The David Center Seminar is a forum for works-in-progress that explore topics in the era of the American Revolution (1750-1820), which meets roughly once a month on Wednesdays from 3:00-4:30 p.m. ET during the Fall and Spring semesters. All meetings in 2024-2025 will be held on Zoom. The seminar strives to create a collegial environment that will bring together scholars of the era from throughout the world to support fellow colleagues' work, share knowledge, and advance scholarship.
Inspired by the work of the David Library of the American Revolution at Washington Crossing, Pennsylvania and its new incarnation as the David Center for the American Revolution at the American Philosophical Society (DCAR; https://www.amphilsoc.org/david-center-american-revolution), we welcome proposals from individuals focusing on any aspect of the American Revolution and its era, especially the cause, course, consequence, and experiences of the event (1750-1820). The seminar is open to graduate students, faculty members, independent scholars, public historians, and others engaged in scholarly endeavors that relate to the era of the American Revolution. To maximize time for discussion, papers are circulated electronically in advance.
Questions about upcoming seminars or opportunities to present works-in-progress can be directed to Brenna Holland, Assistant Director of Library & Museum Programs at [email protected]
About the David Center for the American Revolution
The David Center for the American Revolution integrates the rich manuscript, microfilm, and print collections of the David Library with the early American history collections of the APS to create a one-stop-shop for the study of the American Revolution. The David Library collections consist of approximately 8,000 volumes, 9,000 reels of microfilm, and the large Sol Feinstone manuscript collection. The Sol Feinstone Collection, a rich collection of letters and documents, was assembled by DLAR Founder Sol Feinstone (1888-1980) over a period of fifty years. It includes material on almost all notable Americans from before the Revolution to the 1850s, as well as prominent Europeans and documents related to military affairs. This adds to the APS Library's Early American History Collections, which are particularly strong for the period from 1750 to 1840. In addition to the Benjamin Franklin Papers and the Thomas Paine Collection, the APS has a wide assortment of documents from the revolutionary era. Among these are official government documents and correspondence, military records that range from the Continental Army to Pennsylvania county records, and personal correspondence from various historical actors. Comprehensive, searchable guides and finding aids to these collections are available online at www.amphilsoc.org/library and http://amphilsoc.pastperfectonline.com/.
