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Speakers Bureau Roster
Randy Akers
Randy Akers is in his 20th year as Executive Director of The Humanities CouncilSC.
Randy began work in the public humanities in Florida in 1984 and was Associate Director of the Florida Humanities Council prior to coming to South Carolina. He received his B.A. in Sociology from Illinois College (Phi Beta Kappa), a Master of Divinity degree from Garrett Theological Seminary, and his Ph.D in Religious Studies from Northwestern University. An amateur archaeologist who has dug ten times in Israel since 1974, he is an instructor at the University of South Carolina and board member of the Center for the Study of Religion in the South at Lutheran Theological Southern Seminary.Why I've Been Involved in the Humanities for 25 Years
Randy Akers will discuss the significance of the public humanities from his vantage point as Executive Director of The Humanities CouncilSC. Akers will illuminate the many programs of the Council and their importance in South Carolina while entertaining with anecdotes of exciting humanities projects past and present.
Lucy Beam Hoffman
Lucy Beam Hoffman is a business-owner and non-traditional student who returned to college in 2002 to pursue a Masters in History. She specializes in Holocaust history, and her passions are writing, speaking, and teaching. The Seeds of the Final Solution
The Final Solution evolved slowly in the eyes of the Nazis, but with the process of the Euthanasia program and later Operation Barbarossa, the industrialization of killing began. The Euthanasia program, in which Hitler murdered the mentally and physically incapacitated of Germany, created the possibility—and incorporated the people—who could and did kill the innocent with impunity and disregard. Barbarossa commenced Hitler’s plan to kill the Jews, Commissars, and political undesirables as the Special Police Battalions and the Einsatzgruppen swept up those left behind when the German army marched through the USSR. What began as a program of Jewish emigration became one of extermination.
The Holocaust Through Film
Film is a major component of society’s understanding of history. How have films about the Holocaust changed over time, and how have these films changed our understanding of the Holocaust? Films such as The Diary of Anne Frank in 1959 hardly touched on the Jewish catastrophe and, in fact, eliminated much that was Jewish in the film, while Schindler’s List in 1993 graphically displayed the tragic issues of the Jews. Other films, such as Holocaust (the TV movie), were homogenized to the experience but opened up the German youth consciousness for what had happened in their country. With a discerning eye, one can gain a greater knowledge of the Holocaust through film studies.
The Holocaust - In the Beginning
The years 1933-1939 must be studied to enable an understanding of what came later. The Final Solution, implemented in late 1940-1941, was slowly realized through these early years. Hitler’s appointment as Chancellor in January 1933 paved the way for the Nazis to continue on their path of human destruction, but the economic woes of Germany are an important clue as to what later became state policy. What happened to allow a cultured but devastated society the willingness to take part in one of the most heinous events of the 20th Century? What are the many scholarly viewpoints regarding the German consciousness, and how do these conflict with or support the evolution of the Nazi’s Final Solution?
Irene Nemirovsky - A One Woman Play
Irene Nemirovsky was an important French writer in the 1920s and 1930s. First, however, she was a Ukrainian Jew, who immigrated to France with her family following the Bolshevik state takeover and the subsequent Jewish pogroms of 1917. Later re-establishing their family in Paris, Irene’s father again became a successful banker while Irene embraced her Frenchness. She married another Jewish emigrant and started a family. Nemirovsky became a successful writer but was heavily criticized as an anti-Semite, using stereotypical characters in her writing. Unfortunately, she never became a French citizen, and, though her writing was compared to Tolstoy, it could not save her. She was arrested in June 1942 and died in Auschwitz six weeks later. This one-woman show offers Beam-Hoffman as Nemirovsky to the audience, allowing them to decide on her guilt or innocence.
Ed Beardsley
In 1961, Ed Beardsley left the field of chemical engineering to pursue a Ph.D in American history, enrolling at the University of Wisconsin in 1966 and afterwards taking a post in the history department at USC, where he taught and did research for the next 32 years.
His dramatic portrayals—launched in the 1980s—include one-man shows as Ben Franklin, Teddy Roosevelt, and FDR (for which he has three scripts, covering the New Deal 1930s, the WWII Homefront, and D-Day). Undertaken initially to enliven his history classes, Beardsley soon began to take these four shows “on the road,” and to date he has performed some 250 times in over 25 states and Canada. He has especially enjoyed playing the “mother Chautauqua,” several local Chautauquas, CCC reunions, a D-Day cruise in the Atlantic, and the “little White House” in Warm Springs, GA, where he shared the stage with a Roosevelt grandson.
**Ed Beardsley requests an additional honorarium to the $150 contributed by The Humanities CouncilSC.
Ben Franklin and the Constitution
This show discusses the making of the 1787 Constitution, including sketches of the leading delegates, the origins of the Philadelphia convention, and the key divisions and issues facing the framers (eg., over slavery and the slave trade). “Ben” also looks at the working (and shortcomings) of the Constitution in the era since its adoption in 1787-88. (50 minutes)
FDR and the New Deal
This show looks at the impact of the Great Depression and FDR’s leadership in seeking to combat it with more vigorous federal government action (his New Deal). The views of his critics on the left and right are also discussed. The program includes accompanying visual images (via slides) and voices and music of the Depression era.
FDR and the WWII Homefront
This show traces not just the wartime domestic policies (eg. Race, Japanese-American internment) of the Roosevelt administration but also the significant impact that WWII had in reshaping American society, economy, and foreign policy. The program includes a multi-media presentation with a focus on the WWII era and after. Show time: 45 minutes.
FDR Discusses D-Day
This program imagines what FDR would say to the press about the great invasion some two months after June 6, 1944. With great candor, FDR discusses the conflict between the United States and Great Britain over grand invasion strategy. The near disaster at Omaha Beach is discussed as are the primary factors in the Allies’ ultimate victory at Normandy. Show time: 37 minutes with multi-media.
