September 28, 2023

"Country Hood" Love Stories with Monica Walters

Reception with refreshments: 4:30-5:00 pm, Dishman Museum First Floor Gallery

Author reading and interview: 5:00-6:00 pm, Dishman Auditorium

Please join us for an intriguing evening with Amazon best-selling romance author Monica Walters (B.S. in Sociology, 2013), best known as the “queen of country hood love stories.”  Walters, a Beaumont native who now resides in Nome, has always had a passion for creating different worlds with words, and her stories often feature the people and places of Southeast Texas, including several works set on the campus of Lamar University. In addition to reading passages from her novels, Walters will sit down for an interview and audience Q&A. We look forward to discovering Walters’s winding path to publication, celebrating her many successes, and learning more about the distinctive cultures of our region.

October 20, 2023

Swamp Pop: History and Sounds of a Gumbo-Combo of Rock ‘N’ Roll, Country, and Cajun Music.

6:30-8:00 pm, McFaddin-Ward House Museum Performance Patio

Our annual LU at McFaddin Ward House will feature a free public lecture by Center Fellow and Lamar MA student (Music) Rachel Stiles, followed by a live musical performance from original Swamp Pop musicians such as Jivin'’ Gene.

November 3, 2023

100 Years of Magical Memories

4:00 pm, First Floor, Mary and John Gray Library. Exhibit Opening

4:15 pm, Mirabeau B. Lamar Room, Eighth Floor, Mary and John the Gray Library. Presentation & Panel Discussion

The Lamar University Archives and Special Collections will host a Homecoming event at 4:00 pm, Friday, November 3 in conjunction with the opening of a new exhibit on the first floor of the Mary and John Gray Library. “100 Years of Magical Memories” consists of items collected by the Center for History and Culture of Southeast Texas and the Upper Gulf Coast. The exhibit includes football programs, scrapbooks, class rings, athletic jerseys, letter jackets, and other items that mark the history of Lamar University. At about 4:15 pm in the Mirabeau B. Lamar Room, Eighth Floor of the Gray Library, Judith Linsley—past director of the Center for History and Culture—will give a presentation on the history of Lamar. A panel discussion will follow with alumni sharing their memories of the university during different eras. Light refreshments provided.

November 9, 2023

Finding Myself Lost in Louisiana with Keagan LeJeune

Time and Place TBD

Check back for updates. Dr. Keagan LeJeune is an award-winning author and folklorist, professor of English at McNeese State University, and a Fellow of the Center for History and Culture. He will share his research in the folklore of Louisiana and the Chenier Plain.