#VastEarlyAmerica Archives

By Editor February 15, 2024

Revolutionary Narratives, Part 3

Reconsidering Commemorations at the U.S. 250th This past summer, over twenty OI Associates from the U.S. and Canada rose out of their beach chairs once a week to tune into an OI Coffeehouse on the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. Organized by Maria DiBenigno, Hilary Miller, and Amy Speckart, three members of the Revolutionary… Read More

#VastEarlyAmerica 7 min read

By Editor February 14, 2024

Revolutionary Narratives, Part 2

Reconsidering Commemorations at the U.S. 250th This past summer, over twenty OI Associates from the U.S. and Canada rose out of their beach chairs once a week to tune into an OI Coffeehouse on the 250th anniversary of the founding of the United States. Organized by Maria DiBenigno, Hilary Miller, and Amy Speckart, three members of the Revolutionary… Read More

#VastEarlyAmerica 12 min read

By Editor February 13, 2024

Revolutionary Narratives, Part I

Reconsidering Commemorations at the U.S. 250th This past summer, over twenty OI Associates from the U.S. and Canada rose out of their beach chairs once a week to join an OI Coffeehouse titled “Revolutionary Narratives: Reconsidering Commemorations at the U.S. 250th.” Organized by Maria DiBenigno, Hilary Miller, and Amy Speckart, three members of the Revolutionary Narratives working group,… Read More

#VastEarlyAmerica 9 min read

By Joseph M. Adelman April 11, 2022

Public Commissions for the 250th: What You Need to Know

In 2026 the United States will mark the 250th anniversary of American independence—the Semiquincentennial. It would be the understatement of two-and-a-half centuries to suggest that it will likely be a busy year for the history profession across the nation and even internationally. Of course, history professionals are not the only people interested in how to commemorate the anniversary or… Read More

#VastEarlyAmericaAcrossAmerica1776 14 min read

By oieahc March 29, 2022

An interview with Fabrício Prado about the Rio de la Plata workshop

Read about the history of the Rio de la Plata workshop and REGISTER for this year's session now. Read More

#VastEarlyAmerica 14 min read

By Karin Wulf October 14, 2021

Our History’s Next Generation

A blog post by Karin Wulf Note: This is the last blog post by Karin Wulf in her role as executive director of the Omohundro Institute. Her final day at the head of the team is today. We congratulate her and wish her the best of luck in her new role as the Director and… Read More

#VastEarlyAmerica 8 min read

By Liz Covart April 21, 2020

Advisories Versus Executive Orders

Collection of the Massachusetts Historical Society By Liz Covart In late March and early April, state and municipal governments across the United States issued orders for residents to “stay at home” to combat the covid-19 pandemic. As of April 16, 2020, forty-two states, three counties, nine cities, Puerto Rico, and the District of Columbia… Read More

#VastEarlyAmerica 9 min read

By oieahc March 19, 2020

Researching and Teaching VastEarlyAmerica

The following is a loosely (and necessarily imperfectly) organized set of online resources for researching and teaching about VastEarlyAmerica. We invite you to add suggestions to the list by leaving your comments via the form below or by contacting martha.howard@wm.edu directly. Resources Slavery Studies Freedom on the Move A database of… Read More

#VastEarlyAmericadigital projectsGeorgian Papers Programmeteaching 8 min read

By Karin Wulf March 17, 2020

The New York Times 1619 Project and the Omohundro Institute

By Karin Wulf The 1619 Project continues to attract a lot of readers and responses. On March 6 the editor of the New York Times Magazine, Jake Silverstein, and the principal author of the New York Times 1619 Project, Nikole Hannah-Jones, convened scholars at the Times Center for a conversation centered on one of the issues that has been most provocative: slavery and American Revolution. I… Read More

#VastEarlyAmerica 11 min read

By Karin Wulf May 02, 2019

Must Early America Be Vast?

by Karin Wulf Spoiler: I think yes. But it’s complicated. You may have seen this meme about historians, with “it’s complicated” mocked as the weak battle cry of our profession. I would argue that there is ample demonstration, from contemporary politics to technology, that an appreciation of complexity is newly resurgent. And so it is with vigor, rather than… Read More

#VastEarlyAmerica 15 min read

By Julie A. Fisher March 21, 2019

Accessing the Past: Why Paleography Skills Still Matter

Learn more about paleography at our first Transcribathon on Saturday, March 23, 2019, in the Ford Classroom, ground floor of Swem Library, on the campus of William & Mary. We will begin at 11:00 a.m. and continue until 4:00 p.m. Participants are welcome to drop in for an hour or to stay all afternoon. Lunch and snacks will be available. Julie Fisher will lead… Read More

#VastEarlyAmerica 8 min read

By Karin Wulf February 06, 2019

Vast Early America: Three Simple Words for a Complex Reality

This article was originally published in the Winter 2019 issue of Humanities magazine, a publication of the National Endowment for the Humanities. Some of the images used in the article are under copyright and appear only on the NEH’s site. by Karin Wulf American history courses usually begin with the peopling of the Americas, then move on to European colonization and the… Read More

#VastEarlyAmerica 37 min read

Revolutionary Narratives, Part 3

Revolutionary Narratives, Part 2

Revolutionary Narratives, Part I

Public Commissions for the 250th: What You Need to Know

An interview with Fabrício Prado about the Rio de la Plata workshop

Our History’s Next Generation

Advisories Versus Executive Orders

Researching and Teaching VastEarlyAmerica

The New York Times 1619 Project and the Omohundro Institute

Must Early America Be Vast?

Accessing the Past: Why Paleography Skills Still Matter

Vast Early America: Three Simple Words for a Complex Reality

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J.E. Morgan

Noel Edward Smyth

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Revolutionary Narratives, Part 3

Revolutionary Narratives, Part 2

Revolutionary Narratives, Part I

Public Commissions for the 250th: What You Need to Know

An interview with Fabrício Prado about the Rio de la Plata workshop

Our History’s Next Generation

Advisories Versus Executive Orders

Researching and Teaching VastEarlyAmerica

The New York Times 1619 Project and the Omohundro Institute

Must Early America Be Vast?

Accessing the Past: Why Paleography Skills Still Matter

Vast Early America: Three Simple Words for a Complex Reality

Recent Posts

A Folder of One’s Own: Hannah Lawrence Schieffelin’s Life in Poetry

J.E. Morgan

Noel Edward Smyth

Subscribe to the Blog

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