DAACS Conversations
Join DAACS staff and DAACS collaborating scholars for a diverse range of conversations on ground-breaking new archaeological research in the American South and Caribbean. Multiple dates.
Some ICJS programs are offered in a hybrid format, with in-person and online attendance opportunities. We look forward to welcoming you to our programs! Virtual programs at the ICJS are free, unless specified otherwise. In-person programs, while also free unless specified otherwise, may require advanced registration. See individual event pages for details.
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Upcoming Programs
Previous Programs and Recordings
Uncovering, Exploring and Interrogating the Philosophy of Science of Thomas Jefferson
A fellow’s forum with Jameta Barlow, associate professor of writing in The George Washington University's University Writing Program and Women's Leadership from November 25, 2024.
The Plantation Revival
A fellow's forum with Philip Mills Herrington, Associate Professor of History at James Madison University from October 30, 2024.
Jefferson, Territorial Expansion, and the Pursuit of Science in the American Southwest (1776-1826)
A fellow's forum with Dr. Sandra Rebok from October 28, 2024.
The Light Between Apple Trees
A fellow's forum with naturalist, filmmaker, and author, Priyanka Kumar from October 22, 2024.
Colonial and Transcultural Agriculture in Jefferson’s America
A fellow's forum with Gesa Mackenthun, Professor of American Studies, Rostock University, Germany from September 25, 2024.
“The Visible State: U.S. Diplomatic Agents and Information in Europe and the Federal Territories, 1789-1800”
A fellow's forum with Ethan Gonzales, PhD candidate at the University of Virginia from August 20, 2024.
“A Contest for Dominion on the Shores of the Pacific:” American Merchants, the Otter Fur Trade, and Territorial Expansion to the Pacific Northwest, 1787-1819
A fellow's forum with Graeme Mack, University of Richmond from August 15, 2024.
Bitter Vines: Wine and Slavery in the United States
A fellow's forum with Whitney Nell Stewart, Associate Professor of History and Faculty, Edith O'Donnell Institute of Art History at the University of Texas at Dallas from July 24, 2024.
Lightning Talks on Current Research in South Carolina and Florida
Lightning talks from DAACS collaborating scholars Kendy Alter, Jodi Barnes, Luke Pecararo, Karen Smith, and Myles Sullivan from July 19, 2024. This presentation, part of the DAACS Conversations series, was entirely virtual. Recording available.
War Stories: Remembering the Revolution
A fellow's forum with Michael A. McDonnell, Professor and Chair of History at the University of Sydney, Australia, from June 27, 2024.
“A pinching, miserly system”: Managing Plantation Risk in Post-Revolutionary Virginia
A fellow’s forum with Steven G. Krug, Ph.D. Candidate, University of Georgia, from June 24, 2024.
Haitian Intellectual History in the Age of Revolutions
A conversation between Marlene L. Daut, Professor of French and African American Studies at Yale University and author of Awakening the Ashes: An Intellectual History of the Haitian Revolution (University of North Carolina Press, 2023) and Laurent Dubois, John L. Nau III Bicentennial Professor in the History & Principles of Democracy and Academic Director of the Karsh Institute of Democracy, University of Virginia, from June 3, 2024. Recording available.
Black Winemaking at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello
A fellow's forum with wine writer Sydney Love, from May 23, 2024.
Pursuing Happiness in the Revolutionary Atlantic
The 2024 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Lecture with historian Sarah Pearsall, held at the University of Virginia's Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library in Charlottesville on May 13, 2024.
The Declaration of Independence and the Reasons for the American Revolution.
A fellow's forum with Steve Sarson, Professor of American Civilizations at Jean Moulin University, Lyon, France, from April 30, 2024.
This is Our Home: Slavery and Struggle on Southern Plantations
A conversation between Whitney Nell Stewart, historian and author of This is Our Home: Slavery and Struggle on Southern Plantations and Andrew Davenport, Director of African American History & The Getting Word African American Oral History Project at Monticello from April 25, 2024. Recording available.
