Monticello

Land ownership was important to Thomas Jefferson’s ideal of “equal citizenship,” and he looked westward for new frontiers. John Ragosta, a historian at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello and lead faculty of the Virtual Summer Jefferson Symposium 2020 presented by the University of Virginia‘s Lifetime Learning, looks at how […]

January 16 is Religious Freedom Day and John Ragosta discusses how Thomas Jefferson offered guidance for today’s difficult questions about religion and the law. Mr. Ragosta is the lead faculty for Lifetime Learning‘s Summer Jefferson Symposium and a historian at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello. The following article by […]

Revolutions strain diplomatic relations, and Andrew O’Shaughnessy describes how the American Revolution was no exception. Mr. O’Shaughnessy is a professor in the Corcoran Department of History in the College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences at the University of Virginia and serves as Vice President of the Thomas Jefferson Foundation and Saunders Director of […]

On July 4th we celebrate the birth of a nation based on a principle of equality for its citizens. As John Ragosta details in his piece, the struggle to fulfill this vision is ongoing. Mr. Ragosta is the faculty director of Lifetime Learning‘s Summer Jefferson Symposium at the University of Virginia, historian at Monticello’s Robert […]

Thomas Jefferson was a bit surprised by the youthfulness of George Long, the University of Virginia‘s first faculty member to arrive on Grounds, according to Andrew O’Shaughnessy. Mr. O’Shaughnessy is a professor in the Corcoran Department of History in UVA’s College and Graduate School of Arts and Sciences and serves as Vice President of the […]

Lifetime Learning‘s UVA at Oxford Seminar will take place at Trinity College, University of Oxford from September 14-20, 2019. Andrew O’Shaughnessy and Jeanie Grant Moore will lead an in-depth exploration of “The Old World and the New: Britain and America.” Mr. O’Shaughnessy is a Professor of History in the Corcoran Department of History at the […]

Summer Jefferson Symposium, hosted by Lifetime Learning in UVA‘s Office of Engagement from June 21-24, was an opportunity for alumni, parents and friends to share in deep conversation about a brilliant and complicated man. John Ragosta, Summer Jefferson Symposium Faculty Leader, historian at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello and […]

Written by John Ragosta, Summer Jefferson Symposium Faculty Leader and historian at the Robert H. Smith International Center for Jefferson Studies at Monticello   Everyone has a first love: wildly impassioned, sometimes reckless, undoubtedly wrapped in dreams of a long life together. But what of last loves? More mature; a deep, abiding warmth for heat; […]

Written by John Ragosta, Faculty Leader, Summer Jefferson Symposium; Fellow, Virginia Foundation for the Humanities   We remember Thomas Jefferson primarily for his great accomplishments as a statesman, philosopher, and political leader, including the Declaration of Independence, his presidency, and his leadership of a political movement. But Jefferson lived until he was 83 years old, […]

Written by Summer Jefferson Symposium Lead Faculty John Ragosta Mount Vernon, the home of a Virginia president who was not a Jeffersonian, just announced a major initiative to include an exhibit concerning slavery in its museum. The exhibit, scheduled to open in October, will be entitled Lives Bound Together, and will look at the relationship […]