Coastal Carolina University presents the fifth discussion in the community dialogue series "Creativity and Conflict," Wednesday, March 4 at 7 p.m. at the University's Waccamaw Higher Education Center in Litchfield. The event is free and open to the public.

Historians Vernon Burton, Rod Gragg, John Navin and Wink Prince will discuss "Was the Civil War Inevitable?" The panel will address questions concerning the cause of the Civil War and whether the war could have been avoided.

Vernon Burton, Burroughs Chair of Southern History and Culture at Costal Carolina University, joined the faculty in 2008. Burton is the author of acclaimed novel "The Age of Lincoln" and many other books and articles about the Civil War, slavery and other topics in American history.

Rod Gragg is an adjunct professor at the University, and teaches a course on the Civil War entitled "The Civil War: Up Close and Personal." He is the author of numerous books on American history, including several on the Civil War.

John Navin, associate professor of history, joined the University faculty in 1999. He has published articles on early American history and has taught courses on antebellum America and the Civil War. Navin serves as adviser for Phi Alpha Theta, the history honor society.

Wink Prince, professor of history and director of the Waccamaw Center for Cultural and Historical Studies, joined the University faculty in 1987. He is the author of "Long Green: The Rise and Fall of Tobacco in South Carolina," and was an associate editor of the South Carolina Encyclopedia Project.

The series is sponsored annually by the Board of Visitors of the Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts. For more information, call 843-349-2421.