2026 Annual Conference
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We Hold These Truths
Liberty, Equality, and Core Texts
Association for Core Texts and Courses 31st Annual Conference
March 19 – 22, 2026
Omni Tempe Hotel at Arizona State University
2026 Plenary Speakers, Andrew Delbanco and Susan Collins
Andrew Delbanco is the Alexander Hamilton Professor of American Studies at Columbia University, and president of the Teagle Foundation. He teaches and writes on such subjects as the history of American education, colonial and classic American literature, and American culture past and present. He is the author of many books and articles, including: The War Before the War: Fugitive Slaves and the Struggle for America’s Soul from the Revolution to the Civil War (2018); College: What it Was, Is, and Should Be (2012); and Melville: His World and Work (2005). His commentaries appear frequently in The New York Review of Books, The New Republic, The Nation, The New York Times, and the Wall Street Journal. He is a former trustee of the Library of America and emeritus trustee of the National Humanities Center. He is the winner of the Great Teacher Award from the Society of Columbia Graduates and the recipient of the National Humanities Medal from President Barack Obama (2011). In 2022 he was honored to deliver the Jefferson Lecture on the question of reparations.
Susan Collins is Associate Professor of Political Science at the University of Notre Dame. Her teaching and research interests range the history of political thought. Her main expertise is in classical political philosophy. She is the translator with Robert Bartlett of Aristotle’s Nicomachean Ethics (University of Chicago, 2011), author of Aristotle and the Rediscovery of Citizenship (Cambridge 2006), co-author and translator of Empire and the Ends of Politics: Plato’s “Menexenus” and Pericles’ Funeral Oration (Focus 1999), and co-editor of Action and Contemplation: Studies in the Moral and Political Thought of Aristotle (SUNY 1999). Most recently, she has completed a book-length study of the Spartan regime in classical political philosophy and its relevance for debates about political order today, a project that was awarded fellowships by the Earhart Foundation, National Endowment for the Humanities, and the Carl Friedrich von Siemens Foundation in Munich.
Conference Theme
“We Hold These Truths: Liberty, Equality, and Core Texts”
Rooted in the American experience—echoing through the Declaration of Independence, Lincoln’s addresses, and Hurston’s prose—these principles transcend borders, resonating in texts from Rousseau’s Social Contract to Gandhi’s writings on justice. We invite educators, scholars, and students to examine how core texts grapple with freedom’s scope, equality’s demands, and their interplay across time and place. As these ideas, central to America’s founding, travel beyond its shores, they spark dialogue in classrooms worldwide, addressing local struggles and global aspirations. Through keynotes, panels, and workshops, we’ll share innovative ways to teach these themes, linking the U.S. narrative to a broader human story. In a fractured world, these texts unite us, fostering critical thought and civic purpose. Join us to celebrate their power, drawing from America’s legacy to inspire universal reflection. Together, let’s carry these truths—tested in one nation—to illuminate and uplift all corners of the globe.
ACTC’s 2026 Conference is Sponsored by:
The School for Civic and Economic Thought and Leadership at Arizona State University (SCETL) and Co-sponsored by: St. John’s College Santa Fe, The American Council of Trustees and Alumni (ACTA), The Hertog Foundation, The Institute for Humane Studies (IHS), The Jack Miller Center, Liberty Fund, and the Teagle Foundation.
Practical Information
ACTC papers must engage a core text substantially and take no more than 15 minutes to present. We encourage papers and panels on the conference theme, and only those that speak to the theme will be eligible for revision and submission to our peer-reviewed Selected Essays volume, published by Mercer University Press. Presentations that do not speak to the conference theme are also welcome.
ACTC panels may have 3-5 presenters, only two of whom may be from the same home institution. During the proposal process you will be prompted to say whether or not you will allow other presentations to be added to your panel. Please have panelists’ contact information and presentation information in hand when you propose your panel.
Registration for this year’s conference includes a reception and dinner on Thursday night, breakfast and lunch on Friday, breakfast, lunch, and a reception on Saturday, and a continental breakfast on Sunday morning for those attending the business meeting. There is also a reception on Friday evening for graduate students.
Advanced registration will be open until March 10th and can be paid immediately by credit card through paypal or can be invoiced for later payment. In order to secure the discount for advanced registration, registration invoices must be paid by the March 10th deadline.
The cost of advanced registration is $425 for faculty and administrators at ACTC member schools, $475 for faculty and administrators at non-member institutions, and $300 for Emeritus Professors and graduate students.
After March 10, the cost of registration is $475 for faculty and administrators at ACTC member schools, $525 for faculty and administrators and non-member institutions, and $350 for Emeritus Professors and graduate students.
Our block of rooms at the Omni Tempe Hotel at ASU in Tempe, Arizona is available at the discounted rate of $229/n until February 15th or when our block is full. Please make your reservations as soon as you register in order to secure your spot.
Propose A Paper, Register, and Book your Hotel Room
For more information contact us at info@coretexts.org