Page of Reason, Vol. I, February 2021
Dispatches from your most humble servant, the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies, Iona College.
Welcome to Volume I of Page of Reason, a monthly newsletter of the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies (ITPS), Iona College, New Rochelle, NY! Established in 2011, the ITPS’s inaugural mission to facilitate the study of Thomas Paine’s writing, life, and legacy has evolved into scholarly and public-facing focuses on archival studies, public history, and the digital humanities. A prolific author of multiple genres and mediums, Paine’s influence encompasses media, communication, and political economy. Inspired by this model, the ITPS supports the wider interdisciplinary research of early American history, and how that history reverberates today. The ITPS supports research and education initiatives, and we appreciate the support of the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation and the James Hervey Johnson Charitable Educational Trust, among others.
Each monthly edition of Page of Reason features six sections of content produced by the ITPS, highlighting the work of our friends and colleagues in the fields of American, Atlantic, and Global history, and featuring the Iona College community: Common Acts, Common Facts, Common Sounds, Common Views, Common Campus, and Common Words. As always, find more information about the ITPS and our activities at our new Research Portal, theitps.org and follow us on Twitter @TheITPS!
Common Sounds
A collaboration to develop digital public history internships between the ITPS and the Washington Library Center for Digital History launched in fall 2020. The inaugural class of Iona College undergraduate interns, Felicia Ferrando, Moriah Simmons, and Christian Zimmardi, worked on the Library’s Digital Encyclopedia of George Washington and Enslaved Peoples of Mount Vernon Database, and spoke with the Center for Digital History’s Dr. Jim Ambuske and Jeanette Patrick, and ITPS Public Historian Dr. Michael Crowder about their experiences. Listen to Episode 194 of Conversations at the Washington Library, featuring Felicia, Moriah, and Christian!
“Public History in a Virtual Age,” a ten-part series hosted by ITPS Scholar-in-Residence Dr. Lindsay M. Chervinsky, explores the many ways public history is practiced, from podcasts to museums to archivists, and everything in between. Each episode will feature two experts in their field discussing their projects. The episodes also consider the challenges and benefits of that type of public history and what it contributes to the broader public.
Listen to Episode 6, “In-House Historians and Documentary Paper Editors,” featuring Dr. Sara Georgini (The Papers of John Adams) and Terrance Rucker (Office of the Historian at the U.S. House of Representatives)!
Common Acts
We’re thrilled to host Dr. Ben Wright (UT-Dallas) on February 25, 2021, for a virtual discussion of his eagerly new book, Bonds of Salvation: How Christianity Inspired and Limited American Abolitionism (LSU Press), in conjunction with the Thomas Paine Cottage Museum-Huguenot Historical Association in New Rochelle, NY. Wright will discuss his book in conversation with ITPS Public Historian Dr. Michael Crowder. Follow this link for free registration!
We’re also happy to announce another vitual event in collaboration with the Thomas Paine Cottage Musuem-Hugueonot Historical Association, a conversation with Iona College professor of Political Science Dr. Jeanne Sheehan Zaino on themes in her new book American Democracy in Crisis (Palgrave Macmillan). Save Thursday, March 18, 2021 in your calendars!
ITPS Director Dr. Nora Slonimsky is currently on leave for 2020-2021, serving as Barbara Thom Postdoctoral Fellow at the Huntington Library Art Museum and Botanical Gardens—check out the Huntington’s full schedule virtual events and feel transported to the Gardens in Pasadena!
Common Words
ITPS Scholar-in-Residence Dr. Chervinsky’s busy January also included publishing several pieces of commentary and analysis on her area of expertise, The Cabinet and presidential politics.
“As Trump’s Trial Nears, a History of Unusual Impeachments,” Governing, February 3, 2021
“Four Crises Facing the Cabinet and How History Can Help,” Hippo Reads
“Most Republican Lawmakers Have Failed John Quincy Adams—and the Constitution,” Medium, January 21, 2021
“Historic and Unprecedented Inaugurations,” The Hill, January 20, 2021
“What History Tells Us About President-Elect Biden’s Cabinet,” Governing, January 13, 2021
In October, ITPS Research Associate Dr. John C. Winters wrote about how public art in a New York City subway station serves “as an Iroquoian (Haudenosaunee) reclamation—indeed a monument—to public memory” of the Iroquois as founders of the metropolis. “‘We Built the Bones of This City’: An Iroquoian Reclamation of Space and History,” Gotham Center, October 12, 2020.
In August 2020, a collaborative effort between New York History, Cornell University Press, and the ITPS resulted in the publication of a special issue of NYH, “The Meaning of the American Revolution,” featuring contributions by ITPS Director Dr. Nora Slonimsky on the political significance of anti-Thomas Paine creamware, and an article by ITPS Public Historian Dr. Michael Crowder on Paine, progressivism, and commemoration of the American Revolution. Browse the Table of Contents!
Common Views
The ITPS was very fortunate to host many brilliant scholars at our September 2020 conference, “Foundations of Independence: Protest and Communication in Revolutionary America, 1770-2020.” Our top prize for for creativity, however, goes to Osei Helper, student at Livingston Manor Central School (Livingston Manor, NY). Osei performed an original track inspired by Thomas Paine’s life, “Whole Lotta Paine,” he developed while participating in the Gilder-Lehrman Center Hamilton Education Program.
Common Campus
The ITPS is fortunate to offer a number of internship opportunities to Iona College students. From the digital public history collaboration with the Washington Library Center for Digital History, to internships in history communications and the Text Attribution Project, the ITPS is committed to providing Iona graduates with unique opportunities. We’ve already mentioned the fall 2020 interns’ discussion of their experiences in Common Sounds, Episode 194 of Conversations at the Washington Library, featuring Felicia, Moriah, and Christian. This semester we’re continuing our collaboration with the Washington Library Center for Digital History, as our spring 2021 interns begin their work in the Early American Music Manuscript Database. More details next month!
Common Facts
We’ll send a box of gifts and goods to the first entrant to answer the following trivia question concerning Thomas Paine and the Age of Revolutions. Email your answer to itps@iona.edu!
The image below is a portion of the title page of which work by Thomas Paine?