Frustration of High Hopes: Woodrow Wilson, the Great War, and the American Rejection of the League of Nations
In this performance, "Woodrow Wilson" will discuss US intervention in World War I, Wilson's post-war hopes for permanent world peace, and his frustration at the Senate's refusal to approve American entry into the League of Nations. Includes a powerpoint show with images drawn from war era cartoons. (34 minutes)
Teddy Roosevelt: Life and Times
This program is an examination of Teddy Roosevelt's life and his influence on national policy and the workings of the federal government. The pre-presidential years are covered, as are his progressive domestic leadership and his ability to strengthen America's role in the world.
Bill Brockington
A native of both Low-Country (Kingstree) and Up-Country (Greenwood) South Carolina, Professor Brockington received his Bachelor's (1966), Master's (1969) and Doctor of Philosophy degrees from the University of South Carolina (1975). He is married to the former Celeste Williams of Rock Hill [now retired but who taught mathematics, including AP Calculus, for 30 plus years]. They have two sons, Will and Robert.
Teaching history was, for Bill, never a job; his teaching career spanned 43 years, with 35 years at USC Aiken [retiring - though not shy! - 31 December 2008]. For his love of teaching, ‘Dr. B’ was honored with the Teaching Excellence Award in 1990 and was named the South Carolina Professor of the Year in 1991. Long recognized for his active and dedicated promotion of history, he received the Community Service Award in 1988 and the prestigious Research and Scholarly Activity Award in 2001. ‘Doc Brock’ has long served as an energetic and creative leader in various historical organizations (from local to international) and has an extensive list of publications and presentations.
Most importantly (to him), Bill has made literally hundreds of lectures and talks to community groups on a variety of topics – in particular, those listed below. He refuses to limit himself to mundane topics however and thoroughly enjoys creating talks for specific audiences. He loves a challenge, especially when it enhances his own understanding of history. Some of his more creative topics include: war movies, historical preservation, capturing history (using the camera), Civil Warriors, history through literature (or music such as Jazz or R&R), religion & politics, humor in Southern literature, and Gullah culture.
Y'all Come Back Now, Y'heah?
What is a Southerner? Are there – really, now – identifiable characteristics which separate a Southerner from other Americans? Is ‘Southern-ness’ merely a Jeff Foxworthy caricature, or is truly an actual-factual reality? Well now, you’d best be believing it’s real, ‘cause Southerners and their ways were and, despite rapid change, still are beholden to their roots for their being just a tad different from folks from elsewhere. “Y’all Come Back Now, Y’heah?” is a humorous look at the history, social characteristics and regional foibles that have long made the South and its denizens a distinctive – and often derided – world unto itself.
South Carolina: A Crock-pot Culture
The collisions of various European, African and Native-American cultures have, over time, created loosely-defined regions within the Palmetto state, each with its own regional flavors. Like a crock-pot stew which has simmered for ten hours, original ingredients are recognizable but the flavor of each is new and different. As with cooking, when ingredient proportions are changed, the end result also changes. Any attempt to define (or to fathom) the personality and character of South Carolina/Carolinians begins with ‘roots’. Participants quickly realize that cultural collisions of the past are no different from today – change will take place. In this presentation, South Carolina becomes a case-study of how a new culture begins, evolves & matures and continues to change.
Paths, Docks, Rivers, Railroads and Superhighways
Understanding the history, evolution and ultimate impact of transportation systems in South Carolina provides insights into the patterns of development of the Palmetto State. Each phase and technological advance - from paths followed by Native Americans to colonial water routes to modern rail, highway & air traffic – shaped settlement patterns, economic growth and the evolution of South Carolina's cultural infrastructure. Visual images and hands-on materials will enhance your understanding and awareness of this often overlooked influence.
Are they Scotch-Irish or Scots-Irish?
For the most part, these Ulster Protestant Brits came to America largely in the eighteenth-century, settling primarily in the piedmont regions of the South. Who were they, why did they come, where did they settle and what was their impact? These, and other questions, will be answered (at the very least, enough information will be provided to get you going) via a visual walk through the history of the Scotch/Scots-Irish in South Carolina and surrounding states.
Karen DeVos
Karen DeVos is a retired teacher and school librarian who grew up in New Jersey and Pennsylvania and recently relocated to Bluffton, SC. She received a B.A. from
**DeVos is available for speaking engagements in South Carolina from October - May. Karen DeVos requests an additional honorarium to the $150 provided by The Humanities CouncilSC.
The Life and Times of Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings
Meet author Marjorie Kinnan Rawlings at her Cross Creek home as she discusses her life and writings. The audience will learn about Florida characters like Quincey Dover and Uncle Benny and hear about Rawlings’ experiences with alligators and rattlesnakes. Most importantly of all, you will be able to understand why Rawlings won the Pulitzer Prize for The Yearling and became one of Florida’s most revered writers.
Handouts, including a bibliography, Rawlings’ recipe for “Utterly Deadly Pecan Pie,” and a copy of the first page of the original manuscript of The Yearling, will be available at the conclusion of the program.
Lesley Drucker
An archaeologist over 30 years, Dr. Drucker is based in Columbia where she operates a business, teaches at area colleges, develops cultural resource management workshops, and writes educational and business materials. She earned a BA in Anthropology at USC and a Ph.D. in Archaeology at Tulane University. In addition to serving as adjunct faculty at Columbia College and USC, she is a member of the American Cultural Resources Association, a business group that advocates for support and preservation of community heritage. She is also past President of the Council of South Carolina Professional Archaeologists and served for nearly 10 years as Coordinator of the annual South Carolina Archaeology Discovery Weekend, an event co-sponsored by three state agencies.Dr. Drucker has authored over 250 archaeological studies of South Carolina and North Carolina sites, as well as several major journal articles. She is co-editor of a nationally distributed book about South Carolina’s historic landscapes. She is also the author of Archaeology for Business People: A Handbook for South Carolina Developers and Planners, now in its 3rd edition.
Workshop: Teaching Archaeology to Children
Get an overview of the scope and depth of archaeology in the classroom. Working with slides, posters, brochures, handouts, and hands-on discovery of artifacts, learn how you can design lesson plans about archaeological topics that encourage students to use verbal, math, reasoning, analytical, judgment (ethics), and teamwork skills to link life in the past with life in the present and to think like “detectives in time.” Bring your book bag!
