Thursday, June 7

5:30-7:30pm Evening Reception and Keynote featuring Andrew O'Shaughnessy, Saunders Director, Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello

'The Illimitable Freedom of the Human Mind:' Thomas Jefferson’s Idea of a University

Thomas Jefferson was intimately involved with every aspect of creating the University of Virginia.  It represented what he regarded as one of his three greatest achievements. The execution of this project revealed his greatest talents as a lawyer who drafted the legislation; as a surveyor who personally mapped the grounds; as a politician who cajoled the assembly into supporting him against furious opposition; as an architect who designed the layout, chose the building materials, and corresponded with the craftsman; and as an intellectual who developed an innovative curriculum, suggested the books for the library and the criteria for selecting the faculty. The lecture will argue that his vision contained many features which were unique within the United States and more progressive than what would be known as the Ivy League Schools. 

National Constitution Center
525 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA

Friday, June 8

American Philosophical Society
Benjamin Franklin Hall
427 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA

8:30-9:00am: Conference registration, light breakfast and coffee at APS

9:00-9:30am Welcome
Patrick Spero, Director of the Library
American Philosophical Society

9:30-10:30am Panel 1: Knowledge Networks

"Mr. Jefferson, Hispanophile: Thomas Jefferson and Spanish Imperial Geography"
Matthew Franco, College of William and Mary

"Lost in Translation: David Bailie Warden and the Limits to Franco-Jeffersonian Cultural Exchange"
Joseph Eaton, National Chengchi University

"Enlightened Networks: Thomas Jefferson's System for Working from Home"
Diane Ehrenpreis and Endrina Tay, Monticello

Comment: Barbara Oberg, Princeton University

10:30-11:00am: Coffee Break

11:00-12:00pm Panel 2: Institutions of Knowledge

"A Useful Cabinet: Collecting and Circulating Objects at the American Philosophical Society"
Reed Gochberg, Harvard University

"The American Philosophical Society, 1743-1746: From Founding to Failure"
Paul Sivitz, Idaho State University

"Every Child a Philosopher: The Science of Education and the Teaching of Arithmetic in the Early Republic"
Timothy Minella, Villanova University

Comment: Babak Ashrafi, Consortium for History of Science, Technology, and Medicine

12:00-1:00pm: Lunch Break

1:00-2:00pm Panel 3: Science and Religion in Jefferson’s America

Sponsored by the  Herbert D. Katz Center for Advanced Judaic Studies at the University of Pennsylvania

“Enlightened Judaism: Transatlantic Intellectualism & Polite Sociability in Eighteenth-Century Pennsylvania"
Jonathon Awtrey, Louisiana State University

"Vis Medicatrix: Medical Vitalism and Religious Infidelity in the Age of Jefferson”
Kirsten Fischer, University of Minnesota

"On the Margins: Christian Rabbinic Scholarship in 18th-Century America”
Arthur Kiron, University of Pennsylvania

Comment by: Kyle Roberts, Loyola University Chicago

2:00-2:15pm: Coffee Break

2:15-3:15pm Panel 4: Useful Knowledge

"Thomas Jefferson, Military Technology, and the State"
Andrew Fagal, Princeton University

"Design by 'considerable degree': Jefferson's Architecture as Applied Science"
Danielle Willkens, Auburn University

"Thomas Jefferson, Inoculation, and the Norfolk Riots"
Andrew Wehrman, Central Michigan University

Comment: J. Jefferson Looney, Daniel P. Jordan Editor of The Papers of Thomas Jefferson at Monticello

3:15-3:30pm: Coffee Break

3:30-4:30pm Panel 5: Negotiating Knowledge

"André Michaux, Thomas Jefferson, and the 'Injunction of Science'"
Elizabeth Hyde, Kean University

"Containing the Flow of Animal Magnetism: Franklin, Jefferson, and the Mesmer Report"
Philipp Ziesche, Yale University

"Thomas Jefferson's Audiences: Charles Thomson and the Transformation of Notes on the State of Virginia"
Cara Rogers, Rice University

Comment: Richard Shiffrin, Indiana University

4:30-5:00pm: Wrap-Up

5:00-6:00pm: Closing Reception

Conference papers can be found through the link to the left. You will be required to enter a password provided by conference organizers to access them. Please contact the APS at [email protected] if you are attending the conference but have not yet received the password.

