The second annual Conference on Civic Thought, hosted by the Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society at The Ohio State University, takes its bearings from a remarkable year. In 1776, within months of one another, there appeared Thomas Paine's Common Sense, the first volume of Edward Gibbon's Decline and Fall of the Roman Empire, Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations, and the Declaration of Independence. Together, these works frame enduring questions about rights, self-government, empire, commerce, and the conditions of a free people.
The 2026 conference will feature:
- Keynote addresses by William Inboden, Executive Vice President and Provost of the University of Texas-Austin, and Josiah Ober, the Constantine Mitsotakis Chair in the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University,
- Plenary sessions by Thomas Howe and Kevin Vallier on post-liberalism, Michael Moses on the American West in film and novels as a representation of American civic thought, and Brennan McDavid on Adam Smith,
- Panels on the thinkers and texts above, and
- A poster competition for undergraduate students.
Panel and Paper Proposals
Panel and paper proposals may engage these thinkers and texts directly, or take up the wider tradition of civic thought they helped to shape. Submissions are organized into six lanes:
- Rights and Self-Government (the Declaration),
- Empire, Corruption, and Decline (Gibbon),
- Revolution and Popular Sovereignty (Paine),
- Commerce and Political Economy (Smith),
- 1776 and Its Legacies, and
- Other (open category).
Panels & Papers Application Instructions
We strongly encourage complete panel proposals. A complete panel brings together three or four papers on a shared theme. Coordinated panels make for the most coherent sessions and the strongest program, and proposals that arrive as full panels will receive priority. We also welcome individual paper proposals, which the organizers may assemble into panels.
How to Apply
Please submit all proposals through email to Dr. Jon Spiegler at spiegler.10@osu.edu.
A complete panel proposal should include the panel title, a description of 250 to 500 words, and the name, affiliation, e-mail address, and paper title of each participant. An individual paper proposal should include the paper title and an abstract of 250 to 500 words.
The submission deadline is Friday, July 17, 2026.
Travel Support
Travel funding up to $500 is available to help offset costs for participants who need it. Priority will go to graduate students, early-career scholars, and presenters without access to institutional travel funds. We will support as many participants as funding allows. Once you are accepted to the conference, we will send a registration form in which you will be able to request travel funding. You will be notified of whether you have been awarded a travel stipend, and for how much, once the program is set.
We also have a discounted block of rooms at the Blackwell that we will make available to those whose papers and panels are accepted.
Sharing This Invitation
Please share this CFP with people you think would be interested or benefit from attending. If a colleague or an advanced graduate student would add to the conversation, please forward it.
Key Dates
Submission deadline: Friday, July 17, 2026
Notification: by Friday, July 24, 2026
Conference: September 23-24, 2026, The Blackwell Inn, Columbus, Ohio
Questions
Dr. Jon Spiegler
Assistant Director
Salmon P. Chase Center for Civics, Culture, and Society
The Ohio State University
Undergraduate Poster Competition
The Chase Center invites undergraduate students from both The Ohio State University and other institutions to take part in The American Semiquincentennial Undergraduate Poster Competition, held during the 2026 Conference on Civic Thought at The Ohio State University. The top five posters receive $200 each, and the next five receive $100 each. A limited number of travel stipends are available for presenters traveling from outside central Ohio. Please circulate this opportunity to any interested students.
Poster Competition Application Instructions
Competition Theme
“What are rights, and where do they come from?”
The Declaration of Independence famously asserts that Americans are endowed with rights that are “unalienable,” while also being governed by the “Laws of Nature and of Nature’s God.” At the same time, the document seeks to unite the American people in a common cause, appealing to shared principles and mutual responsibilities (e.g., the importance of the “consent of the governed”). In this context, consider the relationship between natural law, the Declaration of Independence, and the concept of civic friendship. Does the Declaration of Independence reflect principles of natural law, and if so, how? In what ways might natural law provide a foundation for civic friendship in a political community, and especially in America’s political community? How might civic friendship help sustain a republic founded on natural law principles, especially in times of division or conflict?
Projects should examine the philosophical and historical meaning of the Declaration’s claim that human beings are “endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable rights.” Through research grounded in history, philosophy, political thought, and related humanities disciplines, participants will explore the foundations of rights in the American tradition.
Potential Research Topics
- Natural law traditions influencing the Declaration of Independence
- Philosophical origins of natural rights in the American founding
- The relationship between natural rights and constitutional government
- Liberty, equality, and consent in the American political tradition
- The role of shared principles and civic friendship in a republic founded on rights
Awards & Prizes
Top 5 Posters: $200 each
Next 5 Posters: $100 each
* For Ohio State students: Federal regulations prohibit a student from receiving resources in excess of their total cost of attendance. For any questions regarding how accepting funds may impact your financial aid, contact Ohio State’s helpline or call 614-292-0300.
Eligibility
- Must be currently enrolled as an undergraduate at a U.S.-based institution of higher education
- Must be a major or minor in a humanities discipline
How to Apply
Submit the following by July 31, 2026:
- A 250-word abstract describing your research
- A written recommendation from a faculty mentor
- A resume or curriculum vitae (CV)
Email all application materials to Assistant Professor Wes Siscoe at siscoe.3@osu.edu.
Applicants will be notified of decisions by Friday, August 7.
Travel Support
Travel funding up to $500 is available to help offset costs for participants traveling from outside central Ohio. We will support as many participants as funding allows. Once you are accepted to the competition, we will send a registration form in which you will be able to request travel funding. You will be notified of whether you have been awarded a travel stipend, and for how much, once the program is set.
We also have a discounted block of rooms at the Blackwell that we will make available to those who are accepted to the competition.
Sponsor
Conference Information
Please see below for information about this conference.
Agenda (In Progress)
- Keynote addresses by William Inboden, Executive Vice President and Provost of the University of Texas-Austin, and Josiah Ober, the Constantine Mitsotakis Chair in the School of Humanities and Sciences at Stanford University
- Plenary sessions by Thomas Howe and Kevin Vallier on post-liberalism, Michael Moses on the American West in film and novels as a representation of American civic thought, and Brennan McDavid on Adam Smith
About the Panelists and Moderators
Watch for complete details later this summer!
Thanks to Our Sponsors
Watch videos from the 2025 Conference