Earth Clues: Geology, Soils, and the Human Past
The science of archaeology is basically detective work. It involves understanding and “reading” earth science clues that are collected using careful, explicit techniques. If your interests range from map reading to digs or from cultural artifacts to radiocarbon dating, this workshop will prepare you to enter the world of amateur archaeological sleuthing.
Stories Untold: Slave Life in South Carolina
From the late 1600s to 1865, the Palmetto State was built on the backs of it most numerous inhabitants. African slaves and their descendants shaped, and were shaped by, the physical and social landscapes of early South Carolina. Their diverse cultural systems have been studied from several perspectives, based on historical, archaeological, and other material evidence. This workshop explores some of the major themes and lines of evidence derived from archaeology and narrative history.
Protecting Community Heritage Through Archaeology
If you are an active member of your community or a public employee, you no doubt get involved in interesting and contentious issues from time to time. More and more, our communities’ pasts and their remains are in jeopardy or in the news. Would you like to better understand and even contribute to saving the past for the future? Learn the basics here and become a more effective voice for historic preservation and heritage tourism.
The Anthropology of Dance
What in the world are they doing? As an art form, dance is almost universally appreciated, if not always understood. Understanding, though, is basic to communication, and dance is, above all, a form of non-verbal communication. Understanding the cultural context and history around dance can create an appreciation of even its most exotic, strange, or seemingly vulgar forms. Using films, slides, and short performances, this workshop offers participants a chance to stretch their horizons by experiencing and observing dance as a form of non-verbal communication. This workshop is particularly useful for community service and program staffs, educators, and dance instructors.
Exploring Multiculturalism Through Dance
Friendship dances, victory dances, wedding dances. Dance is often the handshake that introduces people from different cultures and ethnic backgrounds. It is a great way to introduce young people to the different forms of non-verbal communication around them. Using films and discussion, this workshop examines how individuals and groups define themselves, their boundaries and identities, even their political history, using the dance medium. Examples include dance from cultures around the world, including American, New World Indian, Polynesian, Malaysian, and African. This workshop is particularly useful for community service and program staffs, educators, and dance instructors.
Sterling (Skip) Eisiminger
Sterling Eisiminger is a Professor of English and Humanities at Clemson University, an accomplished poet and essayist, and the author/editor of a half-dozen books. He holds a Ph.D. in English from the University of South Carolina. The Pleasures of Light Verse: Jabberwocky to Burma Shave
For the most part, this program is a poetry reading from the best comic verse of the last century or so. It seeks to restore light verse to the poetic canon which, in the lecturer’s opinion, is unfairly dominated by the seriously unfunny.
The Pleasures of Language: Malapropisms to Rhyming Slang
This audience-participation program works best with a group that enjoys language, as they will be intimately involved and asked to volunteer further contributions to the lecturer’s list of Southern dialect, contemporary slang, folk etymologies, Spoonerisms, and more.
Struck by Lightning: Ben Franklin's Rod to the Omnipotence of God
A light-hearted lecture that will appeal to everyone from the scientist and engineer to the theologian and student of literature who has an interest in the consequences of grounding Zeus’s lightning bolts. Handouts and slides illustrate the author’s main points and the history of lightning control.
The Classic/Romantic Distinction: Paintings, Sculpture, Architecture, Fashion & Gardens
This slide-and-music lecture seeks to sharpen what is perhaps the most fundamental distinction in all of art, from music to maze designs.
The Pleasures of the Personal Essay
This program includes readings of one to five short essays (average length 1,200 words) depending on the time available and the tastes of the audience. Topics include: The Importance of the Play, The Necessity of Curiosity, The Limits of Free Speech, Reflections on Jim Crow, The Common Bond, and over sixty others.
Hal French
Hal W. French is the Retired Chair of the University of South Carolina Department of Religious Studies. He is the author of several books and an Associate Editor of the 18 volume Encyclopedia of Hinduism. He holds a Ph.D. in Religious History of India from McMaster University, Hamilton, Ontario.Zen and the Art of Anything
Zen (which basically means meditation and mindfulness), when combined with any life pursuit, can be lifted to the level of an art form. This lecture focuses on the everyday activities in which we all engage-- rather than on the fine arts -- to see how Zen can enable and ennoble our lives.
Beyond Religious Fanaticism: A Place of Meeting Rivers
Based on a book Dr. French published in 1990, this lecture examines the psychodynamics and theological premises of religious fanaticism. It also explores the contribution of interfaith movements and activities that seek to encounter the exclusive, divisive claims of religious fanaticism. New, harmonious methods of dialogue can be explored between faith communities.
The Truth of Non-Violence
The two most pivotal themes of the teachings of Gandhi were truth and non-violence. Each can serve as means to realize the other; each can serve as the end toward which the other is a necessary means. How can we understand the radical demands of these two imperatives? How can we practice them in our own situations?
Will Goins
Will Goins is a descendant of the Eastern Band Cherokee Indians and Chief of the Cherokee Indian Tribe of South Carolina. He is a folklorist, cultural presenter, storyteller, chanter-singer, dancer, artist, educator, and arts administrator. He has Bachelor’s degrees in Communications and Anthropology and a Ph.D. from Pennsylvania State University. One Nation Within the United States: The Cherokees Yesterday and Today
Throughout history, Cherokees have faced many trials in retaining their culture. Today the Cherokee nation is an important force in Oklahoma and the U.S. However, the Cherokee nation continues to face challenges to its existence, its culture, and its values.
Freedom to Worship: Native American Perspectives
For more than 90 years, Native Americans have sought to overcome societal misunderstandings and laws that have restricted their freedom of religion. This talk explores Indian religious values and controversial issues such as the use of peyote in the Native American Church and the preservation of sacred lands.
Understanding Native American Identity
Rural or urban, Navajo, Osage, or Chippewa; there is a tremendous diversity among Native Americans, yet there are also common values and concerns. This presentation touches on the issue of Native American identity -- what makes someone Indian? -- and the values that characterize Indian cultures.
