Revolutionary Reading: Trinity Faculty Books for America’s 250th
The American Revolution was not a sudden moment but the result of decades of political debate, economic change and intellectual exchange that stretched across the Atlantic world. And while the signing of the Declaration of Independence marked a historic turning point, it also ushered in a period of uncertainty, experimentation and profound change.
This collection of books by Trinity College of Arts & Sciences faculty invites readers to explore the Revolutionary era from multiple perspectives. Together, these works illuminate the forces that fueled revolution, the global events unfolding concurrently in Europe, Africa and the Caribbean, as well as the challenges of building a new nation in the years that followed.
For readers seeking a deeper understanding of America's founding as our country approaches its 250th anniversary, these books offer context, scholarship and compelling ways to think about a pivotal moment in history.
Books for America’s 250th
“Novels in the Time of Democratic Writing”
By Nancy Armstrong, Gilbert, Louis, and Edward Lehrman Distinguished Professor of English, and Leonard Tennenhouse, professor emeritus of English
Armstrong and Tennenhouse argue that early American novelists writing in the decades after the ratification of the U.S. Constitution forged a literary tradition distinct from that of their British contemporaries. The two trace how American fiction embraced broader, more interconnected social worlds that challenged conventional ideas about private property, social hierarchy and individual identity. Rather than reinforcing closed and orderly communities, these novels emphasized networks of relationships among diverse characters, reflecting democratic ideals and emerging debates about citizenship, power and social organization in the early United States.
“Racism without Racists: Color-Blind Racism and the Persistence of Racial Inequality in America”
By Eduardo Bonilla-Silva, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Sociology
In this seminal book, Bonilla-Silva explores how systemic racial inequality persists in contemporary America through "color-blind racism," a sophisticated modern ideology where individuals use seemingly non-racial arguments to defend the racial status quo. At the heart of this phenomenon is the frame of abstract liberalism, a rhetorical tool that traces its lineage directly back to the American Revolutionary era. By deconstructing how the nation's founders used Enlightenment principles of individualism and free choice in the abstract while simultaneously codifying slavery, Bonilla-Silva demonstrates that the modern practice of using high-minded language about equal opportunity to mask and justify deep structural oppression is not new, but rather a continuation of America's foundational paradox.
“Beyond Bondage: Free Women of Color in the Americas”
By Barry Gaspar, professor of History
From the 17th through 19th centuries, processes such as emancipation, manumission and shifting legal frameworks surrounding slavery enabled some women of African descent to secure varying degrees of autonomy and economic stability. Across the Americas, these women owned property, led households, practiced their faith with greater independence and built new identities within societies shaped by slavery and colonial rule. “Beyond Bondage” examines how free women of color navigated the intersecting constraints of race and gender to create lives of opportunity despite persistent social and legal vulnerabilities.
“Wales, Romanticism, and the Making of Imperial Culture”
By Timothy Heimlich, assistant professor of English
Heimlich examines how ideas of British identity, nationalism and cultural belonging evolved during the long eighteenth century as the British Empire expanded. Focusing on Wales and its place within the British Isles, the book explores how debates over power, nationhood and empire shaped both domestic identity and colonial ambitions. By tracing the connections between Welsh culture and Britain's transatlantic imperial projects, Heimlich offers valuable context for understanding the forces that influenced the American colonial period and the broader development of the British Empire.
“Pragmatics of Democracy: A Political Theory of African American Literature Before Emancipation”
By Douglas A. Jones, associate professor of Theater Studies
The associate professor of Theater Studies reevaluates pre-Civil War Black writing as a vital repository of foundational democratic theory rather than mere political protest. Jones challenges the abstract Enlightenment rhetoric of the American Revolutionary period that framed liberty as self-evident human truth by examining authors ranging from Revolutionary-era poet Phillis Wheatley to later figures like Frederick Douglass, demonstrating how early African American writers exposed the monstrous inconsistencies of the young republic.
“American Government in Black and White: Diversity and Democracy”
By Paula McClain, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Political Science
The James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Political Science examines the core principles and institutions of the U.S. political system while emphasizing the central role that race and inequality have played in shaping American democracy. By tracing these dynamics from the nation's founding through the present day, the book encourages readers to critically assess the ongoing relationship between diversity, power and democratic governance in the United States.
“The Demands of Justice: Enslaved Women, Capital Crime, and Clemency in Early Virginia”
By Tamika Nunley, William and Sue Gross Professor of History
The William & Sue Gross Professor of History examines the contradiction between colonists’ pursuits of liberty and the continued oppression of enslaved Black women in early Virginia. Drawing on court records, Nunley shows how the legal system treated acts of resistance and survival by enslaved women as crimes against property rather than responses to violence and exploitation. The book reveals how law and punishment helped sustain slavery during the nation’s founding, offering a deeper understanding of the limits of Revolutionary ideals and the realities of race, gender and power in early America.
“Empires of Vision: A Reader”
By Sumathi Ramaswamy, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of History
Edited by Sumathi Ramaswamy, James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of History, and Martin Jay, this anthology brings together leading scholars to examine the powerful relationship between visual culture and the history of European Imperialism. Through essays exploring paintings, maps, photographs and other forms of imagery, the volume investigates how visual representations helped advance colonial projects, shaped understandings of power and identity, and later informed movements of resistance and decolonization. Widely used in courses on visual culture, colonial history and postcolonial studies, the anthology highlights the central role images play in constructing and challenging political narratives.
“The Palgrave Handbook of European Migration in Literature and Culture”
By Corina Stan, Bacca Foundation Associate Professor of English, and Charlotte Sussman, professor of English
This volume examines migration to, across and out of Europe by placing contemporary population movements within broader histories of colonialism, empire and their aftermath. Drawing on a wide range of cultural forms, including literature, film, theater and graphic narratives, the collection explores themes such as language, media representation, exclusionary policies, experimental storytelling and evolving portrayals of migrant identities.
“Empire, Incorporated: The Corporations That Built British Colonialism”
By Philip J. Stern, professor of History
The professor of History explores how corporations, not the British monarchy, can be seen as the driving force behind colonial expansion. Private companies were instrumental in building, managing and profiting from empire, blurring the boundaries between commercial interests and political authority. By examining the outsized influence of corporations in the colonial world, Stern invites readers to consider enduring questions about the relationship between private enterprise and public power.
