The Republic of Letters was a loose knit and dynamic long-distance intellectual network that blossomed in the 17th and 18th centuries in Europe and the United States. Through the use of hand written correspondence, some of the greatest thinkers of England, France, Germany, Italy, and the United States stayed informed about the ideas that were shaping their worlds. Mapping the Republic of Letters,...

In 2000, Metromedia president John W. Kluge donated $60 million to support an academic center where various senior scholars and post-doctoral fellows might come together at the Library of Congress to make full use of their tremendous collections and to interact with members of Congress. In the intervening five years, the Center has been quite a success, and this site provides an overview of the...