International symposium, organized with the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies in Charlottesville, Virginia.

This symposium explores the origins of modern conceptions of world citizenship and the nation in Jeffersonian America. In today’s discussion, cosmopolitanism is often understood as a “transnational” antidote to problematic aspects of nationhood – indeed, cosmopolitanism is often treated as a direct antonym of nationalism. From the perspective of the eighteenth century, however, such an understanding would hardly be self-evident: for Thomas Jefferson and many contemporaries, it was possible to conceive of themselves as broad- minded cosmopolites and as ardent advocates of national interests, without having to emphasize a potential of conflict.

The symposium will take an interdisciplinary approach to the controversial topic of the cosmopolitan roots of modern nationhood, examining it in its historical, political, literary, cultural and philosophical dimensions. After a keynote by Gordon S. Wood (Brown), “The Invention of the United States, 1776-1815,” the discussion will continue with lectures by Thomas Clark (Münster), Francis D. Cogliano (Edinburgh), Catrin Gersdorf (Berlin), Markus Heide (Berlin), Peter S. Onuf (University of Vir- ginia), Dietmar Schloss (Heidelberg), Hannah Spahn (Berlin), Maurizio Valsania (Turin), Gaye Wilson (International Center for Jefferson Stu- dies) and Philipp Ziesche (Yale).

You can download the conference poster & program here.

The Program

For further information please contact Hannah Spahn (hspahn@zedat.fu-berlin.de).