AATF Convention 2021

La Louisiane Créole: Lawson Ota, fondateur de Tours by Marguerite, présente un aperçu de l’histoire et culture de la Louisiane francophone parsemé d’anecdotes du monde créole.

The presenters will seek to contextualize French Louisiana and share strategies, materials, & sources related to Louisiana’s Francophonie.
Kress (Carnival Characters—Publishing in French Louisiana) will discuss how French programs privilege the great French classics while giving a nod to the Francophone world. The experience often remains foreign to students who may lack the needed cultural or linguistic sophistication. Yet, Louisiana possesses a venerable French literature that is growing, available, and will not be foreign to students. Build enrollment with American literature—in French!
Lindner (Bringing Louisiana French into French Education in Louisiana) will introduce the evolution of French instruction in Louisiana, from second language lessons to French in immersion programs. The final step is introducing Louisiana French within established programs, introducing students to the unique varieties of French in Louisiana alongside academic French.
Smith (Louisiana French in Remote Teaching) will address the integration of Louisiana French in the transition to remote teaching of lower-level university courses. Building upon the intentional inclusion of Louisiana-focused materials, we have developed resources to integrate new, authentic multimedia materials to make the Francophonie of Louisiana more accessible to students.
White will address some common misunderstandings about Louisiana French. Her presentation will focus on a few lexical items that explain what the Louisiana variety of French has in common with other varieties and what is specifically Louisianian.

Bornier (Voix créoles féminines: Léona Queyrouze et Sidonie de la Houssaye) examinera le parcours de deux grandes figures féminines de la littérature francophone louisianaise au XIXe siècle: Léona Queyrouze et Sidonie de la Houssaye. Cette étude montrera que non seulement la francophonie avait un statut d’exception dans la société néo-orléanaise de l’époque mais que c’est aussi grâce à des femmes extraordinaires comme Queyrouze et de la Houssaye qu’elle a pu rayonner.
Heilman (The Role of Women in Alfred Mercier’s La Fille du Prêtre) will discuss Créole writer Louis Alfred Mercier who creates an immersive experience in his touching and tumultuous novel, La Fille du Prêtre. This novel, set in 19th century France (and various places throughout Europe), examines the female condition in both abandonment and empowerment. The story centers on the aftermath of a priest’s seduction of a young innocent. But while the novel devotes adequate time to the priest’s regeneration, the heart and emphasis of the novel lie in its central female characters. Mercier’s women are not reduced to stereotypes; they are well-rounded, active, and influential. The wheel of narrative revolves around Jeannette (the priest’s daughter), but within that wheel many feminine spokes sustain the multilayered plot of La Fille du Prêtre.
Marshall (Le créole louisianais dans la littérature du 19ème siècle : Alcée Fortier & Jules Choppin) proposera une mini-initiation à la langue créole et à ses textes. En nous appuyant sur des contes et poèmes de Fortier et Choppin, nous montrerons la richesse et la puissance créatrice de la langue créole en Louisiane au 19e siècle.