South Carolina pro-French Republicans, Jefferson, and the French Revolution, 1789-1801
A fellow's forum with Benoit Leridon, University of Birmingham, U.K. from April 23, 2024.
The Many Modes of Powerful Presidential Persuasion
A book talk by Talmage Boston, lawyer, historian, and author of How the Best Did It: Leadership Lessons from Our Top Presidents from April 18, 2024.
Virginia Festival of the Book - The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution
A presentation by presidential historian, Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky, as part of the 2024 Virginia Festival of the Book from March 24, 2024. Recording available.
Revolutionary Women: A Symposium
Revolutionary Women: A Symposium was co-hosted by the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello and the University of Virginia Press on March 22, 2024.
Revolutionary Friendship: Washington, Jefferson, and the American Republic
A conversation between Frank Cogliano, historian and author of Revolutionary Friendship: Washington, Jefferson, and the American Republic and Professors Annette Gordon-Reed and Peter Onuf from February 17, 2024. Recording available.
Thomas Jefferson and Jewish America: A Preliminary Inquiry
A hybrid fellow's forum with historian Paul Finkelman from December 14, 2023. Recording available.
"Wicked to Keep Your Subjects Home By Force", A Hybrid Fellow's Forum with Jim Ambuske
A fellow's forum with Jim Ambuske, historian and Senior Producer at R2 Studios from December 12, 2023.
Ships of Reason: The Enlightenment of Stephen Girard, and the Mariners Who Built His Merchant Empire
A hybrid fellow's forum with Alexander Lawrence Ames, Ph.D., Director of Outreach & Engagement, the Rosenbach Museum & Library, Philadelphia from December 7, 2023. Recording available.
The 2023 ICJS Book Events Series
More information on our 2023 book talk series featuring new books by leading scholars discussing a variety of topics on the history of the early American republic.
American Academy of Diplomacy Annual Conference
Democracy in the Americas - the Monroe Doctrine and the Past and Present of US Policy in Latin America was co-hosted by the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, and the University of Virginia Center for Politics on November 17, 2023.
The link between Jefferson and Condorcet in Paris: why it matters and why it was stronger than we thought
A fellow's forum with Iain McLean, Professor of Politics at Oxford University and a fellow of Nuffield College from November 15, 2023.
For the People, For the Country: A Book Event with John Ragosta
A book talk by John A. Ragosta, historian and author of For the People, For the Country: Patrick Henry's Final Political Battle from November 7, 2023. Recording available.
Luck's Republic: Lotteries, Class, and Finance in Early America
A fellow’s forum with Anders Bright, PhD Candidate, University of Pennsylvania from October 31, 2023.
Freedom! - Ideal and practice in the reform works of Thomas Jefferson and Christian Reventlow
A fellow's forum with Louise Sebro, Danish historian and curator at the Reventlow Museum from October 26, 2023.
En Route to Revolution
A hybrid fellow's forum with Iris De Rode, U.S. Committee Member of "America 2026" from October 3, 2023.
The Second Annual Leonard J. Sadosky Memorial Lecture
The Second Annual Leonard J. Sadosky Memorial Lecture, "American Reformation" given by Dr. Alyssa Penick, Postdoctoral Research Associate at the Jefferson Scholars Foundation, University of Virginia, from September 29, 2023.
Thomas Jefferson’s and George Washington’s Shared Interests in Soil Health and Regenerative Agriculture
A hybrid fellow's forum with Rob Myers, Director of the University Of Missouri Center for Regenerative Agriculture from September 27, 2023. Recording available.
A Madman’s Will: John Randolph, Four Hundred Slaves, and the Mirage of Freedom
A conversation between John Ragosta, historian at the International Center for Jefferson Studies and Gregory May, author of A Madman's Will from September 26, 2023. Recording available.
