Professor Brent Morris of the Clemson University Department of History and Geography was recognized with the Governor’s Award from SC Humanities. The Governor’s Awards recognize outstanding achievement in humanities research, teaching and scholarship.
He accepted the honor at the South Carolina Awards in the Humanities, presented by Palmetto Citizens Federal Credit Union at the South Carolina State Museum in Columbia on October 15, 2026.
Morris said he learned about the award from emeritus professor Vernon Burton during a surprise visit to his office in August. He described it as the honor of a lifetime.
“For someone who was born and raised in South Carolina, and who really came to appreciate the richness of my home state through its history and culture, to be recognized for my own contributions to that tradition is an amazing honor,” Morris said. “I grew up on the stories of South Carolina, and it has been my privilege — and honestly, great luck — to be able to spend my career retelling them and uncovering new ones for my students and the people of my home state and beyond.”
The humanities may just be what saves humanity.
Brent Morris, Professor, Department of History and Geography
Morris is a historian of the South, and of his home state in particular. His published works include Dismal Freedom: A History of the Maroons of the Great Dismal Swamp (UNC Press, 2022), Yes Lord, I Know the Road: A Documentary History of African Americans in South Carolina 1526-2008 (USC Press) and Oberlin, Hotbed of Abolitionism: College, Community, and the Fight for Freedom and Equality in Antebellum America (UNC Press, 2014).
“The people and events I write about are most often those that have, for a variety of reasons, been overlooked in historical scholarship,” he explained. “I think that it is important, though, to remember that history is not only made up of the acts and decisions of elites in society, but by the cumulative, everyday decisions and actions of regular people.”
“I salute Brent Morris on this recognition of his accomplishments and congratulate the SC Humanities Council for their perseverance in these difficult times,” said Nicholas Vazsonyi, dean of the College of Arts and Humanities at Clemson. “It has been a priority of mine as Dean to reach out to SC Humanities and foster an enduring relationship as part of our mission to support the Humanities and serve the State.”
At the awards ceremony, Morris delivered a poignant speech on the future of the humanities, especially in light of the rise of artificial intelligence.
“I imagine that the great paradox of the dawning “Age of AI” is that as the technology advances, we are going to need the habits of mind that the humanities cultivate even more, not less,” he said. “The humanities may just be what saves humanity.” The entirety of his speech can be read here.
Morris considers his research on the history of South Carolina to be directly tied to Clemson’s land grant mission to develop the material resources of the state, and said that the University has given him a ready-made framework to take his work statewide.
“Clemson has provided a wonderful platform from which I have been able to promote public awareness of the Humanities in South Carolina, to bring our State’s history to life for a wide audience, and to inspire informed dialogue about today’s most pressing issues,” he said.
