Worlds of Revolution: America250 as a Global Historical Event – Prof. Michael Auslin (October 14, 2026)

“The global influence of the Declaration of Independence, at home and abroad”

^{A lecture by Prof. Michael Auslin (Stanford University)}

This event will take place at 17.00 on October 14, 2026 in the Mortara Center for International Studies.

Attendance is free but registration is required (registration link will be available here).

“America250: Worlds of Revolution” is a part of the Georgetown University Global Humanities Faculty Seminar Series, co-sponsored by the Global Irish Studies Initiative, the Office of the Vice President for Global Engagement, the Department of History, and the Mortara Center for International Studies.

The American Declaration of Independence not only brought the United States into being as an independent nation, but eventually became an icon for those in Europe, Latin America, and Asia struggling for self-determination and sovereignty. At the same time, the Declaration was a magnet that attracted millions of immigrants seeking opportunity and freedom throughout American history, having a different kind international impact nearly as significant. In this lecture, Michael Auslin will explore the Declaration’s legacy at home and abroad, questioning how the document could be accepted as containing both universal and particular claims at the same time.

About the speaker

Michael Auslin is the inaugural Payson J. Treat Distinguished Research Fellow at Stanford University’s Hoover Institution.

His latest book is National Treasure: How the Declaration of Independence Made America, which he completed as a Distinguished Visiting Scholar at the Library of Congress’s John W. Kluge Center and the American Heritage Partners Fellow at the Society of the Cincinnati’s American Revolution Institute. Previously an associate professor of history at Yale, the Royal Historical Society elected him a full fellow in 2018, and he serves as a director of the American Ditchley Foundation. Among his other honors is being named a Fulbright Scholar, a Young Global Leader of the World Economic Forum, and a German Marshall Fund Marshall Memorial Fellow.

Before turning to American domestic history, he was known for his work on the history of America’s relations with Asia. The author of four previous books, his End of the Asian Century (published by Yale University Press) forecast many of the crises now roiling the Indo-Pacific region, while his academic publications include the prize-winning Negotiating with Imperialism and Pacific Cosmopolitans (both published by Harvard University Press). He also writes The Patowmack Packet, a Substack on Washington, D.C., and American history. He is a long-time contributor to the Wall Street Journal and has published extensively in leading media outlets, including the Financial Times, Washington Post, the Spectator, and National Review.