The Road to Sovereignty: U.S.-Indian Relations Yesterday & Today
Why can Native American tribes operate casinos in Kansas when no one else can? Should Indians receive free health care? Controversies over Native American rights often ignore the long history of federal Indian policy and the unique position of Indian tribes as sovereign nations within the U.S.
Mother Earth, Father Sky: The Reality of Native America
Even in today's multicultural society, it's hard to comprehend the gulf that separates descendants of the original Americans to those who arrived after 1492. The Native American view of art, spirituality, and every aspect of life comprises a reality completely apart from European culture.
American Musical Theater: Portrait of a Nation
The American musical may well be our nation's most unique contribution to the world of music. From Civil War days to Show Boat and Oklahoma!, the musical reflects American values of patriotism, business success, and teamwork. Music,both recorded and live, illustrates the talk.
Images of Native America in Music
This talk will explore the use of Native America and American Indian people as the subjects of American music. Native America has been the subject of American musical compositions since the early 1800s. This lecture will highlight some of the compositions of well-known early twentieth century composer, Charles Wakefield Cadman, and will also feature music by Native American composers Louis Ballard and Brent Michael Davids. Music, both recorded and live, will illustrate this talk.
American Indians as Slaves in Colonial South Carolina
Indian slavery is an important part of South Carolina's history that many know nothing about, yet no other state has as many historic documents chronicling Native American enslaved people. As early as 1683, the settlers were making war with coastal American Indian groups in order to take captives for slavery, and natives were still fighting for their freedom and rights as late as 1838. This presentation explores both the African-American and Native-American experience in colonial South Carolina.
The Seven Organized Tribal Groups of South Carolina
This visually stimulating presentation tells the history of South Carolina's seven Native groups in their own words. Included are the Cherokees of South Carolina, the Edisto Indians, the Santee Indian tribe, the Pee Dee Indian Nation, the Waccamaw Chicora Indian people, the Chicora Siouan Nation, and the Catawba Indian Nation. Dr. Goins also offers a beautiful photography exhibition that, depending on available space, can accompany this presentation for a small donation.
Ethnomusicology: Native American Music
This presentation includes taped and live musical performances in a lecture/recital on Native American musical heritage.
Cherokee Indians of South Carolina
Present-day Oconee County was home to Native American peoples since as early as 300 A.D., and the Cherokees arrived around 1500. From the 1600s to 1800s, the Cherokees occupied the extreme northwest portion of South Carolina, and during early colonial times, they dominated much of the midlands and upcountry. Hundreds of years later, the Trail of Tears took many Cherokees out of South Carolina, but some of the tribal members and their extended families remained in the Upstate. Those that remained never forgot their culture, history, and heritage. This is their story and the story of their ancestors.
Lumbee Indians of the Cheraw Nation
The Lumbee Indians are the largest American Indian community east of the Mississippi. At 65,000 people, they are also one of the larger and more progressive Indian communities, and they have a diverse heritage that includes Tuscarora, Croatan, Hatteras, Cherokee, and Cheraw ancestry. Dr. Goins is part Lumbee Indian and has a slide presentation that accompanies this historical talk.
Native American Arts and Crafts
This presentation explores Native American aesthetics from ancient times to present. Participants will learn about Native American artistic and cultural expression through a slide presentation and have the opportunity to learn more through "hands on" experience.
A Journey Through Time: Sequoyah
In this dramatic one-person show, Dr. Goins appears as Sequoyah, who created the written langauge of the Cherokee Indians. The presentation, which uses an original script by Dr. Goins, has been well-received across the state.
From Barbeque to Grits: The REAL Native Cuisine of South Carolina
A historical look at the foods and culinary traditions that were among the indigenous people of South Carolina and the Americas at contact with Europeans. This program will also look at how these Native American Indian foods and traditions have influenced and contirbuted to what is known as southern and regional cuisine.
Native Foods, Plants, and Native Myths
This presentation looks at the use of Native plants and foods in Cherokee and other Native American Indian traditions. It explores that special relationship that Native American Indian people have had with all of the living and especially plant life.
Native Foods Used in Healing
This program investigates the thousands of years of traditions of Native American Indian goods and plants in healing of the people. It will also look at the role of the medicinal health practitioner (Medicine Man or Medicine Woman) in tribes in ancient times and in contemporary times.
Cooking with a REAL Indian Chef or Chief
This presentation includes the making of a Native American Indian dish and is a hands-on lecture which must be held in an appropriate location for cooking. Have you ever wanted to learn to make Frybread, Indian Tacos, Fried Corn, or Cherokee Bean Bread? Learn about Native American Indian food preparation by doing it and also learn the history and traditional value of sharing a meal and food preparation. Will Goins is a champion cook and has published a South Carolina Native American Indian cookbook.
Walter Liniger
Walter "Wale" Liniger, a Swiss native, has been living in Mississippi and South Carolina for over twenty years. In 1989 he received a W.C. Handy Blues Award for his musical partnership with Mississippi bluesman James Son Thomas (1926-1993). Since 1993 Liniger has been a Distinguished Lecturer with the Institute for Southern Studies at the University of South Carolina. Liniger continues to perform for American and European audiences, constantly exploring the challenges of cultural and linguistic exile through music and creative writing. He is the recipient of the 2006 Swiss Blues Award.**Walter Liniger requests an additional honorarium to the $150 provided by The Humanities CouncilSC.
Southern Voices
This presentation is a collage of music and story. The music reflects the teachings of Liniger’s mentors, and his stories are about struggles with cultural migration. His Blues are hardly about anything new; they have been around for a while. Every im/migrant brings an established cultural and emotional understanding of life to his/her new country. We examine some of the challenges connected to this process by using one of America's most profound musical voices, the Blues. American culture has been influenced by im/migration paths and destinies, and they continue to challenge our imagination.
Joseph McGill, Jr.
Joseph McGill, Jr. is a native of Kingstree, SC and is currently a Program Officer for the National Trust for Historic Preservation. He works in the Southern Office in Charleston, SC and is responsible for the states of Alabama, Louisiana, and South Carolina.
Mr. McGill received a Bachelor of Arts degree in Professional English from South Carolina State University. He spent six years in the United States Air Force and has been employed by the National Park Service, Penn Center, and the African American Historical Museum and Cultural Center of Iowa.
