Clemson, Furman Team Up To Explore Upstate History
Tuesday, March 27, 2007Upstate South Carolinians were invited to look forward by looking back recently when the history departments of Clemson and Furman universities teamed up for a three-day conference that explored the role of history and how it set the stage for today’s challenges. “Our Past Before Us - The Search for South Carolina Upcountry” is an interdisciplinary conference that attracted scholars, business and civic leaders, writers, politicians and the public to sessions in Clemson and Greenville this March. Scholars and experts from various institutions discussed Upstate-related issues ranging from baseball to civil rights, textiles to transportation, Cherokees to musical identity, and the Earle Lynching Trial of 1947 to the notoriety of Susan Smith. “This is a chance to explore this part of the state and whether or not it has its own unique identity,” said Thomas Kuehn, chairman of Clemson University’s history department. “When people talk about the history of South Carolina, they usually focus on the Lowcountry or Midlands. This is an opportunity to focus on what we now call the Upstate.” The term Upcountry is an older description of South Carolina’s northwestern region, dating back to an earlier era, according to Steve O’Neill, associate professor of history at Furman University. “No part of the state is changing as fast as the Upcountry and, traditionally, no place has had so little regard for its past,” O’Neill said. “By examining this area’s history, the conference [offered] insight into the origins of challenges now facing the Upstate. It’s easier to move confidently into the future if you understand your past.” Other partners in the conference were the Humanities Council of South Carolina, the Greenville County Library System and the Upcountry History Museum. The sessions included “Origins of a New South Stereotype: The South Carolina Upcountry and the Birth of the Redneck, 1890-1915,” “Measuring Sprawl’s Consequences: Linking Impervious Surface and Biodiversity Change with Land use Planning,” and “Just a Small Town Girl? Susan Smith and Local Identity in South Carolina.” Speakers included Ron Rash, Lacy Ford, David Carlton, Vernon Burton, John David Smith, Theda Perdue and Charles Reagan Wilson. Speakers represent the University of Georgia, Vanderbilt University, Catholic University of America, State University of New York, University of Texas, University of London, West Virginia University, University of Denver, University of Mississippi and the College of William and Mary. Many South Carolina colleges and universities also will be represented. Other participants included the Hub City Writers Project and the South Carolina Department of Archives and History.
