ARTICLE
Florida Southern College’s Center for Florida History begins its 2024-2025 season of the Florida Lecture Series. Starting on September 12th and ending on March 20th, the series features six guest speakers that explore the Florida experience from many different perspectives. All programs begin at 7 p.m. and are held in Branscomb Auditorium on the Florida Southern campus. They are free and open to the public. “We are delighted once again this year to bring this series to our community. As in previous years, the series explores all facets of the Florida experience from a whole host of perspectives including history, literature, environment, and culture,” noted James M. Denham, professor of history and director of the Lawton Chiles Center for Florida History. The speakers and their topics are below: Sept. 12th: Corey Malcom, Historian of the Florida Keys History Center in Key West will present “Slavery & The Sea: Exploring the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the Florida Keys.” Malcom is an underwater archeologist and historian with degrees from Indiana and Nova Southeastern universities and a Ph. D. from the University of Huddersfield. As president of the Key West Maritime Historical Society and an Advisory Council member of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Malcolm has studied sea bottoms and documented the maritime past of the Keys and the Bahamas. Oct. 3rd: Kevin Kokomoor, a lecturer from Coastal Carolina University, will present “La Florida: Catholics, Conquistadores, and Other American Origin Stories.” Kokomoor explores the Spanish thread to early American history that is unfamiliar or unknown to most Americans. Kokomoor, a Florida native, holds degrees from USF (M.A.) and Florida State University (Ph. D.). Nov. 14th: Charlie Fanning, a lecturer at the University of Florida, will speak on “Building an Empire of the Everglades: How Industrial Agriculture Transformed South Florida’s ‘River of Grass’.” After graduating from Florida Southern College and Georgetown University, Fanning earned his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2023. Jan. 30th: Florida Southern College English professor, Keith Huneycutt, will discuss his discovery of a previously unpublished novella entitled, “The Storm: An Antebellum Tale of Key West, completed in the 1850s. The Storm is one of the first works of fiction written by a woman in Florida. Huneycutt earned his Ph. D. in English from the University of North Carolina and has been a professor of English at FSC since 1987. As a former president of the Florida College English Association, Huneycutt has partnered with James M. Denham to write Echoes From a Distant Frontier: The Brown Sisters’ Correspondence from Antebellum Florida, (2004) and The Letters from George Long Brown, (2019). Feb. 20th: Leslie Kemp Poole will discuss her latest work, “Tracing Florida Journeys: Explorers, Travelers, and Landscapes Then and Now.” Beginning with Spanish Conquistador Hernando De Soto and continuing into the Twentieth Century, Poole will trace numerous epic journeys through Florida’s exotic landscapes. As an associate professor of Environmental Studies at Rollins College and a fourth generation Floridian, Poole will use historical research, interviews with experts, and her personal experience to tell a revealing story of Florida’s natural history. March 20th: Rick Kilby, a writer and graphic designer from Orlando Florida, will speak on “Florida’s Healing Waters: Gilded Age Mineral Springs, Seaside Resorts, and Health Spas.” Kilby is committed to building awareness of Florida’s rich history, unique culture, and endangered natural environment through art, design, and education. His publications include Finding the Fountain of Youth: Ponce de León and Florida’s Magical Waters (2013), which won a Florida Book Award in the Visual Arts category. About the Florida Lecture Series: The Lawton M. Chiles, Jr. Florida Lecture Series is a forum that brings speakers to the Florida Southern College campus to explore Florida life and culture from a wide range of disciplines, including history, public affairs, law, sociology, criminology, anthropology, literature, and art. The overall objective of the series is to bring members of the community, the faculty, and the student body together to interact with and learn from leading scholars in their fields. Location: Branscomb Auditorium (unless otherwise specified) From: September 12th To: March 20th All events are open to the public. Begins at 7:00 PM EST For more information contact: The Lawton Chiles Center for Florida History at 863-680-3001
Florida Southern College’s Center for Florida History begins its 2024-2025 season of the Florida Lecture Series. Starting on September 12th and ending on March 20th, the series features six guest speakers that explore the Florida experience from many different perspectives. All programs begin at 7 p.m. and are held in Branscomb Auditorium on the Florida Southern campus. They are free and open to the public.
