Poland & Clark—The 50-50 Expeditions

50 Years of South Carolina in Images & Stories Robert Clark launched his photography career in 1974. Tom Poland moved to South Carolina in 1974 to write and teach. Poland and Clark met at South Carolina Wildlife magazine and their journey in words and images began. Their seminal feature, “Tenant Homes—Testament To Hard Times,” charted … Read more

Contemporary Art Quilting

This is a lecture that addresses the history of art quilts with images and explanations that take quilts off beds and onto walls and as sculptural artworks.

Jack Tales from the Richard Chase Collection

In 1983, while working as a scholar-in-residence for the Tennessee Committee for the Humanities, Dr. Williams had the opportunity to travel around the mountains with Richard Chase, the famous Jack Tale collector. During that time, he discussed Chase’s dialect renditions of the Jack Tales along with a number of  old English fairy tales which Chase discovered … Read more

How To Collect Your Community Stories

This presentation focuses on Oral History and its value to a community. Dr. Williams will share stories from two projects which he directed: the Appalachian Oral History Project and the Great Smoky Mountains Project. In the late 1970s Dr. Williams was one of the campus directors for an oral history project which covered four states … Read more

Legends and Ghost Stories from the South

The South has a rich tradition of folk literature that draws upon oral tradition and colorful language for its substance. Legends, folk history, songs, foodways, customs, and unique dialects permeate the ghost stories of South Carolina and other Southern states. Dr. Williams draws upon the numerous collections of ghost stories and scary tales to create … Read more

Tales From the Mill Villages

The Folklore and oral traditions from the mill villages are rapidly changing as the they go the way of the coal camps in the mountains. Storytelling itself, the connective tissue of the community, has been drastically affected by this change. Dr. Williams has collected stories from mill workers in the Upstate, and he weaves a … Read more

Stories From Our Mountain Heritage

An entertaining storyteller, Dr. Williams portrays the characters from folk tales collected from Appalachian migrants in Cincinnati, Ohio. He highlights the migrants’ deep-seated sense of place as he recreates characters in Appalachian dialect. Especially moving is his version of Cinderella as a poor girl living up a hollar in the Kentucky mountains whose painted fingernails … Read more

Silas Butts: The Legacy of a Moonshiner

This lecture looks at the interesting concept of history vs. memory using the microhistory of one man’s legacy. Silas Butts was a moonshiner in Oconee County who also ran a grist mill and an unofficial orphanage. But people remember him differently- either as a great man or a horrible man. How can one person have … Read more

Trotting Sally: The Roots and Legacy of a Folk Hero

This lecture is based on one of South Carolina’s premiere folk legends. John blends his powerful storytelling and traditional musical talents to share the interesting life-story of one of South Carolina’s famous and elusive turn-of-the-century African Americans. Through captivating performances, John weaves the history and folklore of the life of George Mullins. Fowler tells two … Read more

Where’d You Come From, Where’d You Go?

A program that celebrates our heritage with stories and music from around the world. John’s retelling of African and European fables & folktales is a delightful presentation that connects the past with the present, highlighting culture differences and similarities. Each story reflects simple conflict and struggle with predictable resolutions. Some stories are enhanced with the … Read more

Appalachian Stories and Songs

A combination of traditional and personal stories with music presentation on banjo, guitar, fiddle, harmonica and spoons. This program is a celebration of Southern Appalachian culture and influences. John draws on his roots presenting stories and songs from the southern mountains with a personal touch about grandparents, apron-strings and his first telephone experience. Expect historic … Read more

History of Roots and Ethnic Music in South Carolina

An interactive timeline lecture with music presentations. John connects the dots, linking music heritage relative to region, ethnicity, religion and culture. The presentation is an overview of parallels between European, Native American and African influences which played an important role in shaping American music forms and styles, from field hollers and chants to blues and … Read more

Clemson: Significa and Trivia: Q and A

According to the Sikes Hall cornerstone, the old library was built 5,904 years after what? John C. Calhoun’s sideboard was made from mahogany taken from what? The 2012 addition to the architecture complex has a green roof made of what? If you love Clemson University, I have 47 more just like these three.

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.