Furman University History Department

Upcountry History Museum

Dr. Courtney Tollison is Museum Historian at the Upcountry History Museum and Assistant Professor of History at Furman University in Greenville, SC. A native Greenvillian, Dr. Tollison earned undergraduate degrees in from Furman University and graduate degrees in History and Women's and Gender Studies at the University of South Carolina. She has authored books on the history of Furman University and the history of Upcountry South Carolina during World War II. Her documentary, Threads of Victory: Upcountry SC During WWII, won a National Award of Merit from the American Association for State and Local History. The accompanying exhibit, “Weaving Our Survival: Upcountry Stories of WWII,” won the top exhibit award from the Southeastern Museum Conference in 2010.

Tollison is the inaugural recipient of the Greenville Chamber of Commerce’s Young Professional of the Year Award and received Furman University Outstanding Young Alumni Award in 2009. In 2010, Greenville Business Magazine included her in its listing of the 50 Most Influential People in Greenville. She has also been honored by the Association for Women in Communication and by numerous academic and civic organizations and local media. She recently returned from western Ukraine, where she lived and taught for the first half of 2010 as a Fulbright Scholar.

Tollison writes monthly columns on local history for the Greenville Journal and for TOWN magazine. She is a regular guest and guest host on SCETV Radio's "Your Day" program.

She serves on the board of the Humanities Council SC, and the South Carolina Civil War Sesquicentennial Commission.

Her current research interests include the history of Upcountry South Carolina during the Civil War, and the Civil Rights Movement in South Carolina. Her personal interests include ballet, musical theatre, travel literature, and travelling just about anywhere.

Areas of Specialization:

Post-1865 United States History

Civil Rights

Women's History

Oral History

History of Furman University

Courses Offered:

U.S. Since 1877

History of Women in America

The United States since 1941

Experiential Learning in History

AASLH Award, Dr. Courtney Tollison and Pam Meister

Recent Publications

World War II and Upcountry South Carolina: "We Just Did Everything We Could" (Vintage Images) (Paperback), The Campus History Series, Arcadia Publishing, 2004

World War II changed America, and the history of Upcountry South Carolina during this era testifies to the war's deep impact. On the homefront, Upcountry residents grew victory gardens and supported recruits at local bases and soldiers abroad. They also manufactured textile goods, including uniforms and parachutes, crucial for the war effort. As thousands of young men and women came into the Upcountry to train at Spartanburg's Camp Croft and the Greenville Army Air Base, thousands more were sent to Europe, the Pacific and beyond. More than 166,000 South Carolinians fought for the United States, including 5 Congressional Medal of Honor winners. The resulting import and export of culture through the war and long after reflects the modernization and diversification that occurred across the South. Using works and images form the men and women who lived through it all, Furman University professor and Upcountry History Museum historian Courtney Tollison, PhD, examines the ways that Upcountry South Carolina affected World War II and how the war affected the region.

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Furman University, The Campus History Series, Arcadia Publishing, 2004

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