Mr. McGill is the founder of Company "I" 54th Massachusetts Reenactment Regiment in Charleston, SC. The 54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry was the regiment portrayed in the award-winning movie Glory. As a Civil War reenactor, Mr. McGill participates in parades, living history presentations, lectures, and battle reenactments.
Mr. McGill is a member of the South Carolina African American Heritage Commission and the African American Historical Alliance.
African Americans in the Civil War
A brief history of the approximately 180,000 African Americans that served in the Union Army and Navy during the Civil War.
54th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry
The history of the regiment that was portrayed in the award-winning movie, Glory. This presentation is given in a Civil War uniform and includes a first-person characterization.
Slave Cabins of South Carolina
Joseph McGill will chronicle nights spent in several slave cabins in South Carolina.
Caroline McIntyre
Caroline McIntyre is a former history teacher, theater manager, and corporate presenter with a Masters in American History. She recreates the roles of two of her heroes - Rachel Carson and Mary Draper Ingles. She weaves the stories of these heroic women and, in Chautauqua fashion, inspires the audience to ask questions directly to the characters. Rachel Carson, Silent Spring, 1962
Rachel Carson is depicted just after the publication of Silent Spring and 18 months before she dies of breast cancer. Warning of dangers of pesticides and pollution, Silent Spring races to the top of the bestseller list, and Rachel Carson is attacked on all sides by the chemical industry. Proclaimed founder of the Environmental Movement, she is still maligned today. To many of us, she was Joan of Arc, Mother Teresa, and Lois Lane all rolled into one. For the young women of the 1960s, Rachel Carson was our first hero.
Mary Draper Ingles, Survivor of the Wilderness, 1755
Talk about a hiking challenge! How about a 500 mile wilderness trek, without food, fire, or weapons, in early winter and while wearing a summer dress? Captured by a Shawnee war party in the French and Indian War and taken more than 450 miles from her home to what is now Cincinnati, Mary Ingles escaped through an untamed wilderness with the Ohio River as her only guide. Returning home skeletal and almost naked, she recovers to bear four more children and live to a robust 83 - an ordinary woman of extraordinary courage. The program is told Chautauqua-style.
Stephanie Mitchem
Stephanie Y. Mitchem, Associate Professor at University of South Carolina, is a joint appointment in Religious Studies and Women’s Studies. Mitchem holds a Ph.D. from Northwestern University-Garrett Evangelical Theological Seminary and a Masters from St. John Provincial Seminary and focuses her research on exploring the rich religious contexts and meanings of African American women and men, while critiquing social injustices structured into American society. Her forthcoming book is African American Folk Healing (New York University Press, June 2007). She is author of Introducing Womanist Theology (Orbis Books 2002), African American Women Tapping Power (Pilgrim Press 2004), and numerous articles.
African American Women, Literature, and Spirituality
Literature is a rich source for comprehending African American women’s lives. Through literature, black women discuss their experiences and analyze society. In these discussions, black women also express their sense of the religious and define aspects of a spirituality. This talk will explore ways African American women create communal meaning and personal identities while naming their concepts of faith and salvation. We will consider various authors’ works, ranging from earlier writings of Zora Neale Hurston to the contemporary with writers such as Alice Walker, Barbara Neely, and Octavia Butler.
Creative Power of African American Religion
The religious experiences and understandings of African Americans are unique, born of a combination of historical, cultural, social, and political realities. Diverse religious and theological meanings have been crafted, sometimes within Christian denominations, sometimes not. This lecture aims to increase the listeners’ appreciation of the creativity and complexities of black religious life in the United States.
African American Women and Spiritual Autobiography
Autobiography is an important facet of spirituality in any faith tradition, pointing to how faith is lived. Autobiography is a literary genre that has been important to women in general, giving information about lived experience that is often missing from formal historical records. African American women have found this genre especially important for expressing the depth of faith, often in light of oppressive personal experiences. This talk will combine a focus on historical and contemporary black women’s spiritual autobiographies while inviting listeners to consider aspects of their own.
African American Culture
Culture is often thought of in terms of its products—music, visual, art, literature. But culture is also a process, that of making the products at different times under different conditions. This presentation invites the audience to look at some of the different products from African Americans at different times in order to consider this question: what defines black culture?
Margaret Oakes
Margaret J. Oakes is Professor of English at Furman University and has been teaching at Furman since 1996. Her academic areas of teaching and research are English Renaissance literature, including such authors as George Herbert, William Shakespeare, John Milton, and Margaret Cavendish. Her avocational interests include British detective fiction and children’s fantasy literature, and she has published on mystery writer Dorothy Sayers and Harry Potter creator J.K. Rowling. Prior to her academic career she practiced securities regulation law in Chicago. An Illinois native, she is a graduate of the University of Illinois (BA and JD) and Stanford University (PhD). The History of Liberal Arts Education
The history and practice of the liberal arts in the western tradition fundamentally underlie how we think about education in America. This wide-ranging talk explores educational institutions from the classical period to the present, focusing on the development of universities from medieval monastic houses to the colleges of Oxford to the American system based on German universities.
Flying Cars, Floo Powder, and Flaming Torches: The Hi-Tech, Low-Tech World of Harry Potter
J.K. Rowling’s Harry Potter series presents a world parallel to our own in many ways. We share some technological achievements such as the wheel, optics, and basic engineering principles. With the added ability to control their world through magic, however, Rowling’s wizards have opted out of advancing through science. Their powers over natural forces outstrip ours in many areas, yet they have chosen in others to retain the old ways, which require time and effort, and which inflict a fair degree of discomfort or ineffectiveness. Why do they prefer this combination of the antiquated and the advanced? This talk focuses on the creation of a fictional universe that is both believable and fanciful, and helps us reflect on the “magic” of our own technology.
