Penn Professors Emma Hart, Sophia Rosenfeld, and Duncan Watts address the power and impact of Thomas Paine's revolutionary pamphlet, 250 years after its publication.
Hosted by: Kislak Center
In January 1776, the publication of Thomas Paine’s Common Sense was an instant media sensation. The political firestorm it provoked led directly to the push for American independence. Join Penn Professors Emma Hart, Sophia Rosenfeld, and Duncan Watts for a discussion of how we should remember Paine’s pamphlet today and think about the changing meanings of “common sense” in the American political landscape. The Kislak Center will also present a display of early printed editions of Common Sense.
Co-sponsored by Penn Alumni Lifelong Learning.
Emma Hart teaches and researches the history of early North America, the Atlantic World, and early modern Britain between 1500 and 1800. At Penn she is a Professor of History, the Richard S. Dunn Director of the McNeil Center for Early American Studies, and a co-editor of the Penn Press series, “Early American Studies.” More information.
Sophia Rosenfeld is Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History and former chair of the Department of History at the University of Pennsylvania, where she teaches European and American intellectual and cultural history with a special emphasis on the Enlightenment, the trans-Atlantic Age of Revolutions, and the legacy of the eighteenth century for modern democracy. More information.
Duncan Watts is the Stevens University Professor and twenty-third Penn Integrates Knowledge University Professor at the University of Pennsylvania. In addition to his appointment at the Annenberg School, he holds faculty appointments in the Department of Computer and Information Science in the School of Engineering and Applied Science, and the Department of Operations, Information and Decisions in the Wharton School, where he is the inaugural Rowan Fellow. He holds a secondary appointment in the Department of Sociology in the School of Arts & Sciences. He directs the Computational Social Science Lab at Penn. More information.
Featured images: Common Sense, Addressed to the Inhabitants of America... (Philadelphia: Bell, 1776); Engraving of Paine (London: Smeeton, 1812)
The University of Pennsylvania, located in the heart of the city, was at the center of the dramatic events of 1776 and the Revolution that followed. 250 years later, partners across the university are exploring how history can help us better understand the present and create a sustainable and inclusive future.