. Smith Center at Montalto

The Haitian Declaration of Independence in an Atlantic Context, March 7-8, 2013. The Haitian Declaration of Independence provides an important lens to consider the central questions about the making of the modern Atlantic World. Inspired by David Armitage’s global study of the Declaration of Independence, this conference seeks to contextualize the ways in which the only successful slave revolution led to the world’s second Declaration of Independence. The Robert H. Smith Center at Montalto

The Eighteenth Centuries: An Interdisciplinary Symposium , March 1-2, 2013
Examining history, literature, art, music, philosophy, and politics of the 18th century from various perspectives.
Co-sponsored by UVA and the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies
At the University of Virginia and the Robert H. Smith Center at Montalto

Telling the History of Slavery: Scholarship, Museum Interpretation, and the Public, February 22–23, 2013
This two-day event will feature panel discussions exploring recent innovations in slavery research and its impact on scholarship and public interpretation.
Monticello

2012

Democracy, Republicanism and State Building in the Age of Jefferson: An International Symposium, November 16-18, 2012
Co-sponsored by the Department of History, Peking University and the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello 
Beijing, China

SAR Annual Conference on the American Revolution: Thomas Jefferson's Lives: Biography as a Construction of History, June 22-24, 2012
Co-sponsored by Society of the Sons of the American Revolution and ICJS
Thomas Jefferson's Montalto

Soundscapes of Jefferson’s America, March 30-31, 2012
Co-sponsored by the UVA Department of Music and the ICJS
Thomas Jefferson's Montalto

Diplomacy and Revolution, March 19, 2012
Co-hosted by the American Academy of Diplomacy and the ICJS
Thomas Jefferson's Montalto
 

2011

Jefferson and Cuba, December 5-7, 2011
Sponsored by the ICJS
Havana, Cuba

Idealism, Statecraft, and Foreign Policy in Jeffersonian America and Russia of Alexander I, October 13-14, 2011
Co-hosted by the Russian Academy of Sciences and the ICJS
Moscow, Russia

Jefferson, Culture, and Diplomacy in the Age of Revolution, September 8, 2011
Co-hosted by the Cercle Jefferson France-Amériques and the ICJS
France-Amériques Headquarters, Paris   

Education and Diplomacy, June 13, 2011
Co-sponsored by the American Academy of Diplomacy and the ICJS
Thomas Jefferson's Montalto
 

2010

Cosmopolitanism and Nationhood in the Age of Jefferson, December 2-3, 2010
Organized by the John F. Kennedy-Institute for North American Studies and the ICJS
Berlin, Germany

Jefferson's Declaration around the World and The American Declaration of Independence and the Democratic World, August 17, 2010
Co-sponsored by the University of Canterbury and the ICJS
Christchurch, New Zealand

Curiosity Seminar, August 13, 2010
Co-sponsored by the Center for Colonialism and Its Aftermath, University of Tasmania, and the ICJS
Hobart, Tasmania

The Impact of the Declaration of Independence, August 11-12, 2010
Co-sponsored by Sydney University's School of Historical and Philosophical Inquiry and the ICJS
Sydney, Australia

Stability & Reconstruction. The Jeffersonian Diplomatic Tradition and Contemporary Security: Lessons Learned from Afghanistan, Marcy 20, 2010
Co-sponsored by the American Academy of Diplomacy and the ICJS
Jefferson Library at the Roberth H. Smith Center for International Studies

What is the legacy of Thomas Jefferson and why does it matter today, The Jefferson Symposium, April 2010
Co-sponsored by the Thomas Jefferson Foundation at Monticello and Sydney University's School of Philosophical and Historical Inquiry (SOPHI)
Sydney, Australia

    • "Early Modern Virginia: New Thoughts on the Old Dominion" (Jefferson Library at the Robert H. Smith Center for International Studies, August 17-18, 2007)*
    • "The Call for a New World Order: Thomas Jefferson's Separation of Religion and State" (Archbishop's Palace, Prague, Czech Republic, March 7-9, 2007)
    • "Legacies of Founding: The Heritage of Early American Democracy in Contemporary Times" (Budapest, Hungary, March 4, 2007)*
    • "Inventing America: The Interplay of Technology and Democracy in Shaping American Identity" (Smithsonian's Lemelson Center for the Study of Invention and Innovation and the University of Virginia School of Engineering and Applied Science's Department of Technology and Society, November 3-4, 2006)*
    • "Dialogue among Civilizations," featuring His Excellency Seyyed Muhammed Khatami, the former President of Iran (Monticello's Jefferson Library, September 9, 2006)
    • "Thomas Jefferson Today" (Texas Christian University, Fort Worth, TX, April 20-12, 2006)*
    • Oxford/University of Virginia Symposium (Lincoln College, Oxford University, March 4-5, 2006)*
    • "The Old World and the New: Exchanges between America and Europe in the Age of Jefferson" (Salzburg, Austria, October 2005)
    • Oxford/University of Virginia Symposium (Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies, April 14-15, 2005)*
    • "Thomas Jefferson and the Founding Fathers in Retirement" (Kenwood, March 2005)
    • "The Louisiana Purchase" (Paris, May 2002, and Kenwood, October 2002)
    • "Thomas Jefferson, Rights, and the Contemporary World" (Bellagio, Italy, June 2002)
    • "Thomas Jefferson and the Ideals of the American Revolution" (Berlin, May 2002)
    • "Thomas Jefferson and the Revolution of 1800" (December 2000)*
    • "Jefferson and His Friends" ( Paris, October 2000)
    • "Thomas Jefferson, Democracy, and the New Poland" ( Warsaw, June 2001)
    • "History and New Technologies in the Twenty-first Century" (November 1999)*
    • "The Ideas and Ideals of Thomas Jefferson: Do They Transcend Time and Place" (London, September 1999)
    • "Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson: History, Memory, and Civic Culture" (March 1999)
    • "Housing Slavery in the Age of Jefferson: Comparative Archaeological, Architectural, and Historic Perspective" (October 1998)"
    • "Interpreting the 'Great Man:' The Image of Thomas Jefferson in the Twenty-first Century" (1998)
    • "A Definitive Edition of Jefferson's Notes on the State of Virginia" (September 1997)
    • "A Definitive Edition of Jefferson's Legal Commonplace Book" (May 1997)
    • "New Horizons in Jefferson Scholarship" (October 1996)
    • " Jefferson's Architectural Drawings" (May 1996)*
    • "Interpreting Slavery at Historic Sites in the Upper South" (November 1995)
    • "The State of Jefferson Scholarship" (June 1995)
    • "Major Jefferson Repositories" (March 1995)