The Letters of Queen Elizabeth I: the Humility of Power
Elizabeth I was regarded with awe by her people in her own lifetime, but she frequently communicated with her subjects as well as her fellow monarchs and counselors. Her avenues of communication were much more limited than those used by most politicians nowadays; Elizabeth only had at her disposal official written communications and public appearances. However, we also have the benefit of being able to read dozens of Elizabeth’s letters from throughout her life. This other means of communication – written messages, in the form of personal, diplomatic, and political letters – were created with the same attention to the delicacy of the situation, her relationship with the speaker, and, most importantly, her underlying objective in writing the letter in the first place. This talk will explore the surprisingly distinctive voices in Elizabeth’s letters as she assesses the relative degrees of power between her and the recipient of the letter, plays the recipient’s desires and weaknesses, and offers the right mixture of praise, conciliation, advice, and sometimes veiled threats, depending on the situation.
A Comfortable Murder: British Detective Fiction of the Golden Age
The 1920’s and 30’s were the highlight decades of the British “cozy”: the relatively bloodless type of murder mystery that one can read curled by up by the fireplace with a strong cup of tea. This talk will trace the development of the genre of British detective fiction from its antecedents such as Wilke Collins and G.K. Chesterton to its masters, including Dorothy Sayers, Agatha Christie, and Margery Allingham. Tea and biscuits provided!
Kate Salley Palmer
Kate is a native of Orangeburg and a graduate of USC. Her career started when she did a cartoon strip for The Gamecock, entitled “Terrible Tom and the Boys”, which satirized the school’s administration. She began doing free-lance editorial cartoons for the local Clemson Messenger and then later for The Greenville News. In 1978 she became the first full-time staff editorial cartoonist for a SC newspaper at The Greenville News. Kate’s political cartoons were nationally syndicated in over 200 newspapers - one of only two women. In 1980 she won the Freedom Foundation’s George Washington Honor Medal for Editorial Cartooning. And in 2000, one of her cartoons made Newsweek’s Special Edition of “100 Years in Cartoons” – the only woman political cartoonist featured.
In the 1990’s Kate began writing and illustrating picture books for children, and has had over 25 published by national and regional publishers. Her interest in political commentary with cartoons has remained intense, however. She still does very popular political cartoon Christmas t-shirts and occasionally posts a cartoon on the website: editorialcartoonists.com. In 2006 Clemson University’s Digital Press published her cartoon memoir and retrospective entitled, Growing Up Cartoonist in the Baby Boom South.Kate has done political commentary with cartoons and special op-ed columns for over 30 years. She is a member of the AAEC (American Association of Editorial Cartoonists) and the National Cartoonist Society’s Southeastern Branch. She is often asked to speak at schools, civic clubs and various conferences about political cartooning – where it is now and where it’s going. She has donated all of her original state cartoons and papers to USC and her national cartoons and papers to Ohio State University.
**Kate Salley Palmer requests an additional honorarium to the $150 provided by The Humanities CouncilSC.
What's Happening to Political Cartooning?
Currently, there are no full-time editorial cartoonists working at a newspaper in South Carolina. Newspapers all over the country are cutting back on their budgets, and staff such as reporters and cartoonists are some of the first personnel to be let go. Some of the nation's largest newspapers have gone out of business. What are the trends for people getting their news? For more and more Americans, the internet, the blogosphere, "talk radio," and the "24/7" TV news channels have become their primary source of news AND opinion. What does all of this mean for the future of political cartoons and political commentary in general? Will TV shows like The Daily Show and The Colbert Report and the various blogs be the future? Kate has definite opinions and regularly discusses these issues with other political cartoonists through her membership in the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists.
Political Cartoons - Past, Present, and Future
What is satire? What makes for a good political cartoon? Who are some of the pioneers of political cartooning? What will tomorrow's political cartoons look like? Will animated political cartoons be on TV? Kate wrote about these topics in her memoir and is available to discuss them with interested groups.
Gerald Pitts
Gerald Y. Pitts is the only South Carolina member of ALP, the Association of Lincoln Presenters. ALP is a national organization of approximately 166 members whose purpose is to further knowledge and appreciation of the 16th president of the United States. Lincoln was a boyhood hero of Mr. Pitts (along with Joe DiMaggio, Roy Rogers, and Mark Twain). When Mr. Pitts read about ALP in 2007, he realized that he, like Lincoln, was 6'4" tall, wore a size 14 N shoe, and had four sons, so he became a Lincoln presenter.
Gerald Pitts has appeared in schools, libraries, civic meetings, conventions, and other venues throughout South Carolina, from Walhalla to Charleston. He was also featured in the two-hour PBS documentary, Looking for Lincoln that aired on February 11, 2009. "The Peggy Denny Show" devoted a 30-minute interview to Lincoln on Chanel 16 in Greenville on May 24, 2010.
Mr. Pitts spent 30 years in the Army on active duty and in the reserve and was awarded The Soldiers Medal in the name of President Reagan in 1985. He graduated from Presbyterian College on a National Merit Scholarship and holds graduate degrees in microbiology and counseling psychology. He taught every science course in the curriculum from grades 7 through 12 during 12 years at Cambridge Academy.
He is married to Jymmie Nell, owner of the Bootery, and they have six grandchildren. Even though they were married on a Friday the 13th, they celebrated their 46th anniversary in December 2009. Jymmie sometimes appears as Mary Todd Lincoln at evening programs.
**Gerald Pitts requests an additional honorarium or travel reimbursement to the $150 contrinuted by The Humanities CouncilSC.
An Afternoon with Abraham Lincoln
Gerald Y. Pitts performs an original one-act play as Abraham Lincoln. You will hear Abe recount stories of his life from boyhood to presidency. Programs are available for any grade level and of any length.
The Classroom Civil War Museum
A traveling display of Lincoln and Civil War memorabilia and artifacts is available as a separate program. It requires a dedicated classroom for the day and at least six folding or library size tables. One or more classes can be rotated through the exhibit during a period of perhaps four repetitions; commentary and historical explanation will be given by the presenter who may or may not dress as Lincoln. Some of the objects can be seen nowhere else and include items of high value like Lincoln-signed documents to tintypes, cannonballs from Charleston harbor, goose quill pens, CDVs, a Confederate knapsack, original Currier & Ives prints, surgeon's kits, letters, battlefield dug artifacts, over a thousand minie balls, an extensive exhibit of drummer boys and powder boys, and many other objects.
