Events - Annual Conference

July 4, 2026, marks 250 years since the American Declaration of Independence. This anniversary provides an opportunity to examine critically how independence movements have functioned historically and continue to operate today. While the 1776 Declaration promised liberty, it excluded women, Indigenous peoples, and the enslaved from its vision of freedom.

This conference uses the anniversary as a point of departure to explore how independence and interdependence are deeply entangled phenomena. From the American Revolution to the emergence of new states after the fall of empires and the end of communism in Europe, moments of national sovereignty have produced new forms of dependence and exclusion. We will examine these dynamics in Europe, the Americas, and beyond, investigating how struggles for self-determination intersect with other axes of power including gender, race, and class, from the late eighteenth century to the present.

The Leibniz ScienceCampus 2026 Annual Conference is supported by the Hans Vielberth Regensburg University Foundation. The event is organized in cooperation with the Regensburg European American Forum (REAF).

Conference organizers: Ulf Brunnbauer, Carmen Dexl, Birgit Hebel-Bauridl, Paul Vickers