EVENTS
Fletcher Lecture Series
2022 Fletcher Lecture Series to Feature Louisiana Storyteller
Filmmaker, Photographer Monique Verdin to Speak at Nicholls
Louisiana Filmmaker, Photographer to Speak at 2022 Fletcher Lecture Series
Filmmaker, photographer and interdisciplinary storyteller Monique Verdin will be the guest lecturer for the 2022 Fletcher Lecture series. Verdin will host a question-and-answer session at 11 a.m. on Thursday, Nov. 3 in Le Bijou Theatre. At 6 p.m. she will discuss her works and themes in a lecture in the Gouaux Hall auditorium. The question-and-answer and talk are free and open to the public.
A citizen of the United Houma Nation and resident of St. Bernard Parish, Verdin is the director of the Land Memory Bank & Seed Exchange. The Land Memory Bank is an experiential digital archive that aims to build a community record of unique coastal cultures and native ecology in the name of coastal preservation and adaptation. Verdin is also a member of the women-of-color-led Another Gulf Is Possible Collaborative. The grassroots organization is centered on bringing just economies, vibrant communities and sustainable ecologies to life across the southeastern U.S.
Verdin co-produced the documentary My Louisiana Love in 2012. In 2020, she co-authored the book Return to Yakni Chitto: Houma Migrations. Her works have also been featured in the multi-platform performance Cry You One and the book Unfathomable City: A New Orleans Atlas.
She was a visual artist resident for A Studio in the Woods in 2007, 2017, 2018 and 2019.
Several universities across the country have featured her art and her story, including the University of California, Georgia College and State University, Mesa College of San Diego, Tulane University and more.
For 37 years The Fletcher Lecture Series has brought major writers and literary figures to campus to speak and interact with students. Past Lecturers have included such luminaries as Robert Penn Warren, Noel Polk, Lee Smith, Gerald Early, Marianne Robinson, Yuri Herrera, and the filmmaker Behn Zeitlin. The 2020 event was canceled because of COVID-19 and the 2021 event because of Hurricane Ida.
The 2022 recipients of the Linda Stanga Award for Excellence in Literary Studies and the 2022 Noel Toups Award will also be recognized.
Past Lecturers:
Robert Penn Warren and Eleanor Clark 1985
Andrew Lytle 1986
Cleanth Brooks 1987
Clyde Edgerton, Hamlin Hill, James Cox, and William Bedford Clark 1988
Lewis P. Simpson 1989
Mary Bess Widden, Nancy Walker, and Jane Curry 1990
Donald E. Stanford 1991
Sybil Kein 1992
Ernest J. Gaines 1993
Edgar Bowers 1994
Kevin L. Cope 1995
X. J. Kennedy 1996
Lee Smith 1997
Fred Chappell 1998
Tim Gautreaux 1999
Noel Polk 2000
Timothy Steele 2001
Shelley Fisher Fishkin 2002
Maxine Hong Kingston 2003
Peggy Prenshaw 2004
Ellen Gilchrist 2006
Randall Kenan 2006
Gerald Early 2007
Sam Pickering Spring 2008
Marilynne Robinson Fall 2009
Olympia Vernon 2010
Darrell Bourque 2011
Joseph Boyden 2012
Benh Zeitlin 2013
Mona Lisa Saloy 2014
Ava Leavell Haymon 2015
Nick Spitzer, 2016
Kate Bernheimer, 2017
Yuri Herrera, 2018
Mary Miller, 2019
CHEFS:
Paul Prudhomme
Chris Kerageorgiou and Goffredo Fraccaro
John Folse
Alex Patout
Gerard Thabuis
Frank Brigsten
Andrea Apuzzzo
Marcelle Bienvenu
Enola Prudhomme
Greg and Mary Sonnier
Mike Fennelly
Kevin Graham
Leah Chase
Wayne and Debbie Pierce
Hubert Sandot
Terrell Brunet
Undergraduate Humanities Symposium
The 2023 Humanities Symposium @ Scholars Expeaux will be held on April, 13-14, 2022. Abstracts are due by March 7, 2022. Abstracts can be submitted here.
The Undergraduate Humanities Symposium showcases humanities-based scholarly activities of undergraduates at Nicholls State University. All undergraduate students at Nicholls are eligible to participate. The Symposium is sponsored by Dr. and Mrs. David Middleton, Sigma Tau Delta, the Department of English, Modern Languages, & Cultural Studies, and the Office Sponsored Research.
The Humanities Symposium @ Scholars Expeaux also features screenings of student films and a preview of the upcoming Mosaic issue.
Papers in any area of the humanities–English, History, Art, Art History, Music, Film Studies, as well as the social sciences and education are welcome. Typically papers presented are versions of a paper you’ve written for one of your courses or that you’re in the process of writing.
The Symposium takes place in the spring semester. Nicholls faculty and staff serve as judges and mentors to undergraduate students conducting and presenting their research. Students participating in the Symposium are eligible for awards and the winners attend the Scholars Expeaux Award Ceremony.
The Symposium began in the spring of 2012.
Q: What’s a symposium?
A: A symposium is simply a conference or meeting where people gather to discuss a particular subject. The faculty committee will organize the presentations into panels that share a similar theme or approach.
Q: How long can my presentation be?
A: Your presentation should be 15 minutes long. That means your reading copy of your paper should be roughly 8 pages long (double spaced).
Q: I’m not sure if I can say everything I need to in 15 minutes.
A: Don’t worry, no one expects you to say everything about a topic in 15 minutes. Moreover, there will a question and answer period during which you can add in things that you didn’t have time to cover.
Q: Can I use a PowerPoint presentation, show images, or movie clips during my presentation?
A: Yes.
Q: Do I have to read my paper as part of my presentation?
A: While presentation styles differ across disciplines and even depending on the personality of the presenter, one common and widely accepted practice among scholars in the humanities is for presenters to read their papers.
Q: Am I eligible for an award if I don’t present?
A: No. To be eligible for an award, you must orally present your paper.
Q: Am I eligible for an award if I don’t submit my paper?
A: No. To be eligible for an award you must submit a paper version of your presentation.
Q: Who should submit an abstract and participate in the Humanities Symposium?
A: Any undergraduate student who has taken a humanities class–Art History, Literature, a modern foreign language, History, etc.
–Any student who might be interested in going to graduate school.
–Any student who might be interested in going to professional school.
Q: Do I need to have my paper written by the time I submit my abstract?
A: No. Many times, scholars will submit an abstract for a paper they have yet to write. Think of an abstract as an outline or as a proposal. Your paper doesn’t have to 100% match your abstract; as long as it is on the same general topic you’ll be fine.
Q: Does it cost anything to participate in the Humanities Symposium?
A: No and in fact you could win money via one of the awards.
Q: Can I submit my paper as part of a pre-formed panel consisting of three or four other papers?
A: Yes. Many times, scholars collaborate and submit an abstract for a pre-formed panel of three or four papers.
CONTACT INFORMATION:
Department of Languages and Literature
251 Peltier Hall
P.O. Box 2023
Thibodaux, LA 70310
CAMPUS LOCATION:
