Uploaded August 2026 | Updated September 2026, 1 week ago
Filmmaker Ken Burns and National Constitution Center CEO Emeritus Jeffrey Rosen reflect on the stories that have shaped the nation’s past and continue to define its present at the 2026 College of the Atlantic Summer Institute. Drawing on Burns’s latest documentary, The American Revolution, as well as his broader body of work, they explore how pivotal moments in American history—from the founding era to more recent chapters—have revealed the country’s enduring tensions, aspirations, and contradictions.
The College of the Atlantic Summer Institute is a week-long convening of ideas that welcomes experts from around the world to share their perspectives on the most pressing issues of our time. The 2026 Summer Institute: Toward a More Perfect Union marks the country’s 250th anniversary with a forward-looking series of conversations about the future of the American experiment. The institute convenes voices from across American culture—journalism, the arts, science, philanthropy, civic life, and beyond—to explore how the nation’s founding values have been, and continue to be, tested, reshaped, and reimagined.
Filmmaker Ken Burns and National Constitution Center CEO Emeritus Jeffrey Rosen reflect on the stories that have shaped the nation’s past and continue to define its present at the 2026 College of the Atlantic Summer Institute. Drawing on Burns’s latest documentary, The American Revolution, as well as his broader body of work, they explore how pivotal moments in American history—from the founding era to more recent chapters—have revealed the country’s enduring tensions, aspirations, and contradictions.
The College of the Atlantic Summer Institute is a week-long convening of ideas that welcomes experts from around the world to share their perspectives on the most pressing issues of our time. The 2026 Summer Institute: Toward a More Perfect Union marks the country’s 250th anniversary with a forward-looking series of conversations about the future of the American experiment. The institute convenes voices from across American culture—journalism, the arts, science, philanthropy, civic life, and beyond—to explore how the nation’s founding values have been, and continue to be, tested, reshaped, and reimagined.
