Phil Scher, University of Oregon, Avery Research Center, McKinley Washington Auditorium, 6:00 pm.

Dr. Phil Scher presents his research on the politics of heritage and cultural identity in Barbados. In early March of the year 2000, a very public debate erupted across Barbados’ national newspapers regarding the identity of a designated Barbadian national hero: Bussa. The issue of who Bussa was, was embedded in a more controversial inquiry: Did Bussa play a significant leadership role in Barbados’ most important and signal slave uprising in 1816? What was and is at stake in such debates is, of course, much more than historical accuracy, however that might be interpreted. The debate in question represents only a part of a much larger field of historical production — the effects of which are felt broadly in a society whose feelings about history itself are notoriously complex. This talk is about not only the contestation of a particular historical narrative, but the effect such narratives have beyond the academy to the construction of a post-colonial nationalist mythos of origins with its attendant political priorities.

Unearthing Treasures: Tracing Your African American Ancestors at the South Carolina Historical Society

On Saturday, November 9, the South Carolina Historical Society will partner with Lowcountry Africana to host a day-long introductory seminar on tracing African American ancestry in South Carolina, showcasing the rich archival resources at the SCHS and how these can open new research windows for African American ancestry research. Conducted by Toni Carrier, Ramona LaRoche, and Paul Garbarini with help from the South Carolina Historical Society’s archival staff, the seminar will cover the most important aspects and research strategies for finding ancestors of African descent. Treasures from the SCHS’s rich collection will be on display and will inform our discussion.

Participants will spend the morning learning how to decipher meaning from archival records such as plantation journals, maps, and plats, and images. In addition, the wealth of web-based resources for conducting African American genealogical research, many of which are available through Lowcountry Africana’s website, will be discussed.

After lunch, the remainder of the seminar will be spent conducting hands-on archival research in the collections of the South Carolina Historical Society with assistance from seminar leaders and archivists.

Details:
Date: Saturday, November 9, 2013
Time: 10:00 a.m. to 4:00 p.m.
Cost: $10.00 (for lunch)
Location: 100 Meeting Street, Charleston, SC 29401

To register, please call Virginia Ellison at 843-723-3225 ext. 11

This is event is made possible through generous sponsorship from the Humanities Council of South Carolina.

Mark your calendars! Avery Research Center, Nov 8, 12:30 –1:45pm

Brown Bag Series: “Researching Slavery at the University of South Carolina and Presenting it to the Public: Building the ‘Slavery at South Carolina College’ Website,” Robert Weyeneth and Evan Kutzler, University of South Carolina, hosted by Avery and CLAW, Avery Research Center. Over just a single semester in Spring 2011, nine history graduate students in the Public History Program’s “Historic Site Interpretation” class at the University of South Carolina researched and built a website entitled “Slavery at South Carolina College” (http://library.sc.edu/digital/slaveryscc/). Evan Kutzler, a PhD student from this course, and Dr. Robert Weyeneth discuss the challenges and opportunities they faced in telling the largely unknown story of how slaves and slavery were essential to the physical construction of South Carolina College (later renamed the University of South Carolina) and to the intellectual life of faculty and students at USC, from its founding in 1801 through the Civil War.

Directions to Avery: http://avery.cofc.edu/visit/mapsdirections/

Complete list of Spring 2014 course offerings

https://smore.com/v72k