Visit our Digital Humanities page to find out about their upcoming talks and events.
Fall 2025 Events
| Academic Talks and Speakers |
Faculty Spotlight: Saskia Coenen Snyder, “Under Pressure: Producing Diamonds for Nazi Germany” |
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Location: Close-Hipp 451 Join us in celebrating distinguished faculty at the University of South Carolina. Saskia Coenen Snyder is Professor of Modern Jewish History at USC, where she holds the Edward B. Cantey Chair in Liberal arts. She also directs the Jewish Studies Program. Coenen Snyder specializes in Jewish history, culture, and religion with particular interest in the intersection between material culture, economics, politics, and modern Jewish history. She is author of A Brilliant Commodity: Diamonds and Jews In A Modern Setting (Oxford University Press, 2022). This talk explores the tension between genocidal racial ideology and economic exploitation in Nazi-occupied Europe, exposing the depth of Nazi plunder, not merely of existing diamond company inventories, but of entire industries, networks, and expertise across borders. Coenen Snyder discusses the Nazification of the Dutch diamond trade during World War II, American consumer patterns, and the role of advertising during a time of global war. This research is forthcoming in the Journal of Modern History and is the basis of a new book on the international diamond trade during the Nazi years. |
Lunch Colloquium: Clayton Whisnant, “Queering the German Archive: History, Art & Activism in Weimar Berlin”(Co-Sponsored by WGST and the SC Honors College) |
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Location: Gambrell 428/429 Clayton Whisnant is Chapman Family Professor of Humanities and European History, and chair of the Department of History at Wofford College. Join us for a discussion of Chapters 4 & 6 from Clayton Whisnant’s book Queer Identities in Germany: A History. Yvonne Ivory (LLC-German) and students enrolled in the SCHC 328 proseminar Out of the Archives and Into the Streets (Instructors: Lekan & Madden) will join the conversation. Lunch will be provided. |
The Third Place: A Humanities Happy Hour(Co-Sponsored by South Carolina Humanities) |
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Date and Time: September 25 at 6 pm Location: All Good Books We invite you to the very first installment of “The Third Place, A Humanities Happy Hour.” In 1989 sociologist Ray Oldenburg coined the term “third place” to describe places where people convene other than their homes and work. He argued that such places were vital for democracy, civic engagement, and community building. We argue that the humanities are the third thing – topics and ideas that we discuss to further our understanding of both ourselves and our neighbors. To honor Ray Oldenburg, we will discuss his book, The Great Good Place (Berkshire Publishing Group, 1989/2023). Copies are available at All Good Books for 10% off if you mention it is for this event. |
The 60th Anniversary of the Voting Rights Act: Reflections on the History and Legacy(Co-Sponsored by History Center, Center for Civil Rights History & Research, Department of Political Science, Department of African American Studies) |
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Leibniz, Legal Reasoning, and Artificial Intelligence |
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Public Lecture on Shoeman(Organized by the Philosophy department) Date and Time: October 16 at 3:30-5 pm Location: TBA Faculty-Graduate Lunchtime Seminar(Sponsored by Mellon) Date and Time: October 17 at 12:30-2 pm Location: All Good Books Lunch will be provided. |
Humanities Faculty New Book Celebration |
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Location: All Good Books Join us in celebrating recent publications by University of South Carolina faculty, Natalie Letsa, Anna Swartwood House, and Andrew J. Kunka. Natalie Letsa is author of The Autocratic |
Digital Humanities Showcase: Wood Basket of the World |
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Location: Thomas Cooper Library/Level 2/Room 204 Join us in celebrating distinguished faculty at the University Jessica Elfenbein is Professsor of History who specializes in American urban and public history. Elfenbein's current research interests include environmental and business history. S. Wright Kennedy is Assistant Professor of History who specializes in public-facing spatial history projects, assisted by the use of geographic information systems (GIS) and spatial analysis to study past and present health, environmental, and socioeconomic issues. Elfenbein and Kennedy will discuss the Wood Basket of the World project. Lunch will be provided. |
Can the Constitution Unify Americans? |
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Public Lecture(Organized by the Center for American Civic Leadership and Public Discourse) Date and Time: November 18 at 6-7:30 pm Location: Karen J. Williams Courtroom, Joseph R. Rice School of Law Register here. Faculty-Graduate Lunchtime Seminar(Sponsored by Mellon) Date and Time: November 19 at 12:30-2 pm Location: All Good Books Lunch will be provided. |
Margaret Renkl |
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Margaret Renkl LectureDate and Time: December 2 at 6 pm Location: SCSM Student Meet-and-Greet with Margaret RenklDate and Time: December 3 at 9:00-10:30 am Location: Kendall Room, Caroliniana Library |
Date and Time: September 10 at 4 pm
Date and Time: September 17 at 12:15-1:45 pm
Join the lecture and discussion with 
Join the lecture and discussion with 
Date and Time: October 17 at 6 pm
Voter: Partisanship and Political Socialization Under Dictatorship (Cambridge University Press, 2025). Anna Swartwood House is author of Antonello da Messina and the History of Art (Routledge, 2025), and Andrew J. Kunka and 
Date and Time: October 29 at 12-1:30 pm
Browse our archive of past lectures and events.