Established in 2011, the Institute for Thomas Paine Studies (ITPS) was founded at Iona University to facilitate the study of Thomas Paine’s writing, life, and legacy. Since then the ITPS has expanded its scope as a scholarly and public-facing organization focused on archival studies, public history, and the digital humanities. As 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 – especially in the revolutionary and early national periods—and how that history reverberates in our day to day life.
The ITPS supports research and education initiatives, from fellowship programs to ground breaking digital projects, collaborative conferences, workshops, and exhibits, as well as the ongoing curatorial development of the Thomas Paine National Historical Association archive collection, a central component of the ITPS. We are deeply appreciative of support from the Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation and the James Hervey Johnson Charitable Educational Trust, among others.
The ITPS is deeply committed to the importance of undergraduate research and scholarly involvement. We encourage the active involvement of Iona’s students with the ITPS as it continues to expand and engage with the wider historical community. In a rapidly shifting landscape of higher education, the ITPS facilitates the exchange of information across disciplinary, professional, geographic, and chronological boundaries.
Community Partners
- The Robert David Lion Gardiner Foundation
- The McNeil Center For Early American Studies Consortium
- The Thomas Paine Cottage Museum
- The Center For Digital History at the Fred Smith Library at George Washington’s Mount Vernon
- New York State Archives Trust
- International Federation for Public History
- REV250 NY
