Columbia Burning: A Sesquicentennial Reappraisal

Presented by the University of South Carolina’s History Center, Institute for Southern Studies and Graduate School

9 – 11:30 am: Panel Discussion on the Burning of Columbia – Free session
By bringing in scholars who are generating new work on the burning of Columbia, our goal is to shed fresh light on the meaning of the events of February 17, 1865 as an example of urban disaster and recovery. The arrival of the Union army marked a day of jubilant emancipation for blacks, thousands of whom followed in the wake of Sherman’s advance northward. These and other topics, including the evolution of modern warfare, will be discussed.

Moderator: Dr. Don Doyle, University of South Carolina
Dr. Anne Sarah Rubin, University of Maryland, Baltimore County, author, Through the Heart of Dixie, Sherman's March and American Memory
Dr. Megan Kate Nelson, Historista.com and author of Ruin Nation: Destruction and the American Civil War
Caitlin Verboon, Yale University, author, “Urban Encounters: Race, Space, and Citizenship Struggles in Southern Cities, 1865-1877”
Dr. Thomas Brown, University of South Carolina, author, Civil War Canon: The Emplacement of Confederate Memory in South Carolina

12 pm: Luncheon – $30
Presentation on mid-to-late-19th-century foodways by Dr. David Shields with period appropriate meal by Scott Hall Catering. 2 – 4 pm: Discussion on Advancing Civic Dialogue around History – Free session

Dr. Tom Sugrue (University of Pennsylvania) will lead this discussion looking at the role of public history/public intellectuals in shaping and advancing civic dialogue to deal with difficult pasts, as well as the role of the academy in preparing students for community and public engagement.