Studying the Past, Planning the Future: Commemorating the Centennial of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation
Studying the Past, Planning the Future: Commemorating the Centennial of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation was held at the Robert H. Smith Center at Montalto on September 22, 2023.
Say Anarcha: A Young Woman, a Devious Surgeon, and the Harrowing Birth of Modern Women's Health
A book talk by J.C. Hallman, author of Say Anarcha: A Young Woman, a Devious Surgeon, and the Harrowing Birth of Modern Women's Health from September 14, 2023.
“The Antidotes of Truth:” The First Editions of Thomas Jefferson and James Madison’s Papers
A hybrid fellow's forum with Armin Mattes, Assistant Research Professor and Assistant Editor of the Papers of James Madison at the University of Virginia from August 29, 2023. Recording available.
Rebirthed in Clay: A Re-Examination of Afro-Crucian Ware and Cultural Identity in 18th – 19th Century St. Croix, U.S. Virgin Islands
A hybrid fellow's forum with Simone Muhammad, MA student in Anthropology, California State University, Fullerton from August 28, 2023. Recording available.
The Celebrated Elizabeth Smith, A Book Event with Lucia McMahon
A book talk by Lucia McMahon, Professor and Chair of History at William Paterson University from August 24, 2023. Recording available.
Freedom in Black and White: The Politics of Slavery and Black Expatriation in Nineteenth Century America
A hybrid fellow's forum with Andrew Hammann, postdoctoral fellow at the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri from August 16, 2023. Recording available.
Much More than Macaroni
A fellow's forum with culinary historian, Karima Moyer-Nocchi from July 27, 2023.
Jefferson’s Proclamation: Challenging Royal Land Rights in Revolutionary America, 1763-1776
A hybrid fellow's forum with S. Max Edelson, Professor of History, University of Virginia from July 25, 2023. Recording available.
Jefferson, Art, Architecture and Native Culture
A hybrid fellow's forum with art historian Jayne Yantz from July 20, 2023. Recording available.
“Settled Out of Doors”: Caucus Building, Sociability, and the Development of Partisanship in the Early Republic
A hybrid fellow's forum with Mercedes Haigler, Ph.D candidate in History at the University of Virginia from July 18, 2023. Recording available.
Material Cultures of Inequality: Slavery and Freedom in French Guiana
A hybrid fellow’s forum with Elizabeth Clay, Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Central Connecticut State University from June 27, 2023. Recording available.
The Transformation of the Slave Trade in Virginia, 1770-1830
A hybrid fellow’s forum with David Carlson, Ph.D. candidate at the University of Notre Dame from June 22, 2023. Recording available.
The Fluidity of Allegiance in Revolutionary Vermont
A hybrid fellow's forum with Benjamin Anderson, PhD student at the University of Edinburgh from June 15, 2023. Recording available.
Materializing Emancipation: Exploring Material Culture Change in the Era of Freedom
A hybrid fellow's forum with Khadene Harris, an Assistant Professor of Anthropology at Kenyon College from May 25, 2023. Recording available.
The Man Who Built Jefferson's World: Yankee Sullivan and the Making of a Global System
The 2023 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Lecture with historian Patrick Griffin, held at the University of Virginia's Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library in Charlottesville on May 12, 2023.
The Age of Atlantic Revolution: the Fall and Rise of a Connected World
A conversation between Patrick Griffin, Madden-Hennebry Family Professor of History; Thomas Moore and Judy Livingston Director, Keough-Naughton Institute for Irish Studies, the University of Notre Dame and and author of The Age of Atlantic Revolution: the Fall and Rise of a Connected World and Frank Cogliano, Professor of American History and Dean International (North America), University of Edinburgh from May 11, 2023. Recording available.
The “circumstances of our emigration and settlement here”: the Origins and Formations of Peoples, Property, and Territories in the US Declaration of Independence
A hybrid fellow's forum with Steven Sarson, Professor of American Civilizations at Jean Moulin University, Lyon, France from May 2, 2023. Recording available.
