Lecture Series
Our Lecture Series happens six times a year with different speakers from various areas of the country. All lectures are recorded and posted here after the event. The Lecture Series is generously sponsored by the American Frontier Culture Foundation, Virginia Humanities, and Lee Enterprises is the Exclusive Media Sponsor.



2023 Lecture Series

Presented by: Dr. Max Edelson

Presented by: Dr. Warren Eugene Milteer, Jr.

Presented by: Dr. Gregory Smithers

Presented by: Dr. Nikki Taylor

Presented by: Dr. Eric Larson

Presented by: Dr. Samantha Seeley
2022 Lecture Series
“The Untold Side of the Settler Story”
Presented by Dr. Rebecca Weaver-Hightower.
Presented by Dr. Rebecca Weaver-Hightower.
“Smoke Signals: The Importance of Pipe-smoking in Native American Societies of the Southern Appalachians”
Presented by Dr. Dennis Blanton
Presented by Dr. Dennis Blanton
“Juneteenth: The Culture and Politics behind Freedom Days in America”
Presented by Chloe Porche, Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Virginia
Presented by Chloe Porche, Ph.D. Candidate at the University of Virginia
“‘An Inundation of Barbarians’: The Battle of Kings Mountain, the American Revolution, and the Origins of Appalachian Stereotypes”
Presented by Dr. David Hsiung
Presented by Dr. David Hsiung
“Virginia Beer: From Colonial Days to Craft’s Golden Age”
Presented by Lee Graves, local author.
Presented by Lee Graves, local author.
2021 Lecture Series
“Igbo/West African Masquerade Culture and the Dynamics of African Diaspora Carnivals”
Presented by Raphael Chijioke Njoku.
Presented by Raphael Chijioke Njoku.
“The Dynamics of Regional Cloth Production and Consumption in Early America”
Presented by Dr. Andrienne Hood.
Presented by Dr. Andrienne Hood.
“Jousting with History on a Stick: What Commemorations of Mary “Bowser” Richards Denman Reveal About How to Center African American Women in U.S. History”
Presented by Dr. Lois Leveen.
Presented by Dr. Lois Leveen.
“Enlightenment ideals of the Founding Fathers and the impact on education in America”
Presented by Professor Brian Dotts.
Presented by Professor Brian Dotts.
“A Story of How We Tell Stories: The Poetics of Contact”
Presented by Jarrett Chapin.
Presented by Jarrett Chapin.
“‘Beginning at a white oak and runs E: 130 poles….’: North Carolina’s Frontier during the French and Indian War”
Presented by Jason Melius.
Presented by Jason Melius.