Coastal Carolina University professor and historian Philip Whalen will lead the discussion on "Past, Present and Future" as part of the continuing "Dust, Drought and Dreams Gone Dry" series about the Dust Bowl on Thursday, Nov. 20, at 4 p.m in the Edwards Recital Hall. This event is free and open to the public.

Audiences will learn which events led up to the Dust Bowl and its relation to the current drought conditions in the United States. Whalen will address the question about the possibility of another Dust Bowl returning.

Whalen, Ph.D., is a professor of history at CCU whose specialty areas include French history, modern European history, colonial history, environmental history and historiography. His research interests include gastronomy, tourism and others. He has published numerous academic journal articles, book chapters, book reviews and books.

The photographic exhibit about the U.S. Dust Bowl is on display in the Bryan Information Commons and Kimbel Library.

The series was developed by the American Library Association and the libraries of Oklahoma State University and Mount Holyoke College, and made possible in part by a grant from the National Endowment for the Humanities: Exploring the Human Endeavor. The exhibit also includes historical photographs of Horry County courtesy of the Horry County Museum.

The Edwards Recital Hall is located in Room 152 in the Thomas W. and Robin W. Edwards College of Humanities and Fine Arts at 133 Chanticleer Drive W. in Conway. For more information about the event, contact Dean of Library Services Barbara Burd at 843-349-2401 or bburd@coastal.edu.