Page of Reason | December 2024
Dispatches from your most humble servant
Page of Reason is the newsletter of the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies (ITPS) at Iona University in New Rochelle, New York. Learn more about the ITPS and our activities at our Research Portal. You can follow us on Twitter @TheITPS, BlueSky @theitps.bsky.social, and Mastodon @ITPS@historians.social.
In this newsletter, you’ll find:
A link to watch a new ITPS promotional video
Details about the next RW250 Book Group
An introduction to two Iona students in the Paine Scholars Program
Free registration for Iona students to attend the AHA Annual Meeting
Application information for a summer fellowship
A great idea for a last-minute holiday gift that is free!
New ITPS Video Highlights Digital Humanities
The Marketing and Communications team at Iona recently interviewed Dr. Nora Slonimsky, director of the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies, for a two-minute promotional video that will be used in marketing materials and enrollment communications to attract students to the university. The ITPS is unique among academic centers on college campuses and the video highlights how the humanities can enrich one’s life and how the ITPS connects students with professional experiences and insights to provide a transformative education.
As the video explains, the ITPS helps students explore the life and writings of Thomas Paine, whose ideas influenced politics, media, and society. Because Paine's work and impact crosses many fields, the program is open to students from a variety of majors, including history, political science, media studies, and more. Through hands-on opportunities like research fellowships, events, exhibits, and digital projects, students can explore how history, communication, and politics all overlap while building skills in both traditional research and modern digital tools.
Register for the RW250 Roundtable Book Group
The Institute for Thomas Paine Studies and Revolutionary Westchester 250 will co-host a discussion of The Great New York Fire of 1776: A Lost Story of the American Revolution (2023) by Benjamin L. Carp on Sunday, January 12, 2025 from 4:00-5:00pm EST on Zoom. The program will be moderated by Dr. Michael Crowder, assistant professor at Texas State University and former ITPS public historian. Please join us to learn more about this dramatic history, whether or not you have read the book. All are welcome.
ABOUT THE BOOK
“New York City, the strategic center of the Revolutionary War, was the most important place in North America in 1776. That summer, an unruly rebel army under George Washington repeatedly threatened to burn the city rather than let the British take it. Shortly after the Crown’s forces took New York City, much of it mysteriously burned to the ground.
This is the first book to fully explore the Great Fire of 1776 and why its origins remained a mystery even after the British investigated it in 1776 and 1783. Uncovering stories of espionage, terror, and radicalism, Benjamin L. Carp paints a vivid picture of the chaos, passions, and unresolved tragedies that define a historical moment we usually associate with “life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.”
DATE: Sunday, January 12, 2025
TIME: 4:00-5:00 pm EST
LOCATION: Virtual on Zoom
Learn more about the RW250 Roundtable Book Group here.
Paine Scholars Spotlight
In each monthly newsletter this year, we’ll introduce two Iona students from the first cohort of the Paine Scholars Program offered by the ITPS. These extraordinary students receive scholarship funds, internship experiences, professional training and career development skills, networking and community partnership opportunities, as well as the support of a close and engaged community on campus and in New Rochelle.
Mackenzie B. Murphy is pursuing a BA in Criminal Justice and is part of Iona’s class of 2028. Mackenzie is from Watertown, Connecticut, and is interested in psychology, history, and political science. She is studying pre-law with a focus in prosecution or malpractice. Mackenzie applied to the Paine Scholars Program for the research and historical opportunities the program offers.
Janae Kayleigh Nora is from Queens, New York. She is a double major in Criminal Justice and Political Science with a minor in Public History and Digital Humanities. Janae applied to the Paine Scholars Program because she has a strong love for history. Before coming to Iona, Janae was a dancer for 8 years.
Free AHA Conference Registration for Iona Students
The American Historical Association (AHA) will host its Annual Meeting in New York City from January 3-6, 2025. The AHA Annual Meeting is a major gathering of historians to share new research, learn about the field, gain professional development, and to network with other scholars from across the world. The meeting is the nation’s largest gathering of historians, from all career stages and paths. There is something for everyone at the annual conference.
Undergraduate and graduate students from Iona who are interested in attending, please send a short email to Dr. Nicole Mahoney (nmahoney@iona.edu) to register for FREE (student registration is normally $199). The AHA has also published this helpful guide for undergraduates at the Annual Meeting. Take advantage of all this wonderful conference has to offer right here in New York!
Undergraduate Summer Fellowship Program at Historic Deerfield
Historic Deerfield in Massachusetts is now accepting applications for the 2025 Undergraduate Summer Fellowship Program in Early American History and Material Culture. This tuition-free program gives college students the opportunity to explore history and material culture studies, conduct original research, and experience working at a museum.
College juniors (graduating in 2026), and seniors who expect to graduate in 2025 are eligible for 7 openings in the program, which is designed for undergraduate students in African American Studies, American Studies, Architecture, Archaeology, Art and Art History, Design, Historic Preservation, History, Material Culture, Native American Studies, and Museum Studies. The program is immersive and academically rigorous (fellows will be engaged most nights and weekends), fun (fellows get to know cohort members from around the country and travel to regional museums and historic sites), and skill-building (fellows gain practical experience with guiding, interpretation of material culture, research, writing, and the formal presentation of research findings).
This unique nine-week residential living-and-learning opportunity takes place at Historic Deerfield, in Deerfield, Massachusetts. Each participant receives a full fellowship that covers all expenses associated with the program, including tuition, room and board, and field trips. A limited number of stipends are awarded to students with demonstrated need to help cover lost summer income. Financial aid awards are need blind and application for assistance has no impact on the program application.
The 2025 program begins June 2 and ends August 4. Applications are now being accepted online at www.historic-deerfield.org/sfp. The application deadline is February 3, 2025. Notification of acceptances will be announced in March.
For more information, contact: Dr. Erika Gasser, Director of Academic Programs (egasser@historic-deerfield.org).
Need a last-minute holiday gift?
Download the American Revolutions in the Digital Age e-book for free on the Cornell University Press website. It’s a great idea for teachers, students, and anyone interested in digital research methods or early American history!
Click here to download the e-book for free.
