Queer history is part of South Carolina’s history. What 7 events have shaped LGBTQ lives in South Carolina and the history of South Carolina, from the 1958 Candlestick Murders in Charleston, through the interracial marriage of groundbreaking trans author Dawn Langley Simmons and the first Pride, from the first ACT-Up demonstrations in South Carolina to … Read more
From its nascent days to the 21st century, the tank has proved an integral part of United States Army and Marine Corps combat effectiveness.
After the first wave in the 1970’s which coincided with the Black Power and Black Arts Movements, Afrofuturism has experienced a second wave in the 21st century with the advent of new literature, hip hop music, television, comics, and film. The pinnacle of this second wave of Afrofuturism has been the meteoric rise of the 2018 … Read more
Can Othello be a woman? Can Ophelia be a man? Why not? Deep shifts in thinking about sex, gender identity and expression, and sexuality have occurred since the turn of the millennium, and correspondingly in casting, directing, and acting decisions in Shakespearean performance. Both major and regional productions reflect shifts in how gender changes are … Read more
Primaries have been a significant factor in American politics for a good many years. They are in fact a uniquely American electoral institution, born in the Progressive Era. The role of primaries has changed to some degree in recent years as the public searches for ways to make politicians more responsive to their constituency.
America’s news media has undergone dramatic changes in recent years. Local newspapers are disappearing rapidly, television has not fulfilled its promise and social media feeds extremist views. As a public and nonprofit administrator Olin Sansbury frequently had to deal with probing journalists, but in his earlier life that was his job as a newspaper reporter … Read more
Veteran newspaper journalist Herb Frazier has edited and reported for five Southern newspapers and covered conflicts and political change in Asia, Africa and Europe. He also has led press freedom workshops for professional journalists and journalism students in Africa and South America. Listen to his advice to American high school journalists on the importance of … Read more
Herb Frazier, co-editor of “Ukweli: Searching for Healing Truth,” an anthology of essays and poems from forty-seven poets and writers, will discuss this collection of personal accounts and insights designed to educate White Americans about the systematic racial bias employed to stymie African American progress. “Ukweli” defines the struggles Black people have faced despite their … Read more
This presentation will discuss the ways archaeologists learn about the past and use it to help us understand the present and plan for the future. Examples will be drawn from Ireland where the speaker has researched for 40 years, and focus on such modern day issues such as climate change over the past 10,000 years … Read more
As great as Jackie Robinson was, he was not the first American Black Baseball Player. This presentation will show the ways baseball has reflected the role of African Americans in baseball especially beginning in the 19th century, followed by the Jim Crow and Civil Rights Era where Jackie Robinson, Larry Doby and so many other … Read more
Baseball played a large role in the assimilation of 20th century immigrants to the United States, including the Speaker’s family. Come discuss the way immigrants have used Baseball in becoming American. Bring your own family stories and learn from others. This multi-media presentation includes power-point slides, video, and music and even the swing of a … Read more
The origin of baseball as America’s pastime has long been pondered. As it turns out baseball has both mythical and historical origins, both of which play a big role in why baseball is so important to Americans. This multi-media presentation includes power-point slides, video, music and even the swing of a bat!