    *Collaborative Conference 

  • 2019: Jeffersonians in Power: The Rhetoric of Opposition Meets the Realities of Governing. Joanne B. Freeman and Johann N. Neem, eds.  "Jeffersonian America." Peter S. Onuf and Andrew O'Shaughnessy, eds. (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press).

    2019: The Founding of Thomas Jefferson's University. John Ragosta, Peter S. Onuf, Andrew O'Shaughnessy, eds. "Jeffersonian America." Peter S. Onuf and Andrew O'Shaughnessy, eds. (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press).

    2019: Thomas Jefferson's Lives: Biographers and the Battle for History. Robert M. S. McDonald ed., "Jeffersonian America." Peter S. Onuf and Andrew O'Shaughnessy, eds. (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press).

    2016: The Haitian Declaration of Independence: Creation, Context and Legacy. Julia Gaffield ed., "Jeffersonian America." Jan Ellen Lewis, Peter S. Onuf, Andrew O'Shaughnessy, eds. (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press).

    2013: He Qian, Shaosheng, “New Perspectives, New Themes, and New Approaches in the Studies of American History: A Round Table,” Shixue Yuekan (Journal of Historical Science), No. 4, 2013, pp. 5-24; 何芊、邵声（整理翻):《美国史研究的新视野、新题材与新路径——“美国史学新趋势</span”圆桌对话》，《史学月刊》2013年第4期，第5-24.

    2013: Cosmopolitanism and Nationhood in the Age of Jefferson, Peter Nicolaisen and Hannah Spahn, eds., volume 238 of "American Studies - A Monograph Series." (Universitätsverlag Winter, Heidelberg)

    2013: Paine and Jefferson in the Age of Revolutions. Simon P. Newman and Peter S. Onuf, eds. (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press).

    2013: State and Citizen: British America and the Early United States. Peter Thompson and Peter S. Onuf, eds. (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press).

    2012: Light and Liberty: Thomas Jefferson and the Power of Knowledge. Robert M. S. McDonald, ed. (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press).

    2012:  The Nation's Crucible The Louisiana Purchase and the Creation of America, Peter J. Kastor, ed. (New Haven & London: Yale University Press).  

    2012:  Shao Sheng, He Qian, “A Summery Report of ‘Democracy, Republicanism and State Building in the Age of Jefferson: An International Symposium’,” Meiguo Yanjiu (American Studies Quarterly), No. 4, 2012, pp.152-155’ 邵声、何芊：《“杰斐逊时代的民主、共和与国家构建”研讨会综述，《美国研究》2012年第4期，第</span152-155.

    2011: Thomas Jefferson, the Classical World, and Early America. Peter S. Onuf and Nicholas P. Cole, eds. (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press).

    2011: Early Modern Virginia: Reconsidering the Old Dominion, Douglas Bradburn and John C. Coombs, eds. (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press). 

    2010:  Old World, New World: America and Europe in the Age of Jefferson. Leonard J. Sadosky, Peter Nicolaisen, Peter S. Onuf, and Andrew J. O’Shaughnessy, eds. (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press).

    2010: The Libraries Leadership and Legacy of John Adams and Thomas Jefferson.  Robert C. Baron and Conrad Edick Wright, eds. (Golden, Colorado:  Fulcrum Publishing, with Massachusetts Historical Society)

    2009: Religion, State, and Society: Jefferson’s Wall of Separation in Comparative Perspective.  Robert Fatton, Jr. and R.K. Ramazani, eds. (New York: Palgrave).

    2004:  Future of Liberal Democracy: Thomas Jefferson and the Contemporary World, Ruhi Ramazani and Robert Fatton ed. (New York: Palgrave)

    2002:  The Revolution of 1800: Democracy, Race, and the New Republic, James J. Horn, Jan Ellen Lewis, and Peter S. Onuf, eds. (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press).

    1999: Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson: History, Memory, and Civic Culture, Jan Lewis and Peter Onuf, eds. (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press).

    1993:  Jeffersonian Legacies, Peter S. Onuf ed. (Charlottesville: University of Virginia Press).

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