Events

Spring 2024

 rozelle

 

February 1, 2024

Ron Rozelle: Texas Gulf Raconteur.

5:00 pm, Spindletop Room, Eight Floor, Mary and John Gray Library.

Award-winning author Ron Rozelle will speak about his experiences as a writer of Texas fiction and nonfiction. He is the author of eleven books, including Leaving the Country of Sin: A Novel, winner of the 2022 Summerlee Book Prize. Rozelle is an inductee of the Texas Institute of Letters and recently retired after a forty year career as a teacher of English and Creative Writing. Refreshments provided. Free and open to the public.

 

Cajun Life

 

 

February 19, 2024

Cookin' Cajun with Jim LaBove.

Dinner and Presentation. Currently at Capacity.

6:00 pm, CICE Room 113.

Local author, artist, and historian Jim LaBove will share his family's stories and recipes that feature the culture and cuisine of the Bayou Cajun, Acadian descendants unique to Southeast Texas and and Southwestern Louisiana. LaBove grew up in Sabine Pass where he worked with his father Lazime "Cotton" LaBove, a commercial fisherman who operated Cotton's Seafood. Jim LaBove graduated Lamar University in 1970 with a BA in history. He is the author and illustrator of several books including Sketches of My Cajun Life (2016, 2018) and Cotton's Seafood: An Autobiographical Cook Book (2016). Chef Casey Gates (Department of Nutrition, Hospitality & Human Services) and his culinary arts students will prepare and serve a full dinner based on LaBove family recipes.

The event is currently at capacity, and we are unable to take new RSVPs. Thank you for supporting the Center for History and Culture. 

View the recorded stream from Facebook: 

Recorded Stream

 Wonder World Oil Company

February 29, 2024

Dr. Mary Barrett presents on "Black Americans' Oil Industry Experiences."

4:30 pm, Refreshments and Reception, Dishman Gallery.
5:00 pm, Presentation, Dishman Auditorium.

Dr. Mary Barrett will give a presentation on her research. She says, “Past experiences of Black people in U.S. oil fields ranged from horrific to heroic … Black-owned oil companies … incorporated to manage their own land holdings, to broker leases, and to drill and develop their leases.” Dr.  Barrett taught Geology at Centenary College of Louisiana and is editor of Oil-Industry History, journal of the Petroleum History Institute. Refreshments, reception, and presentation Free and Open to All. Co-sponsored by the Lamar University Office of Strategic Initiatives.

View the recorded stream from Facebook:

Recorded Stream

GGS 2024

April 16, 2024

The Built Culture of Southeast Texas with Tara A. Dudley

4:30 pm. Reaud 101 Event Space.

Award-winning author and architectural scholar Dr. Tara A. Dudley will give the keynote for the Third Annual Greater Gulf Symposium. The keynote and reception will also include a poster session that highlights the work of the Symposium Fellows. Dr. Dudley is an assistant professor in the School of Architecture at the University of Texas at Austin. She is the author of Building Antebellum New Orleans: Free People of Color and Their Influence, winner of the 2022 Summerlee Book Prize for Nonfiction. Free and open to the public.

 

Making Space for Women

April 26, 2024

Making Space for Women with Jennifer Ross-Nazzal

Lamar University. Room and Time TBD.

Dr. Jennifer Ross-Nazzal will talk about her work that "explores how careers for women at Johnson Space Center have changed over the past fifty years as the workforce became more diverse and fields once closed to women—the astronaut corps and flight control—began to open." Dr. Ross-Nazzal is the Human Space Flight Historian at the John Space Center, Houston, Texas. She is the author of the award-winning book Making Space for Women: Stories from Trailblazing Women of NASA's John Space Center (Texas A&M, 2022). Free and open to all. Dr. Ross-Nazzall will also speak at the evening screening of Apollo 13 at the Jefferson Theatre. See below.

 

Apollo 13

April 26, 2024

Apollo 13 at the Jefferson Theatre.

Guest speaker Dr. Jennifer Ross-Nazzal, Johnson Space Center. 

6:30 PM. Speaker's presentation followed by movie screening.

In conjunction with the City of Beaumont's "Movie Night" at the Jefferson Theatre, the Center for History and Culture will host a screening of Apollo 13. Special guest Dr. Jennifer Ross-Nazzal will talk about "Apollo 13 from Earth:  Inside Mission Control and the Race to Bring the Crew Back Home." Dr. Ross-Nazzal is the Human Space Flight Historian at the John Space Center, Houston, Texas. She is the author of the award-winning book Making Space for Women: Stories from Trailblazing Women of NASA's John Space Center (Texas A&M, 2022). Free to Lamar University students with a valid ID. Dr. Ross-Nazzall will also speak at Lamar University. See above.