“‘the disagreeable situation in between the Civil and the Military”: Prisoner of War Management in the American Revolution.”
A hybrid fellow's forum with Susan Brynne Long, PhD Candidate in the American Civilization Program, University of Delaware from April 20, 2023. Recording available.
Virginia Festival of the Book - American Inheritance: Liberty and Slavery in the Birth of a Nation
A presentation by Pulitzer Prize winning author and historian, Edward J. Larson as part of the 2023 Virginia Festival of the book from March 26, 2023. Recording available.
Revolutionary Loyalism: Enslavement and Liberation
A hybrid fellow's forum with Liam Riordan, Professor of History, University of Maine from March 23, 2023. Recording available.
'Deeply laid Foundations': Thomas Jefferson's enduring relationship with England, 1743-1826
A hybrid fellow’s forum with Christopher Bates, Ph.D. Student, University of Edinburgh from February 22, 2023. Recording available.
An Empire of Love: Revisiting the American Confederation, 1776-1789
A presentation by Eliga Gould, Professor of History at the University of New Hampshire and 2022-2023 Fritz and Claudine Kundrun Fellow from February 16, 2023.
Thomas Jefferson: fashion is political, politics are fashionable.
A fellow's forum with Chloe Chapin, Ph.D. candidate in the American Studies Program, Harvard University from February 15, 2023.
The effect of the Seven Years' War on Colonial Militias in Rio de Janeiro and Virginia
A hybrid fellow's forum with Vitor Izecksohn, professor in the Graduate Program of Social History at the Federal University of Rio de Janeiro from February 7, 2023. Recording available.
The Age of Restoration and American History: Reframing the Colonial in the Colonial Revival
A hybrid fellow’s forum with Susan Kern, historian and author of The Jeffersons at Shadwell (Yale 2010) from January 19, 2023. recording available.
Thomas Jefferson, John Adams, and the Lord of Misrule
A book talk with historian Peter Mancall author of The Trials of Thomas Morton: An Anglican Lawyer, His Puritan Foes, and the Battle for a New England from November 2, 2022.
American Academy of Diplomacy 2022 Annual Conference
Diplomacy and the Environment was co-hosted by the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, and the University of Virginia Center for Politics on October 21, 2022.
Jefferson’s “Country”: Notes on the State of Virginia and the Invention of America
A book talk with award-winning historian Robert Pierce Forbes and author of Notes on the State of Virginia: An Annotated Edition from October 12, 2022. Recording available.
Intertwined
A talk with Jim Ambuske (of Mount Vernon) and Jeanette Patrick (from George Mason University), moderated by Monticello's Jenna Owens, discussing their widely acclaimed podcast Intertwined about the enslaved community at Mount Vernon from September 14, 2022.
Thomas Jefferson Foundation Distinguished Lecture Series
The 2022 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Lecture with historian Joanne Freeman, held at the University of Virginia's Albert and Shirley Small Special Collections Library in Charlottesville on May 10, 2022. Recording available.
Virginia Festival of the Book: The Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind
A presentation by author and historian Andrew J. O'Shaughnessy as part of the 2022 Virginia Festival of the book from March 20, 2022. Recording available.
A Spark of Revolution
A virtual book talk with Martin Clagett, independent scholar and author of A Spark of Revolution: William Small, Thomas Jefferson, and James Watt: The Curious Connection Between the American Revolution and the Industrial Revolution. This talk was co-hosted by the Research Institute of Irish and Scottish Studies (RIISS) at the University of Aberdeen and the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello on February 22, 2022.