Papers are not to be cited or circulated without the written permission of the author.

Register for "The Spirit of Inquiry in the Age of Jefferson" through the link on the left-hand side of the page. Please indicate your name, address, institutional affiliation, and whether you plan to attend both days of the conference. You will not receive a confirmation email but you should be directed to a confirmation message once you submit the form.

If you would like to register only for the keynote reception and lecture, please register here. 

Old City Hotels:

There are several hotels within walking distance as well as many within a short ride by public transit, taxi, or Uber. Addresses and contact information are below. The hotels listed here represent accommodations in Old City, Philadelphia. There are many additional options in other areas of the city including Center City and Rittenhouse Square. Philadelphia is also served by Airbnb and other accommodation sharing sites.

Renaissance Philadelphia Downtown Hotel (Marriott)
401 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Reservations: 215-925-0000

Hotel Monaco (Kimpton)
433 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
Reservations: 855-295-BELL
Hotel: 215-925-2111

Wyndham Philadelphia Historic District
400 Arch Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-923-8660

Sheraton Philadelphia Society Hill Hotel
1 Dock Street (Between 2nd and Walnut Streets)
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-238-6000

Best Western The Independence Park Hotel
235 Chestnut Street
Philadelphia, PA 19106
215-922-4443

Holiday Inn Express Philadelphia-E.Penns Landing
100 North Christopher Columbus Boulevard
Philadelphia, PA 19106
1-800-405-4329

APS Addresses: The bulk of the conference will take place in the APS’s Franklin Hall, located at 427 Chestnut Street. The Library is located at 105 South Fifth Street, and the APS Museum is housed across the street from the Library, in Philosophical Hall at 104 South Fifth Street. 

The National Constitution Center will host the keynote presentation on Thursday, June 7. They are located at 525 Arch Street, a few blocks from the APS.

Planes: The Philadelphia International Airport is 12 miles from the American Philosophical Society and is served by most major domestic and many international airlines. Philadelphia is a regional hub for American Airlines.

Ground Transportation from Airport: The airport is connected to Philadelphia through a network of public transit, rental cars, taxis, and private car services. In addition, Uber services can be booked for transport to and from the airport. More information on specific modes of transport can be found on the airport’s website.

Trains: Philadelphia has an Amtrak station and is on the busy Northeast Corridor between Boston and Washington, D.C. Both Northeast Regional and Acela trains stop at 30th Street Station in Philadelphia. In addition, the Keystone, an east-west Amtrak route, stops several times a day in Philadelphia.

Automobiles: The American Philosophical Society is easily reached by I-95, 676, and the 76/Schuylkill Expressway.

Parking: There are several parking garages within a convenient distance from the APS. The Bourse Garage is the closest facility, at 4th and Ranstead Streets. Additionally, there are garages at the Independence Visitor Center and the National Constitution Center.

Buses: Many bus companies in the Northeast serve the Philadelphia area including Bolt Bus, Mega Bus, and Greyhound. Bolt Bus and Mega Bus arrive at 30th Street Station, which is a short ride away from the APS. The Greyhound station is between 12th and 13th Streets, just behind the Jefferson Station SEPTA stop.

Public Transportation in Philadelphia: The Southeastern Pennsylvania Transportation Authority (SEPTA) is the major public transportation provider in the Philadelphia region. SEPTA runs Regional Rail lines through the city to the outlying suburbs and the airport. The Market-Frankford Line stops every couple of streets in Center City and runs out to West Philadelphia, by the University of Pennsylvania. SEPTA also runs trolley lines and buses throughout the city. Schedules, maps, fares, and additional information about the public transit system in Philadelphia can be found on their website.

"The Spirit of Inquiry in the Age of Jefferson" is co-sponsored by the following organizations.