Department of History - College of Charleston

Fall 2026 Course Spotlight: Professor Gordanier's HIST 261

Living Chinese History: Crown Princes, Conspiracies, and the Ming Succession Crisis of 1587

Travel with us to China's Ming Dynasty (1368-1644 CE), and explore this pivotal era's social tensions, new ideas, economic changes, ecological challenges, and political conflicts. Then take on the role of a mover and shaker in the emperor's court in a live-action simulation of concubines, crown princes, controversy, and conspiracy!

All are welcome--no previous knowledge of East Asian history needed.

Giving Day is HERE! Please support the History Department:
https://givingday.cofc.edu/campaigns/history-department

Giving Day is Thursday, March 19! Please support the History Department:
https://givingday.cofc.edu/campaigns/history-department

Congratulations to our graduate student Kayla Blanchard for being featured in The College Today!

Kayla is doing important work through her graduate assistantships with the Lowcountry Digital History Initiative. Check out the article below!

History Meets Technology: Graduate Student Develops Timeless Storytelling Skills College of Charleston graduate student hones her ability to share the stories of people in history who have often been overlooked.

Coming up Thursday, March 12 at 5:30 in the Septima Clark Auditorium (ECTR 118):

Assistant Professor of History, Dr. Ashley Dennis, will present "Intellectual Emancipation: Black Women, Education, and Anti-Blackness in the Jim Crow Era"

Coming up Wednesday, February 25, 2026 at 5:00 p.m. in SNES 129:

The Department of History's Annual Black History Month Lecture, titled, "Requiem for Reconstruction: Black Countermemory and the Legacy of the Lowcountry’s Lost Political Generation," will be presented by Robert Bland, assistant professor of history and Africana studies at the University of Tennessee.

The lecture will be followed by a Q&A with the audience.

Sponsored by the College of Charleston Department of History, African American Studies Program, Avery Research Center, Carolina Lowcountry and Atlantic World Program, Center for Public Choice and Market Process, Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston, the Civility Initiative, Department of Political Science, Office of Community Engagement, School of Humanities and Social Sciences, and the Women’s and Gender Studies Program.

HSS LEAP (Program in Leadership, Experiential Learning, Academic Achievement, and Professional Development) is accepting applications from rising sophomores and juniors for the 2025-2026 cohort.

We are a supportive, inclusive community and multi-year academic enrichment program for all students majoring or minoring in HSS disciplines. Participants receive individualized mentorship, course credit, and a small scholarship.

For more information, please email Dr. Elisa Jones at [email protected].

Coming up Feb. 26 at 6:00 p.m. at the Charleston Museum:
"To the Last Drop of Blood: African Americans in the American Revolution Lecture with Historian and Director of the Southern Revolutionary War Institute Zachary Lemhouse"

In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the founding of our nation, The Charleston Museum is pleased to host a series of lectures, each focusing on a different aspect of Revolutionary War history.

Join Revolutionary War historian Zachary Lemhouse for a discussion of Black participation in the American War for Independence, including an exploration of the origins of race in America, the conflicting ideal of American liberty and slavery, motivating factors that led to Black participation in the war, and a local look at Black Patriots and Loyalists in South Carolina and Charleston.

https://www.charlestonmuseum.org/news-events/events/to-the-last-drop-of-blood-african-americans-in-the-american-revolution-lecture-with-historian-and-director-of-the-southern-revolutionary-war-institute-zachary-lemhouse/?fbclid=IwY2xjawP6tF1leHRuA2FlbQIxMQBzcnRjBmFwcF9pZBAyMjIwMzkxNzg4MjAwODkyAAEebX1apoZs_tVgJcQETNS1Wet-InaJBfrIkvk5jykc5FjGRFRog-uMOIc4sqg_aem_gPbIe76TCHmpfQKy2hvzBg

The Charleston Museum | News and Events » To the Last Drop of Blood: African Americans in the American Revolution Lecture with Historian and Director of the Southern Revolutionary War Institute Zachary Lemhouse In commemoration of the 250th anniversary of the Declaration of Independence and the founding of our nation, The Charleston Museum is pleased to host a series of lectures, each focusing on a different aspect of Revolutionary War history. Join Revolutionary War historian Zachary Lemhouse for a discus...

The Battle for Black History: Profiles in the Memory of Slavery, presented by Vincent Brown

Event Date and Time: Thursday, February 19th at 4:00 p.m.
Location: Simons Center, Room 380

Vincent Brown is Charles Warren professor of American history and professor of African and African American studies at Harvard University. He teaches courses in Atlantic history, African diaspora studies and the history of slavery in the Americas.

Brown is the author of The Reaper's Garden: Death and Power in the World of Atlantic Slavery (Harvard University Press, 2008) and Tacky's Revolt: The Story of an Atlantic Slave War (Belknap Press, 2020), and he is producer of Herskovits at the Heart of Blackness (2009), an audiovisual documentary broadcast on the PBS series Independent Lens, and the short video series The Bigger Picture (2022) for PBS Digital Studios.

This event is sponsored by the International African American Museum, the Carolina Lowcountry and Atlantic World Program, the Avery Research Center and the African American Studies Program.

Don't miss "In Conversation with Richard Bodek," Thursday, January 29, 2026 at 6:00 p.m. in Addlestone 227.
In 1949, a West German nurse garroted and dismembered two people in a mini crime spree in West Berlin. Her actions both fascinated and terrified the public - how could this woman, a nurse, commit such a violent act?
Based on the true story of Elisabeth Kusian, Dr. Bodek's latest book explores shifting identities, evolving gender expectations, post-fascist politics and norms and the violence lurking beneath a city struggling to redefine itself.
This event is free and open to all. Hors d'oeuvres and refreshments will be provided.
Sponsored by the College of Charleston Friends of the Library and the Department of History.