The ITPS (Institute for Thomas Paine Studies)

Hello BlueSky! The #ITPS has been a quiet on social media for a while as we focused our efforts on our newsletter, Page of Reason, and other projects. We’re excited to reconnect here, so please look out for some updates over the next few weeks, and we’d be grateful if you’d share the word too!

It was wonderful to talk Tom Paine and climate change last night—thank you @theitps.bsky.social and @noraslonimsky.bsky.social !

The brilliant @joycechaplin.bsky.social delivering the second annual Lapidus Lecture in Paine Studies!

Terrific "Taking Stock and Setting Agendas" meeting this past weekend @theitps.bsky.social centered on early American studies and digital history. Thanks to @noraslonimsky.bsky.social, @ben-wright.bsky.social, & Mark Boonshoft for the chance to present "Hard of Hearing: Podcasting Early America."

Thank you to our friends at RW250 for including the ITPS in the planning at the beautiful Wainright House for exciting upcoming #Rev250 events next autumn! Keep a look out for “Revolution on the Sound” in October 2026.

Happy Labor Day! Today, we're honoring the library workers across the country whose dedication and expertise keep our libraries and our communities strong. Libraries work because library workers do! ALA offices are closed in observance.

Labor Day | noun | a day set aside for special recognition of working people

On this day in 1920, the 19th Amendment was certified, giving women the Constitutional right to vote. After Congress sent the Amendment to the states 15 months earlier, the National Woman’s Party would sew a new star on this flag whenever a new state ratified it. 🧵

Tuesday, Aug. 26, 2025, marks 104 years since the 19th Amendment was certified, recognizing women’s constitutional right to vote.

Interested in learning more about our current exhibition, Elemental: Crafting Books from Nature? Check out this article: www.brown.edu/news/2025-06... Elemental is on view until Dec. 15, M-Th, 10 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. and 2 p.m. to 4:45 p.m., and F 10 a.m. to 12:45 p.m. Photo credit: Rythum Vinoben.

At last week’s @shearites.bsky.social conference, the new #ITPS series made an appearance at the @uvapress.bsky.social table!

So the London reprints of Common Sense from 1776 CENSORED extra mean and snarky comments about the king but the Edinburgh reprints did NOT —- i repeat: the SCOTTISH reprints KEPT all the very mean and snarky comments about the king, the ROYAL BRUTE OF BRITAIN. 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿🥇

Congratulations Meg! Check out Meg’s article in the Journal of the Early Republic. muse.jhu.edu/pub/12/artic...

So excited to have most of my responsibilities discharged and be able to relish sessions this morning at #SHEAR2025!

This event is going to be so cool! And the idea, cooked up with @noraslonimsky.bsky.social, is to do this format again in 2026. We're excited about it! And super grateful to this awesome line-up of scholars.

Great batch of new manuscript collection finding aids at the Clements Library! Wonderful opportunities for research. clements.umich.edu/mss-finding-...

Still unsurpassed as the best close reading of a non-literary text in my field. Robert A. Ferguson, “The Commonalities of COMMON SENSE.” William and Mary Quarterly (2000)

Submissions are open for the 2026 Eccles Institute & Hay Festival Global Writer’s Award! The prize grants £20,000 annually to two writers for a yet-to-be-published book relating to the Americas, as well as a unique research residency at the Library. Find out more & apply: bit.ly/BL-WritersAw...

Happy Juneteenth! nmaahc.si.edu/explore/stor...

OAH has partnered with @volckeralliance.bsky.social to capture oral histories! Read about the project here: ow.ly/ww9h50Wbmsb

NYC tonight @nataliapetrzela.bsky.social www.villagepreservation.org/event/dear-m...

Big news from the #ITPS! We are thrilled to share a new series with @uvapress.bsky.social! Here are more details about "From Pamphlets to Podcasts" and if you're working on relevant themes (this is an intentionally 'big tent' series), consider sending them our way upress.virginia.edu/news/new-boo...

PUBLICATION DAY! _I Have Avenged America: Jean-Jacques Dessalines and Haiti's Fight for Freedom_ is now available from @yalepress.bsky.social To celebrate, I am going to post some of the most extraordinary Dessalines quotations below! yalebooks.yale.edu/book/9780300...

