In the second quarter of the twenty-first century, the Enlightenment remains as lively and controversial a subject as ever, both in the academy and in the larger culture. Was it the birthplace of modern ideas of democracy, egalitarianism, secularism and human rights? Or, to the contrary, was it the origin point of modern racism, sexism, imperialism and perhaps even totalitarianism? Was it even a single phenomenon, or did it have multiple, distinct, national and ideological incarnations? Was it primarily something European, or should we speak of a “global Enlightenment”? All of these questions remain hotly debated, and, to the extent that arguments about the Enlightenment and its legacy serve as arguments about Western modernity, the stakes are high. In this roundtable, chaired by the General Editor of the Oxford University Studies on the Enlightenment, five leading scholars of the subject will offer short papers with the goal of prompting a general discussion with the AHA audience. While drawing on different areas of research, the papers nonetheless coalesce around the theme of the Enlightenment’s limits, and, therefore, its definition. To what extent did Enlightenment “science” remain open to aesthetic, humanistic modes of knowledge? (Riskin). Was the concept of “civilization” an Enlightenment invention designed to distinguish between Europeans and non-Europeans? (Edelstein). Did Enlightenment ideas of generosity and sociability extend to women? To racial and sexual minorities? To the enslaved? (Pichichero). Was there a “religious enlightenment” that included groups such as the Quakers? (McMahon). Did French salons and German universities belong to the same intellectual world? (Bell). By posing these questions together, we hope to give the audience a sense of the wide range of research currently being carried out, to start a fruitful discussion, and to move away from the sort of discussions that treat the Enlightenment either as an idol to be worshipped or a criminal defendant to be indicted.