Three nationally renowned historians will come together again in January and February to repeat the Tricentennial Lecture Series as Beaufort begins the final year countdown to the 300th anniversary of the City’s founding.
The University of South Carolina Beaufort (USCB) and the Beaufort Three-Century Project (B3C) are co-presenting four nights of lectures that will span Beaufort County’s history from the early European explorers through the 20th Century. Dr. John McCardell Jr., Dr. Lawrence S. Rowland, and Dr. Stephen R. Wise will present the seminar-style series from 7-9 p.m. on Friday nights January 15, January 22, January 29, and February 5, 2010 at the USCB Performing Arts Center, 801 Carteret Street, Beaufort, S.C.
This series was first presented in February 2009 to a sold out house and several hundred people had to be turned away at the door the night of the first lecture. “We are delighted that these noted historians are willing to repeat this series for those who missed out last year and that USCB and B3C are able to partner again in 2010 to bring this back,” said Deborah Johnson, project coordinator for the Beaufort Three-Century Project. The program is also sponsored in part by a grant from The Humanities Council SC, a state program of the National Endowment for the Humanities.
The 2010 Tricentennial Lecture Series: Take Two will help kick off the final year of the Beaufort Three-Century Project and coincides with the University of South Carolina Beaufort’s Golden Jubilee Celebration. “As people have been reflecting on the past as we approach this significant landmark commemorative date of our city’s founding, there has been a remarkable increase in the community’s interest in learning about our long and storied history,” Johnson said.
“It is fortuitous to have these historians with their range of scholarship and knowledge in Beaufort, and that they each have the extraordinary ability of conveying this knowledge in a manner that all can enjoy and appreciate. It is a rare opportunity to have three scholars of this magnitude as part of one cohesive telling of history,” she said.
The Beaufort Three-Century Project began in 2008 and is conducting public events and projects to engage the community in understanding and learning about our history. Jan. 17, 2011, will mark the 300th anniversary of Beaufort’s charter. This lecture series will inform those who have an interest in researching projects and others by providing the overall context of Beaufort’s history. The first lecture precedes the annual January 17th event in 2010 which will highlight some of the projects completed to date and commence a year-long series of public presentations. The Beaufort Three-Century Project is an effort to tap the community’s cultural memory through exploration, studies and special events that honor the past to better chart the future. It will culminate with a tricentennial celebration on Jan. 17, 2011.
The lecture topics will include:
· Friday, Jan. 15 – “Spanish, French and English Colonial Era … Revolutionary War”
· Friday, Jan. 22 – “Sea Island Cotton Kingdom and The Idea of a Southern Nation”
· Friday, Jan. 29 – “The Civil War in the Sea Islands and the Port Royal Experiment”
· Friday, Feb. 5 – “Reconstruction and 20th Century Beaufort.”
Admission to each lecture is $10 with ticket sales handled by the Beaufort Performing Arts Box Office, PH: 521-4145 or www.beaufortscperformingarts.com
Advanced ticket purchases are recommended, though tickets will be available at the door if still available on the evening of each lecture.
Speakers: The panelists hold doctoral degrees in history and have been published in their respective areas of expertise.
Dr. John M. McCardell Jr. retired as the 15th president of Middlebury College, VT. A graduate of Washington and Lee University, he did his graduate work at Johns Hopkins and Harvard University where he received a Ph.D. in history. In 1976, McCardell joined Middlebury as a history professor and has worked in academic development and planning, dean of the faculty, provost and vice president for academic affairs, and acting president. McCardell’s doctorate dissertation was published by Norton & Co. under the title The Idea of a Southern Nation, a book that after 18 years continues to be one of the most cogent discussions of the rise of Southern nationalists and Southern nationalism in the mid-nineteenth century.
Dr. Lawrence S. Rowland is distinguished professor emeritus at the University of South Carolina Beaufort where he was professor of history for 26 years. He completed a doctoral degree at the University of South Carolina with a dissertation on Eighteenth Century Beaufort: A Study of South Carolina’s Southern Parishes to 1800. Rowland is the author of The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina, Volume I, 1514-1861, with Alexander Moore and George C. Rogers Jr., and Window on the Atlantic: The Rise and Fall of Santa Elena, South Carolina Spanish City. Currently, he is working on The History of Beaufort County, South Carolina, Volume II, 1861-1990, with Dr. Steven R. Wise and Gerhard Spieler.
Dr. Stephen R. Wise is director of the museum and cultural resource manager for the Marine Corps Recruit Depot, Parris Island. Wise earned doctoral degree from the University of South Carolina studying under noted Civil War historian Thomas L. Connelly. Wise’s first book, Lifeline of the Confederacy: Blockade Running During the Civil War, was acclaimed as a comprehensive account of the Confederate effort to deliver supplies through the Northern blockade. A second book entitled Gate of Hell: The Campaign for Charleston Harbor 1863 received an award from the S.C. Historical Society for the best book written in 1994 on state history. A PBS documentary based on Gate of Hell was presented in the summer of 2006.
