Page of Reason, Vol. VIII, February 2022
Dispatches from your most humble servant, the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies, Iona College.
Welcome to Volume VIII of Page of Reason, a newsletter of the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies (ITPS), Iona College, New Rochelle, NY.
Each edition of Page of Reason features six sections, highlighting our activities and 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. Find more information about the ITPS and our activities at our Research Portal, theitps.org and follow us on Twitter @TheITPS!
Common Acts
Big news for folks interested in American Revolution commemoration and public history! Rep. Jamie Raskin (MD), already a known Thomas Paine fan, introduced legislation to build a Thomas Paine memorial in Washington, D.C. The Thomas Paine Memorial Association has been instrumental in forwarding the effort to memorialize Paine in D.C.
Common Sounds
Our friends and colleagues at the Washington Library Center for Digital History’s new podcast series, Intertwined, has been a smashing success. Check out the latest episode, featuring Intertwined’s soundtrack. Sounds excellent!
And exciting news about the ITPS podcast, Public History in a Digital Age, is coming soon— watch this space and ITPS social media for more updates!
Common Views
The ITPS was absolutely thrilled to host Dean Tomiko Brown-Nagin, Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study and the Daniel P.S. Paul Professor of Constitutional Law at Harvard Law School, and Professor of History at Harvard University. Moderated by journalist, author, and novelist Christopher J. Farley, this event highlighted Dean Brown-Nagin’s new book, Civil Rights Queen: Constance Baker Motley and the Struggle for Equality, published by Pantheon Books in January 2022. Please enjoy the video of the conversation, and check out Dean Brown-Nagin’s interview this week on NPR’s Fresh Air!
Common Words
ITPS Scholar-in-Residence Dr. Lindsay Chervinsky has published several recent pieces that provide historical context for contemporary politics, including this piece on how “unwritten rules” dating to Washington’s presidency continue to inform presidential decision-making, and the perils of not preserving executive records. Enjoy!
Common Campus
The ITPS and Iona College are proud to be a part of the McNeil Center for Early American History and Culture Consortium, and we’re very excited to once again have an Iona College Gael participant in the MCEAS Undergraduate Research Workshop. Chyanne Blakey, who also serves as the ITPS’s History Communications intern, is presenting her research this spring at MCEAS alongside undergraduate students from across the country. Congratulations, Chyanne!
Common Facts
Thanks to a recent, generous donation, our Lapidus Collection of Revolutionary Era historiography is growing rapidly! We’ve begun a series of “Classic Covers” on ITPS social media, and this edition of Common Facts is inspired by this campaign. Name the authors of this book cover snippet:
Email your answer to itps@iona.edu, and the winner will receive gifts and goodies courtesy of the ITPS!