Eric Foner, historian and author of the Pulitzer Prize-winning “The Fiery Trial: Abraham Lincoln and American Slavery,” will be in the Charleston area for two free public lectures.

His College of Charleston talk is part of the Southern American Studies Association Biennial Conference and sponsored by the School of Humanities and Social Sciences, Department of English, Department of History, Avery Research Center, African American Studies and the Fort Sumter-Fort Moultrie Historical Trust.