Hosted by the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies (ITPS) at Iona College and the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri.
Virtually and in New Rochelle, New York
September 22nd – 24th, 2022
How do eighteenth-century narratives of empire still echo in our historiography and imaginations today? First coined in 1775, “salutary neglect” was one example which painted the first half of the eighteenth century as a period of declining British imperial engagement and increasing colonial independence. While assumptions of salutary neglect still permeate much of late eighteenth-century and revolutionary scholarship, scholars of the early eighteenth century have pushed back on this very narrative to uncover an imperial state far more actively engaged in North American colonial affairs long before the Seven Years’ War. “Iroquois Empire” was another example that emerged in the eighteenth century, built upon a real or imagined past of Iroquois conquest, confirmed by treaty and policy, and perpetuated by early historians. While it has receded in recent decades, scholars have turned to yet other Indigenous groups and polities, again through the lens of empire.
These are just two of many narratives of empire that scholars have sought to reassess, with recent work on North America and the Atlantic pushing us still further in comparative, entangled, and contested directions. In this continued spirit, we aim to bring together scholars from both halves of the eighteenth century to reexamine imperial rule and how narratives of empire were wielded and debated during the colonial, revolutionary, and early republican eras. We welcome work on either side of the Atlantic to reconnect and reconsider these histories and historiographies.
The Fifth International Conference of Thomas Paine Studies at Iona College is a collaboration between the ITPS and the Kinder Institute on Constitutional Democracy at the University of Missouri. “Crafting Narratives of Empire” will be a hybrid program, with virtual and in-person components on the Iona campus in New Rochelle, located just outside New York City in Westchester County. For more details and the full program, please see: https://theitps.org/2022-conference/. #ITPSKinderCon