RELATED: Let's Talk About It List | Let's Talk About It FAQs | Application | Program Resources and Reporting Forms | LTAI: Making Sense of the Civil War
Let's Talk About It
Let's Talk About It has long been the backbone of library programming offered by The Humanities CouncilSC as well as councils across the country. These book discussion series are designed around themes ranging from women's autobiography to the importance of heritage in South Carolina literature. 
The LTAI groups meet every other week to discuss each book in the series, and each meeting features group discussions led by a qualified scholar (a different scholar for each book). Scheduling of the series, meeting facilities, and other such details are left to the library's discretion. But, rest assured: THCSC has all the publicity tools, scholar suggestions, and general advice you will need to make your programs attract patrons and run smoothly.
Be sure to check out our list of available series, download the application form, and contact us if you need help finding scholars or would like to check the availability of a series. If you have any questions, check our FAQ first. You're certain to find lots of intriguing topics and titles.
New LTAI Series!
In commemoration of the 150th anniversary of the Civil War, the National Endowment for the Humanities and American Library Association have awarded the South Carolina Humanities Council a grant for a new Let's Talk About It series, "Making Sense of the Civil War." Beginning January 2012, The Humanities CouncilSC will make this program available to libraries and non-profit organizations around the state. Read more about this exciting new series.
Making Sense of the Civil War
· March by Geraldine Brooks
· Crossroads of Freedom:
· America's War, a new anthology of historical fiction, diaries, memoirs, and short stories, ed. Edward L. Ayers.
(Accommodates 50)
Contact The Humanities CouncilSC soon to reserve this exciting new series.
"Making Sense of the Civil War" State Scholar
Dr. T. Lloyd Benson
Dr. T. Lloyd Benson is the Walter Kenneth Mattison Professor of History at Furman University. A native of Ithaca, New York, Benson joined the Furman faculty in 1990. He holds an A.A. degree from the State University of New York’s Empire State College and B.A., M.A., and Ph.D. degrees in history from the University of Virginia. Prior to coming to Furman, he also taught at Berry College and the University of Virginia. Benson is the author of numerous publications including The Caning of Senator Sumner and various articles about pre-Civil War American history, applications of digital technology to the Liberal Arts, and the use of geographic information systems for teaching and research. He has also developed several Internet projects that have placed a large number of late antebellum newspaper editorials and other nineteenth century documents online. He is currently developing a research project on the political rhetoric and geography of gender, family and household in six mid-nineteenth century Atlantic world cities. Benson received the South Carolina Independent Colleges and University's Teacher of the Year award for Furman in 2009, Furman's Alester G. and Janie Earle Furman Award for Meritorious Teaching in 1998 and was selected as the Faculty Member of the Year in 1994 by the Association of Furman Students. He is a member of the American Historical Association, the Organization of American Historians, the Society of Civil War Historians, the Society for Historians of the Early American Republic, the Indiana Historical Society and the Southern Historical Association. He lives in Tryon, North Carolina, with his wife Vicki and his daughter Eleanor.
Dr. Benson is the state scholar for Making Sense of the Civil War and is available to participate in the discussions that take place at the first four participating libraries.
Libraries praise Let’s Talk About It:
“We had no adult programming for a number of years. We obtained two of the LTAI programs within one fiscal year, and our adults loved the discussions.”
~Cristi Bade, Kershaw County Library
“The visiting scholars are wonderful and add so much to the book discussion!”
~Dianne Boersma, Berkeley County Library
“Participants enjoyed talking to each other about what they had read, but they seemed especially hungry for the scholar’s information—they were eager for a learning experience.”
~Sarah McMaster, Fairfield County Library
“Modern American Poets: Voices and Visions was a very positive experience for me both as staff of a sponsoring library and as a participant. I was excited to see how enriching the experience was for participants—many of whom were completely unfamiliar with poets such as Wallace Stevens and Elizabeth Bishop.”
~Mary Jo Dawson, ABBE Regional Library System
“We normally do LTAI in the winter, since our snowbirds are more responsive than the locals. They just love Let’s Talk About It!”
~Shelley Ridout, North Myrtle Beach Library
“The one complaint I occasionally receive is that I cut off the discussions too soon.”
~Sara Breibart, Charleston County Library