SPARTANBURG, SOUTH CAROLINA—Wofford College is hosting several events and exhibits that the community is invited to attend on campus, including Black History Month discussions focused on Spartanburg’s history.
All events listed are open to the public and are free of charge unless otherwise noted. Please check the online calendar at calendar.wofford.edu for frequent updates. For athletics events, please go to athletics.wofford.edu.
For more information, contact Dudley Brown at woffordnews@wofford.edu or 864-597-4538.
Black History Month events:
Monday, Feb. 6
Black History Month: Going Fine Since 1889: The Magical Armstrongs
6 p.m., Leonard Auditorium, Main Building
Wofford College begins its 2023 Black History Month events by welcoming filmmaker Jennifer Stoy to discuss “Going Fine Since 1889: The Magical Armstrongs,” a documentary about a family of celebrated Black magicians based in Spartanburg from the 1920s though the 1950s. A reception will follow.
Wednesday, Feb. 8
Black History Month: Stories from Spartanburg’s Slave Courts
5 p.m., Olin Theater, Franklin W. Olin Building
Local historians Beverly Floyd-Abdullah and Joey Gainey will discuss Spartanburg slave trials and some of the surprising things the trials reveal about the experience of enslaved people. The presentation also will explore how these records can be used in genealogical research.
Wednesday, Feb. 15
Black History Month: African Americans at Beaumont Mills
6 p.m., Olin Theater, Franklin W. Olin Building
Dr. Andrew Myers, a professor of American studies at the University of South Carolina Upstate, will talk about the African Americans who built, and later worked at, Beaumont Mills. Beaumont Mills opened in 1890 during the Southern textile industry's boom period and continued its operations until 1997. It is now home to Spartanburg Regional Healthcare System’s administrative offices and the Southern Conference’s offices.
Additional speakers:
Thursday, Feb. 9
Dr. Marjorie Hass
6 p.m., Jerome Johnson Richardson Theatre
Hass is president of the Council of Independent Colleges. In her lecture, “The Virtues of Leadership: Courage, Compassion and Grace,” Hass will draw on her leadership successes, as well as her background as a philosopher, speaking about the ethical values of leadership, and if these are gendered.
President Nayef Samhat will host a reception preceding the lecture from 5-6 p.m. in the front lobby of the Rosalind Sallenger Richardson Center for the Arts.
Wednesday, Feb. 22
Author Douglas Murray
4 p.m., Leonard Auditorium, Main Building
Douglas Murray is the host of the podcast “Uncancelled History” and the associate editor of “The Spectator.” He’s also the author of “The War on the West” and “The Madness of Crowds: Gender, Race and Identity,” which was a Sunday Times best-seller. His book “The Strange Death of Europe: Immigration, Identity, Islam” spent almost 20 weeks on The Sunday Times best-seller list. A reception will follow his lecture.
Tuesday, Feb. 28
Chapman Lecture: Dr. Alan Lightman
6 p.m., Leonard Auditorium, Main Building
Dr. Alan Lightman, a novelist and theoretical physicist, will give a lecture titled: “The Transcendent Brain: The Miraculous from the Material.” Lightman bridges the gap between the worlds of art, the humanities and science, and is an internationally recognized thinker on the meaning of science for understanding ourselves. This talk is based on his upcoming book, “The Transcendent Brain: Spirituality in the Age of Science,” and the related public television series “SEARCHING: Our Quest for Meaning in the Age of Science.”
Gallery and museum exhibits:
Through May 21
“Materiality and the Divine: Baroque Art Across Europe”
Richardson Family Art Museum, lower level, Richardson Center for the Arts
This exhibition, which includes works from Wofford’s collection along with loans from the Bob Jones University Museum and Gallery, explores the dynamic and revolutionary art of the Baroque era in Europe. The deeply moving art of this period, C. 1600-1750, often has dynamic and monumental compositions, deep color, realistic detail, dramatic light and reflects seismic changes happening across Europe during a time of religious upheaval and global exploitation.
Through May 21
Interesting Methods: 2020 Portfolio
Martha Cloud Chapman Gallery, Sandor Teszler Library
As a process for creating art, printmaking has many similarities to the scientific method. Printmakers dream up the imagery, experiment with mediums, proof plates, manipulate the variables (one at a time) and proof again to be able to create the desired results in the final edition. Intersecting Methods is a portfolio that brings together the arts and the science to create collaborative prints by partnering a printmaker with a collaborator.