January 9 – 10, 2026
Virtually and in-person in Lewes and Sussex, England
With keynotes from Dr. Danielle Allen, James Bryant Conant University Professor, Harvard University,
and Professor Gregory Claeys, Royal Holloway, University of London
In the winter of 1776, Thomas Paine published Common Sense, one of the defining texts of the North American movement for independence from the British empire. In this incendiary, revolutionary pamphlet, Paine coupled his famous denunciation of monarchy with a critique of empire, a radical programme for self-rule, and a principled call for a Declaration of Independence.
In its bold reimagining of democracy and representation, rights and republicanism, freedom and independence, Common Sense occupies a central position in modern political thinking. While it was a major expression of Enlightenment visions of America’s future as a prosperous democratic republic, it also shared some of its silences, particularly around slavery and territorial expansion. But Paine’s pamphlet speaks to our age too. In his famous declaration that “we have it in our power to begin the world over again,” Paine’s text considers enduring questions about civic engagement in our present-day.
Two hundred and fifty years later, this conference will consider the impact of these ideas, past and present. Hosted by Thomas Paine: Legacy at Bull House, the University of Sussex, and the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies (ITPS) at Iona University, “Common Sense at 250: Legacies of Democracy from Paine to Today” is interested in presentations that consider the topics and arguments Paine raised in Common Sense, their dissemination and impact across the Age of Revolutions, and the complex ways they resonate today.
The organizers encourage applicants to take as broad an approach as possible to these themes, including perspectives from Paine’s contemporaries in the print trade and revolutionary cause, as well as those from different backgrounds, including women, enslaved and free people of color, Indigenous Americans, and other disenfranchised communities around the Atlantic world.
The conference will be held in-person and virtually at the University of Sussex campus and at Bull House (Paine’s home and place of business) in Lewes from January 9th to January 10th, 2026, the actual date of the 250th anniversary Common Sense.
“Common Sense at 250” is made possible thanks to the generous support of the Lapidus Initiative for Early American Inquiry at the ITPS and the Centres for American Studies, Social & Political Thought and Intellectual History at the University of Sussex. Possible presentations can include traditional papers and roundtables along with posters, digital humanities projects, performances, and other artistic exhibits. We are especially eager for a wide range of disciplinary perspectives and welcome proposals from history, public history, museum studies, literature, political science, archaeology, visual and performing arts, library and information science, archival studies, digital humanities and data science, amongst others.
Please submit a 300-word abstract and 250-word bio as one document by June 1st, 2025, to ITPS@iona.edu.
Modest travel support may be available to facilitate travel to the conference, and we ask that applicants include any need for support in their proposals.
Please direct any questions to the conference organizers, Ms. Leanne O’Boyle, Dr. Iain McDaniel, and Dr. Nora Slonimsky at leanne.oboyle@thomaspainelegacy.org, I.R.Mcdaniel@sussex.ac.uk, and nslonimsky@iona.edu.
