The Spirit of '76

They are calling it America250 in certain circles. In 2025-26, to commemorate the 250th anniversary of the adoption and signing of the American Declaration of Independence, we will host a year-long series of activities with various partners to mark this important moment in American history.

Entitled "When in the course of human history," the Dukakis Center series will consist of one-off lectures, round tables, and workshops to commemorate what is otherwise known as the semiquincentennial, with individual sessions to take place in Thessaloniki and/or Athens. The program will include a citizen-centric engagement project with American study abroad students.

In point of fact the Dukakis Center has been celebrating the run-up to this occasion for some time already.

In May 2021, during the bicentennial of the Greek Revolution, we hosted an episode of Dukakis Center Live on Anixneusis Web TV with Aris Hadzis of the University of Athens and Mary Beth Norton of Cornell University, former President of the American Historical Association and author of74: The Long Year of Revolution (Knopf, 2020). (Professor Hadzis had appeared at our event on the future of voting in America at the Museum of Cycladic Art in Athens in March 2018.)

Then, just ahead of Independence Day that year, we broadcast two more episodes of Dukakis Center Live, the one on the future of public service, featuring General Mark Welsh III, then Dean of the Bush School for Government and Public Service, currently President of Texas A&M University; the second on soft power and international education, with guests Jenifer Neils, outgoing Director of the American School of Classical Studies in Athens and Scott Sprenger, President of the American University of Rome.

Specific events on tap in 2025-26 will include a lecture on the Declaration of Independence as an event in international relations; a discussion session dedicated to the role of colleges in the revolutionary period; a round table with American and Greek museum professionals on the art of curating a revolution; a session dedicated to the view from the periphery (Canada in 1776; Macedonia in 1821).

Our Director, David Wisner, recently published this op-ed piece in Kathimerini English edition to highlight the spirit of our celebration next year.

Interested parties may reach out to the Dukakis Center about these and other activities at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..