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This essay collection draws upon papers given at the First International Conference on Thomas Paine Studies, held at Iona College in 2012 to celebrate Iona's acquisition of the Thomas Paine National Historical Association Archive. A thoroughly interdisciplinary set of essays, they address two major topics: what new directions should Thomas Paine Studies take, given his deep influence on the Atlantic and global revolutions in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, as well as his contemporary place as a political icon to diverse political groups? The dialogue initiated by the conference seemed to propose an answer, which is likewise a major topic of the collection: the engine of any new direction in Thomas Paine Studies will hinge on deconstructing the national barriers that have surrounded Paine Studies for decades. Paine Studies historically have been bound by national histories, language, and cultural interpretation, seeking to understand a part of Paine and Paine's ideals, but not how they fit into the longitudinal perspective of the first self-proclaimed global citizen. The dismantling of these national and academic silos is the essential and imperative new direction for Paine Studies this collection engages.
