Public History

The Old Plantation, painting by John Rose, ca. 1785-1795, courtesy of the Abbey Aldrich Rockefeller Art Museum, Williamsburg, Virginia.

"The Old Plantation," painting by John Rose, ca. 1785-1795, courtesy of the Abbey Aldrich Rockefeller Art Museum. This painting depicts enslaved African Americans on a plantation in the South Carolina Lowcountry.

CSSC is committed to supporting public history. We see public history as a means to share the work of scholars with our community on and off campus through exhibitions, public programs, and online resources. This public history work aims to share a more nuanced understanding of the past by connecting the public to historic images, documents, and art, as well as innovative studies performed by scholars who are conceptualizing new ideas about the lives of enslaved peoples in the Charleston area. Through our relationships with the College of Charleston Libraries, the Avery Center, and the International African American Museum (opening in 2020), we plan to share news about exhibitions and other resources that cover a range of issues, which is central to the mission of creating a public curriculum on the study of slavery in Charleston. 

 

Starting in 2021, the Center for the Study of Slavery in Charleston (CSSC) has established the Public History Working Group chaired by Dr. Rachel Donaldson, Assistant Professor of History, donaldsonrc@cofc.edu. Please check back in Fall 2021 for updates. 

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