Page of Reason, Vol. XII, October 2022
Dispatches from your most humble servant, the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies, Iona University.
Welcome to Volume XII of Page of Reason, a newsletter of the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies (ITPS), Iona University, New Rochelle, NY! Find more information about the ITPS and our activities at our Research Portal, theitps.org and follow us on Twitter @TheITPS.
Common Campus
The ITPS is thrilled to announce a new member of our team, Dr. Kellen Heniford, Digital Coordinator and Archival Liaison!
Dr. Heniford received her Ph.D. in US History in 2021 from Columbia University, where she completed her dissertation entitled “Slavery is Slavery: Early American Mythmaking and the Invention of the Free State.” Now a book project, this work examines the concept of the “free state” as a political construct with a history of its own, arguing that policymakers along the borders of slavery and freedom helped create the category of the free state and then sought to claim it—despite the persistence of chattel slavery within their states—in a bid for the moral capital the concept offered them. She has published on history and politics in a number of outlets, including the Journal of the Early Republic, as well as Insurrect!: Radical Thinking in Early American Studies, where she also serves as a founding editor. Kellen’s research has been supported by a variety of institutions, including the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, the Library Company of Philadelphia, and the Historical Society of Pennsylvania. She comes to Iona from Penn State University, where she has been a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Richards Civil War Era Center for the last year.
Exciting updates on Dr. Heniford’s forthcoming projects at the ITPS coming soon!
Common Acts
On the heels of our successful biannual conference in September 2022, “Crafting Narratives of Empire,” we have several exciting events on the docket for this October!
Mark your calendars for October 19, 2022, 12:00 PM- 200 PM at Iona University, Ryan Library, Room 800! The ITPS is thrilled to host Sid Lapidus, renowned philanthropist and collector, for a conversation with Karin Wulf, the Beatrice and Julio Mario Santo Domingo Director and Librarian at the John Carter Brown Library and Professor of History at Brown University to Iona University. Sid and Karin will discuss the Lapidus Collection here at Iona, a repository of antique books, bibliographies, and scholarly monographs that relate to the history of the eighteenth century. The Lapidus collection includes materials on the history of slavery and anti-slavery, book history, revolution, and Thomas Paine himself. Sid and Karin will share insights into collecting, archives, and the value they bring for education and learning.
For in-person attendance, please register here: itps.ticketleap.com/history-needs-collecting-a-conversation-with-sid-lapidus-and-ka/.
To attend virtually via zoom webinar, please register here: https://iona.zoom.us/webinar/register/WN_rXD40h4PQrygtVCnv4ch3g.
On Sunday, October 16 at 2:00 PM, Revolutionary Westchester 250 and the ITPS host historian Mary Beth Norton (Cornell University) for a virtual discussion of her book, 1774: The Long Year of Revolution. 1774 traces the critical “long year” of 1774 and the revolutionary changes that took place, from the Boston Tea Party and the First Continental Congress to the Battles of Lexington and Concord. ITPS Public Historian Dr. Michael Crowder will moderate the discussion.
Free and open to the public on Zoom. Free registration here.
Local Westchester County and NYC-area folks! ITPS Public Historian Dr. Michael Crowder will speak on Saturday, October 8, 2022, at 1:00 PM at St. Paul’s Church National Historical Site in Mount Vernon, NY, on Thomas Paine and the American Revolution. More information about in-person and virtual attendance available here!
Common Sounds
This summer, host ITPS Pod Season 2 host Dr. John Winters interviewed Dr. Joe Stahlman. Joe is a scholar of Tuscarora descent whose research focuses on culture and history as well as on the ongoing socio-economic and health and wellness issues among Native communities. Winters and Stahlman discussed Joe’s museum philosophy, the upcoming America 250 Commemoration of the American Revolution, offering valuable perspective on indigenous studies and decolonization in museums, on museums as vital spaces of reconciliation, and of peace as an unsung and transformative historical subject.
Listen here and subscribe on your favorite podcast platform!
Common Words
Exciting news on the Digital History and Humanities front! The American Revolutions in the Digital Age, co-edited by Dr. Mark Boonshoft (Virginia Military Institute), ITPS Director Dr. Nora Slonimsky, and Dr. Ben Wright (University of Texas, Dallas) is forthcoming in 2023. Learn more about the volume, the editors’ conceptual frameworks, and contributors here!
Common Facts
Thanks to recent, generous donations, 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 author and title of the book in this snippet image.
Email your answer to itps@iona.edu, and the winner will receive gifts and goodies courtesy of the ITPS!