Writing the South in Fact, Fiction, and Poetry

Coastal Carolina University will present a special international conference titled “Writing the South in Fact, Fiction, and Poetry” on February 17 – 19, 2011 in Conway, SC. The conference will honor the career of noted South Carolina author and historian Charles Joyner and will present a host of distinguished scholars from the worlds of literature and scholarship. SC Humanities supported this conference through a Major Grant in September 2010.

Charles Joyner was a professor at Coastal Carolina University from 1980 to 2006, former President of the Southern Historical Association, and is author of Down by the Riverside, a classic study of slave life in the South. SC Humanities conferred its Governor’s Award for Lifetime Achievement in the Humanities on Charles Joyner for his contributions to public understanding of southern history and culture.

“Writing the South in Fact, Fiction, and Poetry” will feature many noted scholars, writers, and historians speaking about Southern history and culture. Among the featured speakers, there are three Pulitzer-Prize winning authors and an Emmy winner. The conference is free and open to the public, and most of the events will take place in the Wall Auditorium on the Coastal campus. The full schedule is outlined below.

The conference is supported by a number of departments at Coastal Carolina University, including the Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts, the History Department, and the Waccamaw Center for Historical and Cultural Studies. The conference is organized by Vernon Burton, former Burroughs Distinguished Professor of Southern History and Culture at Coastal and now of Clemson University.

The mission of SC Humanities is to enrich the cultural and intellectual lives of all South Carolinians. SC Humanities programs and initiatives are balanced, reflecting sensitivity to the diversity of ideas, encourage open dialogue, demonstrate integrity, and are ethical in operations.

Conference Schedule:

Thursday, February 17, Wall Auditorium, Coastal Carolina University
Opening Session 7:00 – 8:30 pm
(Vernon Burton, Chair)
Charles Joyner, “Footprints in the Sand”
Audience discussion.

Friday, February 18, Wall Auditorium
8:00 – 8:30 am  Coffee and informal mingling among participants and audience.
Panel 1, 8:30 – 10:15 am (Chair Preston McKever-Floyd) Josephine Humphreys, Bertram Wyatt-Brown, Theodore Rosengarten, David Hackett Fischer.  Audience discussion.

Panel 2, 10:20 am – 12:05 pm  (Hayes Mizell Chair) Valinda Littlefield, James L. Peacock, Dan T. Carter, Jack Bass.  Audience discussion.

Panel 3, 2:00 – 3:45 pm  (George Melton Chair)  Raymond Arsenault, Natasha Trethewey, David Moltke-Hansen, Rod Gragg.  Audience discussion.

Iced Tea Break

Panel 4, 3:50 – 5:35 pm   (Jacquelyn Dowd Hall Chair), John Inscoe, Hank Klibanoff, Anne Wyatt-Brown, Richard Carwardine. Audience discussion.

Open Reception, 5:35 – 6:45 pm, Wall Board Room.

Saturday, February 19, Wall Auditorium
8:00 – 8:30 am  Coffee and informal mingling among participants and audience.
Panel 5, 8:30 – 11:30 am  (Robert J. Moore, Chair) Daniel C. Littlefield,  Eldred “Wink”  Prince, Roy Talbert, John Navin, Dale Rosengarten, Robert Korstad.  Audience Discussion.

11:30 am- 1:00 pm Lunch at the Coastal Dining Hall.  (Vernon Burton, Chair)_ Luncheon Speaker Walter Edgar, “Teaching South Carolina History in South Carolina.”  Audience Discussion.  (Audience members can pay for lunch and enjoy time with participants.)

Concluding Remarks by Charles Joyner.

Image: Charles Joyner