Higher Education must prepare our students to face an increasingly complex, diverse, and changing world. We must educate the citizens of tomorrow–and we must do it today. I recall once reading the quote: “To be faithful to our mission, to be creative, we must change.” This was not the wisdom of a Silicon Valley CEO … Read more
Despite the significant increase in South Carolina’s per capita income over the decades since 1940 (and those gains were real and generated a more vigorous consumer economy), the Palmetto state’s standing among states remained in the bottom ten of among fifty. In 2021, despite the state’s aggressive and sustained development efforts, SC ranked 43th in per … Read more
The end of the Cold War did not prove to be the “End of History” as some predicted. Not even the flourishing hyperbole of conservative triumphalism could obscure the fact that after the Cold War’s end the old American marriage of nationalism and liberalism has grown frayed, and maybe even strained. With the common ideological … Read more
Americans stand in a very peculiar relationship to their history. We are fond of evoking it with pride – as the inspiring story of the “City on the Hill,” or the “last best hope for democracy,” and as the “leader of the free world,” and so on. We Americans are also readily inspired by our … Read more
Decades ago, scientists foretold the changing ethno-landscape of America. Now we are here and the debate of how to deal with it continues to rage. Understanding that diversity cultivates a stronger society, work force and business goals, how do we move past toleration to appreciation? This presentation shows us how to utilize diversity in more … Read more
More than sixty years have transpired between US involvement in the Vietnam War and our current engagement in the Ukraine. There are similarities in the circumstances that have led us to oppose Russian aggression in the heart of Europe, but there are also some significant differences. Olin Sansbury examines those similarities and differences and identifies … Read more
Intercollegiate athletics have long been considered an integral part of the college experience, but recent changes raise serious questions about the future, both for institutions and for student athletes. Olin Sansbury was a university chancellor for twenty years and served three years on the NCAA Presidents Commission. He examines the changes and their impact in … Read more
Since even before America became an independent country, novelists have used their storytelling skills to help us understand our system of governance and our relationships with one another—sometimes with humor, sometimes with irony. Political novels have advocated causes or ideas, have recorded successes and issued warnings. They have revealed our flaws and trumpeted our strengths. … Read more
Covert Action is “an activity or activities of the US government to influence political, economic, or military conditions abroad, where it is intended that the role of the US government will not be apparent or acknowledged publicly.” Such actions have been taken frequently in modern American history and not always successfully. Olin Sansbury examines some … Read more
The complexities of America’s attitude towards firearms is examined from the viewpoint of its impact on US politics and public safety. Olin Sansbury reviews the history of the Second Amendment and compares America’s approach to firearms to that of other nations in today’s world. Presentation of 30-45 minutes with Power Point aids. Group discussion invited.
Olin Sansbury provides an analysis of Electoral College history and its impact on presidential elections. He weighs in on factors that make this unique American institution undemocratic and offers suggestions as to how it might be beneficially reformed. Presentation of 30-45 minutes with Power Point aids. Group discussion invited.
Counter to the national narrative which championed the patriotic manhood of soldiering from the Civil War through the 1920s, Dr. Pinheiro, Jr.’s research reveals that African American veterans and their families’ military experience were much more fraught. Economic and social instability introduced by military service resonated for years and even generations after soldiers left the … Read more
Dr. Pinheiro, Jr. will discuss how various issues (surrounding race, gender, and class) have had a profound impact on public education throughout American history. The presentation highlights a number of historical moments where different historically marginalized groups routinely fought against discriminatory policies and actions that meant privilege public education to a segment of society. Additionally, … Read more
I served in the US Army guarding convoys on the sometimes bomb-strewn and often chaotic streets of Iraq. On December 2, 2006, the armored vehicle I was driving struck an Improvised Explosive Device, or IED. The blast severely wounded me and one other soldier in the vehicle while luckily only lightly injuring a third. The … Read more
What did the National Socialist German Workers Party, NSDAP, or Nazi Party actually believe? What was the role of Adolf Hitler in shaping those views, and how did he and others at the top shape and use those ideas to lead Germany to total war and genocide? As white nationalist and white supremacist groups continue … Read more
Bringing a conference or organization to Charleston? Introduce our city and the Carolina LowCountry with this entertaining, educational talk. Ruth Miller’s program is not “What to see and do,” but rather, sets the historic scene, making your stay here both interesting and worthwhile. The presentation ties over 350 years of local history into the American … Read more
This presentation focuses on the differences between the beliefs and customs of Shiite Moslems in Iran and those of their neighbors, the Sunnis in Iraq. Focusing on the theoretical underpinnings of these two extreme branches of Islam, Dr. Williams discusses the historical changes which gave rise to ISIS in the light of the historical role … Read more
This presentation begins with late 19th century Negro children’s literature to the evolution of the present-day Black children’s literature and features a colorful Power Point.
