![Artwork from Haiti depicting fight for democracy](/sites/default/files/styles/mobile/public/2024-01/Touchstones-no-words-1200x800.png?itok=HIeme2Uh)
The John L. Nau III History & Principles of Democracy Lab hosts the "Touchstones of Democracy" series to explore the key events, places, thinkers, and texts that inform the history and principles of democracy.
Spring 2024
Event | February 2, 2024
'Democracy for Busy People'
How can we make democratic participation more inclusive?
Event | February 22, 2024
Secrecy and Transparency in the Era of Revolutions
Was secrecy ever legitimate during the French and American Revolutions?
Event | April 12, 2024
The Future of Democracy in India
Advocates for democracy in India explore what we can learn from moments of renewal—after decades of decay.
Fall 2023
Event | September 7, 2023
'Ends of War'
UVA history professors Caroline Janney and Elizabeth Varon discuss Janney's book "Ends of War: The Unfinished Fight of Lee's Army After Appomattox."
Event | November 10, 2023
'The Art of Thinking Freely'
Professor Andrew Curran (Wesleyan University), and French professor Philippe Roger (UVA) explore the influential French Enlightenment thinker Denis Diderot.
Event | November 30, 2023
African American Thought Advancing Democracy
Melvin Rogers (Brown University) and Lawrie Balfour (UVA) examine how thinkers’ “light of faith” was darkened but not extinguished by slavery.