Aïda Rogers
Aïda Rogers is the editor of Sandlapper, a quarterly magazine about South Carolina's people, places, history, and culture. Along with those topics, she covered more than 200 of South Carolina's favorite restaurants in her "Stop Where the Parking Lot's Full" column. Entries from that column, which she wrote for 15 years, will appear in a book by the same name later this year.Aïda graduated from USC's journalism school and worked for newspapers in Myrtle Beach and Savannah before returning to her hometown of Lexington, where Sandlapper is published. She notices that since she retired from the restaurant column--it's written by someone else now--she's dropped at least one dress size.
South Carolina: Ain't We Got Food!
"There's no need to go hungry in South Carolina." In a state rich in produce, seafood, and "land food," residents can grow, catch, and hunt their own supper. But if you'd rather hop in your car and do some sightseeing, you can easily find a wonderful restaurant that can make the dining experience a lot easier. Join Aïda Rogers, editor of Sandlapper Magazine and creator of its "Stop Where the Parking Lot's Full" column, on a food-finding jaunt across the Palmetto State. There's a lot of exploring to do, and plenty of good eating places to plunder.
Stuart Sprague
Dr. Sprague is an Associate Professor of Family Medicine, teaching at the AnMed Family Medicine Residency program in Anderson, SC. His work involves teaching behavioral medicine, ethics, and humanities to physicians in training. He also works at AnMed Health, and as a consultant in other facilities, as an ethicist preparing ethics committees, educating clinical staff, and consulting on difficult cases. He also serves as a consultant to the Medical Ethics Committee of the South Carolina Medical Association and the convener of the South Carolina Healthcare Ethics Network. Prior to his current assignment, he was a professor in the Religion and Philosophy Department at Anderson College. He received his undergraduate education in chemistry at Duke University and received the MDiv and PhD degrees from the Southern Baptist Theological Seminary in Louisville, KY. Medical Ethics: An Introductory Survey
Scientific and technical progress, political and economic forces, and a changing social climate have combined to form a new era in the practice of medicine. These trends and many of the ethical issues they have created are treated in a brief overview of a new discipline.
End of Life Decisions
The ability to extend life and the issues created by new technologies have focused increased attention and decisions that must be made as we approach the end of life. The ethical, spiritual, political, and economic issues raised in this context are the focus of this discussion. Cases are used to illustrate the issues raised.
Ethics of Health Care Reform
Economic and political factors are dramatically changing the context in which healthcare is delivered. This program will identify some of these changes and address the ethical issues that arise as a result. Cases will be used to illustrate the issues, and specific strategies for change will be addressed.
Religion and Politics
Questions about the proper role of religious ideas and beliefs in the political process have abounded since ancient times. This program addresses the modern debate on that subject and seeks to find ways in which religion can appropriately be included in political deliberation without being narrowly partisan or sectarian.
Religion and Medicine
Much research is being focused on ways in which religious practice and spirituality influence health. These findings, along with religious attitudes and values of both patients and physicians, inevitably influence medical practice. How these influences interact and strategies for a helpful relationship among them are addressed.
Literature and Medicine
Poetry, short stories, and novels often contain narratives which describe how persons deal with illness. Study of these genre can illuminate this part of the human condition and help doctors and patients understand better their interactions and the healing role of the physician-patient relationship.
Physician-Patient Relationships and Communication
Physician-patient relationships are distinct from other relationships and can have important effects on the health and wellness of all. How communication takes place in these relationships and their role in the processes of healing and preventing illness are a useful study.
Modes of Ethical Thought
In recent years much attention has been devoted to ethics, particularly in a variety of professions and in the realms of politics and business. The language of ethics is often used without reference to the history of ideas about ethics and the various modes of thinking about and making ethical decisions. Studying the ways in which ethical theories have arisen and the contributions of religious thought and philosophy to the discussion leads to much help in making difficult decisions.
Joseph Stukes
Dr. Joseph Taylor Stukes, a native of Manning, taught American and European history at both high school and college levels. At Erskine College (1966-74), he was Professor and Academic Dean. At Francis Marion University (1974-90), he was Professor and Head of Department. He won academic awards at each institution. He also filled Visiting Professorships in four academic locations, including one in Lugano, Switzerland. Since retirement, he has led study tours to Europe and has presented portrayals of historical figures in costume. He and his wife live in Florence, SC. The Genius of the American Constitution
A lively explanation of the circumstances of the creation of the Constitution, its compromises among delegates, its efforts to grant both powers and controls, and its care to be acceptable and workable. The presentation is set in historical context with emphasis on the document's uniqueness and the skepticism of contemporaries.
From Hot War to Cold War, 1945-1950
A step-by-step recital of US-European relations following the defeat of the Axis powers and the military and ideological face-off between the great superpowers, USA and USSR. The presentation considers domestic problems in each nation as well as major international confrontations.
Historical Impersonation of General Francis Marion
Historical Impersonation of John C. Calhoun
Historical Impersonation of James F. Byrnes
Historical Impersonation of Sam Houston
Historical Impersonation of Theodore Roosevelt
Historical Impersonation of Adolf Hitler
Historical Impersonation of General Douglas MacArthur
Historical Impersonation of Henry Laurens
Thomas Jefferson Buys Louisiana
South Carolina Goes to War
A South Carolinian remembers the steps which led his state to secede, recalling the spirit of the times and his readiness to fight for his beliefs.
The Civil War: An Irrepressable Conflict
A U. S. senator once predicted that the coming war was "irrepressible"? Was it? Dr. Joe Stukes summarizes events leading to the great tragedy.
U.S. Grant Goes to Appomattox
After the fighting is over in 1865, U. S. Grant (in costume) reviews his up-and-down life, marveling at his rise to international fame after years of dismal failure and personal humiliation.
