On Friday, Sept. 27, a symposium titled "The Axes of Revolution: Space, Time, Idea" took place in the Mandel Center for the Humanities. The symposium was the first of the Mellon Sawyer Seminar series, called "Rethinking the Age of the Revolution."

The seminar was organized by professors Jane Kamensky (HIST) and Susan Lanser (ENG), and consisted of three well-established historians speaking about the Haitian, American and French Revolutions. The speakers were Doris Garraway of Northwestern University; Eliga Gould of the University of New Hampshire and Lynn Hunt of the University of California, Los Angeles.

The Haitian Revolution, which is considered the only successful slave revolt in history, took place on the French colony of Saint-Domingue. As a scholar of the revolution, Garraway spoke about several concepts, including freedom, sovereignty and human liberty.

She also focused on the idea of "unslavery," or the reversal of the subordination that the people of Saint-Domingue faced as colonists, and whether this was even achieved by the revolution.

Garraway also addressed the idea of whether or not freedom in the Haitian Revolution had the same meaning as it had in either the American and French Revolutions.

She mentioned how the revolution did not necessarily achieve the egalitarian regime that would be imagined from a slave revolt, and instead claimed that "in some instances, freed slaves had precious few more rights than slaves did." She also pointed out the differences between the sovereign and the subject and how such power struggles were evident and important in post-revolution Haiti.

Next, Gould spoke regarding the American Revolution, and continued to focus on the concept of nationhood in regard to the American Revolution.

He also talked about the concept of "dual sovereignty" as the enterprise within which two forms of political independence and power coexist, which was evident in the post-colonial American Union. Speaking of dual sovereignty, he used the example of the Creek Indians, probably the most powerful Native American tribe in America, and their formation of the Muskogee nation, which failed to be recognized as legitimate by American leaders.

He mentioned that "the same dual sovereignty was evident in the attempt to found nations of color, like the state of Muskogee." He concluded by saying that "together, they helped remake the world beyond Europe, a world that we are still very much living in today."

Hunt, who instructs a modern civilization course on YouTube, claimed that "the French Revolution is the single most important event in world history."

She spoke about how the French Revolution helped shape the meaning of modernity in the coming centuries in both France and eventually the world as well.

She also specifically talked about the concept of time and its value in terms of revolution. Hunt claimed that "the past would be what had to be overcome in order to make a better future" as the revolution resulted in an array of questions and uncertainties in French society.

Hunt also explained that there is a clear connection "between revolution, time and the hidden dynamic of events."

By studying the concept of time, Hunt claimed that a new type of determinism has emerged, questioning the idea of human free will.

As a result, not only was there the emergence of coffee houses and the birth of the historical novel but also a surge in the importance allotted to studying social science and legislation.

After the three speakers finished, there was a round-table discussion during which the presenters discussed points they found interesting from each other's lectures. For instance, Hunt asked Garraway if she could share more information regarding how difficult it must have been for this new nation of Haiti to be composed of mostly foreigners, to which Garraway replied that actions were taken to "pay homage" to the ancestral history of the people but there was still the question of living in a world with a new order.

Attendees were also able to ask questions and share their comments. For instance, Prof. John Plotz (ENG) was particularly curious about the rise of coffeehouses and birth of the novel in relation to the theme of the event. Another attendee commented on the Haitian and the Irish Revolutions, which are similar in that they are not very well-known revolutions.
Lanser shared that "We received funding from the Mellon Foundation for an ongoing year long seminar in which we will be exploring the American, Haitian and French Revolutions but also revolutions in general. In total, there will be four public events, bringing together people from all disciplines interested in learning about revolutions."

Although the majority of the attendees at the event were faculty members, a few students did go to the event. Attendee Cynthia Jackson '16 said in an interview with the Justice that she thought "it was pretty cool that Brandeis provided the opportunity [for me] to listen and that it was open to everyone. It was new and interesting and I had never heard about the Haitian Revolution before and I found it very interesting."
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