Book Launch: The Spirit of Inquiry in the Age of Jefferson
A conversation between Andrew O'Shaughnessy and volume contributors Andrew Wehrman, Endrina Tay, Diane Ehrenpreis, and Elizabeth Chew reflecting on Jefferson's influence on scientific inquiry during the Early Republic and held in honor of the publication of a special issue of the Transactions of the American Philosophical Society - "The Spirit of Inquiry in the Age of Jefferson" (Vol. 110, No. 2, 2022) from January 25, 2022. Recording available.
The Last King of America
A book talk with bestselling author, Andrew Roberts from November 18, 2021. Recording available.
American Academy of Diplomacy 2021 Annual Conference
News, Propaganda, and Diplomacy was co-hosted by the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Thomas Jefferson Foundation, and The University of Virginia Center for Politics on October 30, 2021. Recording available.
The Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind
A book launch with Andrew J. O'Shaughnessy, author and Saunders Director of the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello from October 5, 2021. Recording available.
Supreme Injustice: Slavery in the Nation’s Highest Court
A book talk with Paul Finkelman, President of Gratz College from September 1, 2021. Recording available.
Transatlantic Slavery Symposium
The Transatlantic Slavery Symposium was a joint venture between the Robert H. Smith Scholarship Centre at Benjamin Franklin House in London, 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 at Thomas Jefferson’s Monticello held from August 9-13, 2021. Recording available.
Why Do We Teach the History of the American Revolution?
The 2021 Thomas Jefferson Foundation Lecture with Professor Jane Kamensky, held virtually on May 13, 2021.
The Strange Genius of Mr. O: The World of the United States’ First Forgotten Celebrity
A digital book talk with Carolyn Eastman, Associate Professor of History at Virginia Commonwealth University from April 29, 2021. Recording available.
The Compleat Victory: Saratoga and the American Revolution
A digital book talk with historian and Professor of Military Theory and Strategy at the U.S. Army War College, Colonel (Retired) Kevin J. Weddle from April 22, 2021. Recording available.
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 at Monticello on March 20, 2021. This program was made possible by the Fiske and Marie Kimball/Monticello Fund, generously provided by the Trustees of the Jane Tarleton Smith Moore estate. Recording available.
Jefferson's Treasure: How Albert Gallatin Saved the New Nation from Debt
A digital book talk with historian and internationally known tax expert Gregory May from January 28, 2021. Recording available.
The Education of John Adams
A digital book talk with R.B. Bernstein, Lecturer in Law and Politics at the City College of New York, on his newest book, The Education of John Adams from December 15, 2020. Recording available.
New Frontiers in Early American History
A virtual talk with four emerging Early American History scholars - Alexi Garrett, Michael A. Blaakman, Derek O'Keary, and Krysten Blackstone - from November 19, 2020. This event was co-sponsored by the Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington at Mount Vernon and the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello. Recording available.
Humboldt and Jefferson: Transatlantic Exchange of Knowledge and Ideas
A virtual discussion between Dr. Andrew O’Shaughnessy and Dr. Sandra Rebok from November 11, 2020. This presentation was co-sponsored by the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello and the Embassy of the Federal Republic of Germany. Recording available.
American Academy of Diplomacy 2020 Annual Conference
Does Europe Still Matter to America? was co-hosted by the American Academy of Diplomacy, the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies, and the University of Virginia Center for Politics on October 24, 2020.
The Cabinet: George Washington and the Creation of an American Institution
A virtual book talk with Lindsay M. Chervinsky, Ph.D. from October 8, 2020. Recording available.
Washington and Jefferson: It's Complicated
A virtual discussion with Professor Frank Cogliano of the University of Edinburgh, co-hosted by Mount Vernon's Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington and the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello from August 27, 2020. Recording available.
Overseers in Early America
A virtual book talk with Dr. Laura Sandy of the University of Liverpool on her new book, The Overseers of Early American Slavery: Supervisors, Enslaved Labourers, and the Plantation Enterprise from July 28, 2020. This presentation was co-sponsored by Mount Vernon's Fred W. Smith National Library for the Study of George Washington and the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello. Recording available.
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