Carolyn Taylor
Carolyn Taylor is an Emerita Professor of Theater and Speech at USC-Lancaster, where she also taught English. She also taught high school history, art, civics, speech, and drama. She worked professionally in theatre and radio and is a published poet. She is the author of Public Speaking: A Basic Guide. Taylor has an M.A. in Theatre from USC.Carolina Women: Portraits of Strength and Courage
A one-woman show done in dramatic monologues and based on the lives of six historical characters who bravely faced the economic, social and cultural challenges of their time. The figures portrayed include Elizabeth Hutchinson Jackson, mother of Andrew Jackson; Elizabeth Allen Coxe, a privileged Civil War-era Charlestonian; Doshia Barnes McMullen, a ninety-seven-year-old school teacher; Addie O'Brian, a southern farm woman who lived through the great depression; and three women, black and white, who were cotton mill workers. She can also perform segments on Mary McCloud Bethune, the black educator and South Carolina resident who founded Bethune-Cookman College and on a series of women called Hillbilly women. This production is an hour and twenty minutes, but the characters and situations can be divided for two shorter programs. It can be tailored to fit your particular interest and time requirements.
Gail Wagner
Gail Wagner is an Associate Professor of Anthropology at the University of South Carolina and a respected paleoethnobotanist (one of the few in the Southeast). Her fields of study are the prehistoric archaeology of eastern North America and ethnobotany (the study of the interrelationships between plants and peoples). She is a veteran of archaeological projects in the Southwest, Israel, India, and South Carolina and has a Ph.D. in Anthropology from Washington University.Why Garden?
Why do South Carolinians grow vegetables, and how does their ethnic background affect what they grow? You might be surprised to learn about the intangible benefits as voiced by local gardeners and to learn why some plants have special meaning.
Confitachequi: A Chiefdom
What is chiefdom, the type of society encountered by de Soto when he visited South Carolina in 1540? Find out what recent digs have revealed about the late prehistoric Indians who lived in Central South Carolina, in the vicinity of Camden.
Prehistoric Effects on the Landscape
Perhaps prehistoric Indians were not always guardians of the environment; past humans were managers of the landscape, often affecting the vegetation of the area. Find out how these groups modified their environment.
West Side Story
This exciting slide show looks at a late prehistoric (A.D. 1250) village in southwestern Ohio. The audience participates by trying to explain the intriguing distributions of structures, pits and artifacts. This talk actively involves the audience in becoming armchair archaeologists and is appropriate for all ages.
Use of Plants by American Indians
This slide show focuses on the uses of plants by Indians for food, drink, medicine, fiber, smoking, construction, even poison and is based on both archaeological evidence and historic accounts. The show can also be combined with a 1-2 hour outside walk and talk to examine local plants, or we can do a walk only, even in the city, with no slide show.
Indian Gardens
You might be surprised to learn that corn, beans, and squash were not always important and that eastern North American Indians once depended on the now-extinct crops of marshelder, goosefoot, and maygrass. Learn about Indian gardens through time and discover the role of women in the domestication process.
Can Nature Knowledge Save the World?
What are the implications of Videophilia and Nature Deficit Disorder for the future of our world? Studies of children and South Carolina college students reveal the relationship between knowing nature, knowing the names of plants, and conservation of biodiversity.
John Williams
Dr. John R. Williams has been a professor of English for twenty-five years at Spartanburg Methodist College, where he teaches Composition, Medieval and Renaissance Literature, and English as a Second Language. From 1970-1972, he spent two years in Tehran, Iran with the United States army as part of a military advisory group to the Shah. While there, he learned to speak fluent Farsi, served as a translator for a General, and traveled widely in Iran, Jordan, Lebanon, and Syria. He is the author of numerous papers and articles, a major contributor to Our Appalachia: An Oral History as well as to Usable Pasts: Traditions and Group Expressions in North America. He has a Ph.D. in Folklore from Indiana University and a M.A. in Literature from the University of Kentucky.Stories From Our Mountain Heritage
This presentation revolves around numerous folk tales collected from Appalachian migrants to Cincinnati, Ohio. The focus of discussion is the deep-seated sense of place revealed in stories such as the Appalachian version of Cinderella. Similar to the stories of mill workers in South Carolina, these tales reflect the problems created by cultural and linguistic conflict.
Tales From the Mill Villages
Many traditions of South Carolina are being altered by modernization. With the advent of new technology and the need for more sophisticated transportation systems, the folklore of South Carolina is changing. For example, oral traditions relating to the mill village are yielding to those of modern industry. Also, folk arts such as Lowcountry basket weaving are changing to meet the demands of tourism and development. Storytelling itself, as the connective tissue of the community, has been drastically affected by television. As a result, regional identities are rapidly vanishing.
Legends and Ghost Stories from the South
The South has a rich tradition of literature that draws upon oral tradition for its substance. Legends, ghost stories, songs, foodways, customs, and unique dialects permeate the literature of South Carolina and other Southern states. By examining the works of various writers, we can appreciate the differences that make our region unique.
Understanding the Crisis in Iraq and Iran
This presentation focuses on the differences between the beliefs of Shiite Moslems and those of their neighbors, the Sunnis in Iraq. Dr. Williams spent two years in Iran studying the language and customs of this 2500-year-old nation. Understanding the roots of these customs, such as the manner in which holidays are celebrated, helps us appreciate the differences between our lives and theirs. While the focus of the discussion is primarily Iran, the background of the present situation in Iraq will also be addressed.
How To Collect Your Community Stories
This presentation focuses on Oral History and its value to a community. Dr. Williams will share stories from the Appalachian Oral History Project and the Great Smoky Mountains Project. In addition, he will discuss the theory and techniques behind designing a project in your own community. Participants will be asked to share their personal stories about their hometown.
Jack Tales from the Richard Chase Collection
In1983, while working as a scholar-in-residence for the Tennessee Committee for the Humanities, Dr. Williams had the opportunity to travel around upper east Tennessee with Richard Chase, the famous Jack Tale collector, for a week. During that time, he discussed Chase's dialect renditions of the Jack Tales he collected along with a number of Elizabethan forms of entertainment which Chase encountered in the mountains. Williams also taught English in Appalachian Kentucky in the 1970's where he studied Appalachian speech. He combines the stories Chase collected with his appreciation of mountain dialect to present Jack Tales in a highly entertaining fashion. He also adds a degree of scholarship to this presentation as a trained academic folklorist.