“We have the wolf by the ears, and we can neither hold him, nor safely let him go. 
Justice is in one scale, and self preservation in the other.” 
Thomas Jefferson

          The institution of slavery has played a defining role in American history.  Beginning in the early 17th century, when black slaves began to complement the ranks of white indentured servants, slavery became critical to the nation’s economy, increasingly dominated its politics, and eventually led to an atrociously bloody civil war.  Following the war, the legacy of slavery has continued to reverberate through American history, from postwar Reconstruction conflicts through the civil rights movements of the 20th century and on to the recent DNA testing that has fueled the ongoing reevaluation of aspects of the life of Thomas Jefferson.

          Over the course of four days the 2000 Jefferson Symposium will provide a unique opportunity for you to join a superb faculty in examining a topic that is more commonly avoided than carefully thought about.  This year’s symposium will take an in-depth look at the complex issue of slavery and how it resonated through the life of Thomas Jefferson, his families, and the life of a new republic.

During the symposium we will:

• Take an open, honest, and balanced look, within the social and cultural contexts of his time, at Thomas Jefferson’s complex and contradictory ideas and actions associated with slavery, race, and black-white relations

• Trace the introduction and evolution of slavery in North America

• Discuss slavery as a human experience and a commercial enterprise

• Survey British perspectives on both the slave trade and Jefferson’s involvement with slavery

• Focus on slavery and slave life at Monticello, touring both the house and the slave domestic sites and agricultural fields comprising the core of the home farm

• Explore the political and social legacy of Thomas Jefferson’s thoughts and actions on slavery

• Consider the challenges in teaching about Thomas Jefferson in today’s classroom 

• And more . . . 

 ENTER THIS COMPLEX WORLD

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

        This program is designed for those interested in taking an in-depth look at Thomas Jefferson's response to the institution of slavery, how it resonated through his life and the lives of his families and slaves, and the impact it had on his young nation.  You will enjoy this program if you are interested in exploring important issues in 18th and early 19th century American history in an informal, collegial environment. 

          Past participants have represented a wide range of experiences, ages, and educational backgrounds.  Join us and discover that, as one past participant wrote, "the symposium 
creates a forum for thinking and discussing that we just don't encounter as we play our everyday roles; it helps us explore ourselves and what we believe."

PROGRAM FEATURES:

          Not only will you explore an important topic with an outstanding faculty in classroom based sessions, you will also:

• make a visit to Thomas Jefferson's mountaintop plantation, Monticello, and tour areas not usually seen by visitors, including the slave domestic sites and agricultural fields that comprised the core of Monticello plantation 

• take a special after-hours tour through Monticello that will allow you to visit parts of Jefferson's home not normally open to visitors

•  attend a reception and dinner in the Jefferson-designed Rotunda, a half-scale model of the Pantheon in Rome and the signature landmark of the University.  The site of our dinner, the Dome Room, originally housed the University library

• enjoy the Jefferson Symposium tradition of informal evening conversations and discussions as you watch shadows quietly steal across the beautiful Lawn 

         If you enjoy architecture, you’re in for a treat.  Both Monticello and the University of Virginia’s Academical Village are on the UNESCO World Heritage List of fewer than 400 sites worldwide recognized for universal cultural value transcending political and geographic boundaries.  Other sites on the World Heritage List include the Taj Mahal and the Great Pyramids

       The symposium begins with check in from 11:00 am – 12:30 pm on Thursday, June 22, and concludes at 1:30 pm, after lunch, on Sunday, June 25. 

        Dress for the program is casual.  You will want to bring sturdy walking shoes, an umbrella or rain coat for our tours (held rain or shine), and a sweater or jacket for cool evenings and our air-conditioned classroom. 

        Before the program begins, you will be sent useful information about the program, the University, and Charlottesville. 

Check the Charlottesville weather.

THE PROGRAM FACULTY
          Among the faculty of experts leading the Jefferson Symposium's interactive sessions are:

• Jeremy Black: Professor of History, University of Exeter (UK), one of Britain's most respected historians.  Among his books are War For America - The Fight For Independence 1775-1783 and A New History of England

• Annette Gordon-Reed:  Professor of Law, New York Law School and author of Thomas Jefferson and Sally Hemings - An American Controversy

• James Horn: Saunders Director of the International Center for Jefferson Studies, Monticello, Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation and author of Adapting to a New World: English Society in the Seventeenth-Century Chesapeake

• Joseph Miller: T. Cary Johnson, Jr. Professor of History at the Corcoran Department of History, University of Virginia.  He is coeditor of the Macmillan Encyclopedia of World Slavery and is the author of the prizewinning work Way of Death: Merchant Capitalism and the Angolan Slave Trade, 1730-1830

• Philip Morgan: Editor of the William and Mary Quarterly, professor of history at the College of William and Mary, and author of the award winning Slave Counterpoint: Black Culture in the Eighteenth-Century Chesapeake

• Fraser Neiman: Director of Archaeology at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, author of scholarly articles on historical archaeology and The "Manner House" Before Stratford

• Peter Onuf: Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation Professor of History at the Corcoran Department of History, University of Virginia.  He is author of the forthcoming Jefferson's Empire: The Language of American Nationalism and is coeditor of Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson: History, Memory, and Civic Culture and editor of Jeffersonian Legacies

• Joshua Rothman: Assistant Professor of History, University of Alabama.  He is the author of "James Callender and Social Knowledge of Interracial Sex in Antebellum Virginia"  in Sally Hemings and Thomas Jefferson: History, Memory, and Civic Culture

• Lucia Stanton: Getting Word project director, the Shannon Senior Research Historian at Monticello, Thomas Jefferson Memorial Foundation, author of Slavery at Monticello and coeditor of Jefferson's Memorandum Books and Jefferson Abroad among other works

• Program Director: Tom Dowd, Senior Director of Program Development, University of Virginia School of Continuing and Professional Studies. 

THE PROGRAM LOCATION – The University of Virginia, Charlottesville, Virginia

        Founded in 1819, the University of Virginia is the product of the vision and determination of Thomas Jefferson.  Reflecting three of Jefferson’s strongest interests, education, architecture, and gardening, the core of the present University is the Jefferson designed Academical Village.  With its terraced green Lawn flanked by colonnaded walkways connecting Pavilions and student rooms and overseen at it’s north end by the magnificent Rotunda, the Academical Village has been proclaimed the most significant architectural achievement of the nation’s first 200 years.

        Rich in history, architectural treasures, and natural beauty, Charlottesville is nestled in the foothills of the Blue Ridge Mountains, 120 miles southwest of Washington, DC, and 70 miles west of Richmond.  It has extensive air service provided by USAirways, United Express, Delta's COMAIR, and Continental Express.  Ground transportation is provided by Amtrak and Greyhound.

PROGRAM LODGING

        During the program you have the option of staying in the University of Virginia's original student rooms which look out on the historic Lawn at the center of Jefferson's Academical Village.  During the academic year, these rooms, originally designed by Jefferson, are reserved for undergraduate students in their final year who have contributed significantly to the University and to the community. These single-occupancy rooms have telephones and are served by centrally located restroom and bath facilities. The Lawn rooms are not air-conditioned but Charlottesville weather is usually very pleasant in June.  Nearby hotels offering reasonable room rates are also a lodging option.  Please contact us for further information.

 

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