Surveying Europe’s welfare traditions since 1500, in this seminar session Tom Adams will discuss characteristics of the modern European welfare state, many rooted in long-held values and centuries of experience. Profound social changes have repeatedly challenged communities to re-examine and reshape institutions and practices. The diversity of arrangements across Europe has contributed to an ongoing exchange of observation, experiment, and aspiration – in short, to reform without end.

Tom Adams’ publications include Bureaucrats and Beggars: French Social Policy in the Age of the Enlightenment (1990). He received a Ph.D. in history from the University of Wisconsin, Madison; taught in Kansas, Kentucky, and Texas; and worked at the National Endowment for the Humanities from 1986 to 2008.

Reservations requested because of limited seating: HAPP@wilsoncenter.org or 202-691-4166