Teaching the World with WIRC is a new webinar series for K-14 educators interested in integrating global perspectives on a central theme in their curriculum. On the occasion of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence, the theme for 2026-2027 is The World in 1776. Throughout the five-part series, which begins in September during International Education Week, we’ll explore global events going on during or around that year; spotlight relevant connections between our regions and the American Revolution; and discuss the impact of American independence in 1776 and beyond.
Participating WIRC members include:
Upcoming Events in the Series
Rebellion, Conquest, Reform: The Russian Empire Around 1776
(Tuesday, Sept. 29): Dr. Kirill Ospovat will discuss several intertwined developments within the Russian Empire and in its foreign policy and military expansion at the time of the American Declaration of Independence.
Open Sesame: How Ginseng Established an American Presence in 1780s Canton
(Monday, Oct. 19): Qiong Wu, a Ph.D. candidate in history at the College of William & Mary (Williamsburg, VA), will share how post-revolutionary merchants selected American ginseng as their primary cargo to initiate trade with China.
The Early Atlantic Slave Trade and the Invention of Modern Corporeality
(Wednesday, Jan. 27): Dr. Pablo Gomez, Professor of History and the History of Medicine, will discuss his latest book, "Bloody Numbers: The Early Atlantic Slave and the Invention of the Modern Corporeality."
1776 in a South Asian Context
(Monday, Feb. 15): Dr. Mou Banerjee will examine how India’s rise as the cornerstone of the British Empire after 1776 intersected with the birth of the United States, creating early connections that shaped both nations’ journeys toward independence.
The World in 1776: Britain
(Tuesday, Feb. 23): Professor Daniel Ussishkin will discuss what was happening in Britain and in British territories within the decade of 1776.
