The Sweet Briar History Series will resume on Thursday, April 15 with a talk on the bondage of slavery as well as students presenting research findings from the "Doing Sweet Briar History" course at 7:30 p.m. in Wailes Lounge of the Florence Elston Conference Center.

Gerry Berg, professor of history, will introduce the evening's events, and Katherine Chavigny, assistant professor of history, will discuss "Experiences of Bondage in a Slave Exporting State."

"Doing Sweet Briar History" is Berg's brainchild. A passion for scholarly research led him to the Fanny B. Fletcher archives, a virtual treasure trove of material relating to the College's history. Recognizing the academic potential of nearly a century of materials - photographs, meeting minutes, and newspapers - for his history students, Berg initiated a series of courses using the College and grounds as a workshop.

Since January, the History Series has featured monthly lecture presentations on the College's rich and varied past - from origins as a plantation owned by the Fletcher-Williams family to its current dynamic role in liberal arts and sciences education. Through on-campus archaeology projects and work in local archives, research by faculty members and students has shed considerable light on the evolution of Sweet Briar's unique environment.

Coordinated by Christian Carr, interim director of the SBC Museum, the series has so far covered themes including "Elijah Fletcher and the Amherst Community" and "African-Americans at Sweet Briar Plantation."

"The amount of interest in this has been fantastic," Carr said. "Watching the scholarly collaborations between professors of different disciplines - and seeing the range of our audiences for these events - really indicates the wide interest in the College's history. If our faculty and students have more topics ready to go next year, we'll definitely repeat this successful series."

Sweet Briar History Series events are free and open to the public, and coffee and dessert will be served. Here is the lineup for the final installment of the series:

• Introduction by Gerry Berg


• Katherine Chavigny, assistant professor of history - "Experiences of Bondage in a Slave Exporting State"


• Presentation from students in the "Doing Sweet Briar History" course research:


• Tey Stiteler -- "Switching Leads. Attitudes Toward Riding at SBC, 1965-1980"


• Jennifer Lynn -- "'You've Been Tapped!' Sweet Briar Initiation Practices, 1940-1965"


• Heather Bowen -- "Storming Normandy: Sweet Briar Students and France, 1945-1950"


• Hope Wright-Purvis -- "Patriot or Mother? Sweet Briar Students During World War II"

The series is organized by the Sweet Briar Museum and sponsored by the Lectures and Events Committee. For information, please contact Christian Carr, (434) 381-6246 or ccarr@sbc.edu. For media inquiries, contact Shannon Wells, SBC media relations coordinator, (434) 381-6388 or swells@sbc.edu.