Happening this afternoon! The second workshop in an ongoing series with our friends at the Mellon Foundation and National Park Service about “American Revolutions in the Digital Age,” the ITPS open access voluem with @cornellupress.bsky.social: livinglandscapeobserver.net/american-rev...

A few more weeks to send in your proposals for "Common Sense at 250"! Talks can (and hopefully will) take a broad approach to the topic, and some support for travel to the UK or virtual participation may be possible, so please send your ideas our way: theitps.org/event/common...

📣 The OAH is proud to partner with @brennancenter.org for an exciting event exploring the history and future of birthright citizenship. 🗓️ June 12 🕧 12:30pm ET 📍 Online – Free to attend! 🔗 Register: ow.ly/9Qas50W0t7R

***Attention graduate students*** Apply to the George E. Pozzetta Dissertation Award! IEHS invites submissions for two awards of $3,500 each (up from $1,000) to help graduate students with their dissertations on U.S. immigration, emigration, or ethnic history. iehs.org/awards/georg...

Our friends @shearites.bsky.social are expanding a wonderful initiative around mentorship in honor of the late, great Jan Lewis, which kicks off this afternoon with a conversation about conferences with @carolyneastman.bsky.social @wmackintosh.bsky.social & @drhonor.bsky.social. Details⬇️

Fantastic resource! Alec's book, which was based on some of this research, is also worth your time and attention! James Alexander Dun, Dangerous Neighbors: Making the Haitian Revolution in Early America (UPenn Press, 2016)

Make sure to pickup our exec editor’s book!

Pre-order ENTANGLED ALLIANCES here: www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/book/9781501...

I just interviewed a brilliant historian who also happens to be a good friend and mentor. It was fun! I think you are all going to enjoy @kawulf.bsky.social's new book Lineage, which you can pre-order now. #Skystorians #History #Genealogy

Kicking off the start of our three-day pAIne workshop with Portland State’s publishing studies program with some comparisons between communication, past and present with Iona libraries!

Iona University’s historians are ready for commencement! Congratulations to the class of 2025, and thank you for believing in the value of education 🎓🎉

Two more weeks to apply!

While it's not reflected on our site yet (will be soon) the CFP for "Taking Stock and Setting Agendas" with the @easmisc.bsky.social & @mcneilcenter.bsky.social is extended until June 1st! So some extra time to send in your proposals, and check out the details here: theitps.org/event/taking...

The book is about the power of genealogy, emotional texture and statecraft alike. In the weeks before publication in early July I'm highlighting individual items that make up the beautiful cover, starting with this 1776 Franktur birth certificate from the collections at the Newberry Library. 1/

Check out our most recent updates (and sign up for more!) with the #ITPS newsletter, Page of Reason, here! itps.substack.com/p/page-of-re...

In celebration of April's #CUPSpringSale, we're excited to share some pictures from our Week 3 as we invited our Bluesky followers to show off their stacks of Cornell University Press (and imprints) books. www.cornellpress.cornell.edu/cup-spring-o...

@acls1919.bsky.social, the AHA, & @modernlanguage.bsky.social filed a lawsuit in federal district court today, seeking to reverse the recent actions of the NEH to devastate the agency, including the elimination of grant programs, staff, and entire divisions and programs. 🗃️

#EAS is excited to announce "Taking Stock and Setting Agendas," a joint workshop with @theitps.bsky.social and @mcneilcenter.bsky.social this September. For more information, see: theitps.org/scholarship-...

Happy #PreservationWeek! This year’s theme is "Preserve the Past, Shape the Future: Inspiring the Next Generation." Check out the free webinars happening this week, including a discussion with @mychal3ts.bsky.social, 2025 honorary chair. 🔗 preservationweek.org/free-webinars/

‪#EAS is excited to announce "Taking Stock and Setting Agendas," a joint workshop with @theitps.bsky.social and @mcneilcenter.bsky.social this September. For more information, see: theitps.org/common-sense...

Call for Papers: 'Common Sense at 250: Legacies of Democracy from Paine to today' Conference at Sussex University and Lewes, January 9-10 2026: theitps.org/common-sense... Co-organised with the @theitps.bsky.social and Thomas Paine: Legacy Keynotes @gclaeyshistory.bsky.social and Danielle Allen