“We are delighted once again this year to bring this series to our community. As in previous years, the series explores all facets of the Florida experience from a whole host of perspectives including history, literature, environment, and culture,” noted James M. Denham, professor of history and director of the Lawton Chiles Center for Florida History.
The speakers and their topics are below:
Sept. 12th: Corey Malcom, Historian of the Florida Keys History Center in Key West will present “Slavery & The Sea: Exploring the Transatlantic Slave Trade in the Florida Keys.” Malcom is an underwater archeologist and historian with degrees from Indiana and Nova Southeastern universities and a Ph. D. from the University of Huddersfield. As president of the Key West Maritime Historical Society and an Advisory Council member of the Florida Keys National Marine Sanctuary, Malcolm has studied sea bottoms and documented the maritime past of the Keys and the Bahamas.
Oct. 3rd: Kevin Kokomoor, a lecturer from Coastal Carolina University, will present “La Florida: Catholics, Conquistadores, and Other American Origin Stories.” Kokomoor explores the Spanish thread to early American history that is unfamiliar or unknown to most Americans. Kokomoor, a Florida native, holds degrees from USF (M.A.) and Florida State University (Ph. D.).
Nov. 14th: Charlie Fanning, a lecturer at the University of Florida, will speak on “Building an Empire of the Everglades: How Industrial Agriculture Transformed South Florida’s ‘River of Grass’.” After graduating from Florida Southern College and Georgetown University, Fanning earned his Ph.D. from the University of Maryland, College Park in 2023. Jan. 30th: Florida Southern College English professor, Keith Huneycutt, will discuss his discovery of a previously unpublished novella entitled, “The Storm: An Antebellum Tale of Key West, completed in the 1850s. The Storm is one of the first works of fiction written by a woman in Florida. Huneycutt earned his Ph. D. in English from the University of North Carolina and has been a professor of English at FSC since 1987. As a former president of the Florida College English Association, Huneycutt has partnered with James M. Denham to write Echoes From a Distant Frontier: The Brown Sisters’ Correspondence from Antebellum Florida, (2004) and The Letters from George Long Brown, (2019). Feb. 20th: Leslie Kemp Poole will discuss her latest work, “Tracing Florida Journeys: Explorers, Travelers, and Landscapes Then and Now.” Beginning with Spanish Conquistador Hernando De Soto and continuing into the Twentieth Century, Poole will trace numerous epic journeys through Florida’s exotic landscapes. As an associate professor of Environmental Studies at Rollins College and a fourth generation Floridian, Poole will use historical research, interviews with experts, and her personal experience to tell a revealing story of Florida’s natural history. March 20th: Rick Kilby, a writer and graphic designer from Orlando Florida, will speak on “Florida’s Healing Waters: Gilded Age Mineral Springs, Seaside Resorts, and Health Spas.” Kilby is committed to building awareness of Florida’s rich history, unique culture, and endangered natural environment through art, design, and education. His publications include Finding the Fountain of Youth: Ponce de León and Florida’s Magical Waters (2013), which won a Florida Book Award in the Visual Arts category.
About the Florida Lecture Series: The Lawton M. Chiles, Jr. Florida Lecture Series is a forum that brings speakers to the Florida Southern College campus to explore Florida life and culture from a wide range of disciplines, including history, public affairs, law, sociology, criminology, anthropology, literature, and art. The overall objective of the series is to bring members of the community, the faculty, and the student body together to interact with and learn from leading scholars in their fields.
Location: Branscomb Auditorium
(unless otherwise specified)
From: September 12th
To: March 20th
All events are open to the public.
Begins at 7:00 PM EST
For more information contact:
The Lawton Chiles Center for Florida History at 863-680-3001