The American Revolution was an international event. Its causes, origins, consequences, and trajectory all had roots in places beyond the thirteen colonies, from neighboring Indigenous nations to Asian cities thousands of miles away. Over the last few decades, there has been increasing scholarly attention to the United States in the world and an enlarged geography for early America. Yet, beyond works specifically on international diplomacy and war, the American Revolution has been largely resistant to such treatment, remaining sturdily provincial especially in popular understandings.This conference will consider the challenges and advantages of making the American Revolution international in ways that move beyond simply European high politics and diplomacy. The Revolution was at the center of a number of global processes, from colonialism to Enlightenment. The interplay of these dynamics and the specific American trajectory furnishes an excellent avenue of approach to re-invigorate and widen perspectives on older stories about colonial resistance, unity, and war.
This EMSI Annual Conference, marking the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, will take place at the Huntington Library on November 6-7, 2026; publication of a special issue may follow. Travel and accommodation for participants will be covered by EMSI. The conference will include a range of panels devoted to various aspects of the American Revolution International.
Themes include but are not limited to:
- The relations between the international and the national (international systems and processes and their effects on local contexts, and vice-versa);
- Slavery, diaspora, and rebellion;
- Anti-colonial movements, imperialism, and Indigenous resistances;
- Atlantic and global networks (including commercial, communication, and ecological);
- Gender, family, and household authority;
- Sovereignty and independence; and
- The challenges of war and peace
The conference will include both shorter presentations and pre-circulated longer pieces (~5000 words). We solicit expressions of interest by January 10, 2026. Please email a short proposal (no more than 500 words) and brief CV to amrevinternational@gmail.com.
Organizing committee:
Nathan Perl-Rosenthal (USC)
Christopher L. Brown (Columbia)
Brian DeLay (UC Berkeley)
Elizabeth Ellis (Princeton)
Sarah Pearsall (Johns Hopkins)
