Name: Let's Talk Reconstruction: Women's Memoirs
Start: 2026-01-15T18:00:00-05:00
Location: 801 Carteret St, Beaufort, SC 29902-4601, United States

Let's Talk Reconstruction: Women's Memoirs

Join the Institute for the Study of the Reconstruction Era and their host partner, USCB Library (Beaufort Campus), for an interactive discussion on women's memoirs during Reconstruction.
Our guest presenter is Dr. Mollie Barnes, Associate Professor of English at USC Beaufort. Dr. Barnes will present “Amoretta Daise’s Paper Trails: Recovering the Life and Life Writing of An Early Penn School Student.” She'll share the only piece of life writing to have survived by a Penn School student in attendance during its first weeks/months: "Memory" by Amoretta Daise. We'll read Daise’s three-page memoir and discuss it alongside Charlotte Forten’s and Laura Towne’s 1862 representations of her in their diaries.
This discussion will examine topics related to Dr. Barnes' upcoming publication "Paper Heroines: Women Writers in Conversation and Community Across the Sea Islands, 1838-1902," available February 05, 2026 from the University of South Carolina Press.
This event is free and open to everyone.
📖 Let's Talk Reconstruction: Women's Memoirs
📅 Thursday, January 15, 2026
🕕 6:00 pm - 7:30 pm
📍USCB Library, north wing of the Sandstone Building, 801 Carteret Street, Beaufort, SC 29902
Need more information? Visit uscb.edu/isre and check out our "Events & Outreach" page OR email [email protected].
Let’s Talk Reconstruction is a three-part speaker series presented by USCB’s Institute for the Study of the Reconstruction Era. The series features guest speakers from a variety of backgrounds who will explore topics central to understanding the untold stories and unsung figures of the Reconstruction Era, as well as its relevance to modern society.