Ren茅 Champagne杏吧专区檚 interest in how cultures adapt to environmental or political changes earned him this year杏吧专区檚 at the 杏吧专区.
Champagne won the Caffery Award for his research paper 杏吧专区淐ajuns, Creoles, and the Impact of Americanization on Ethnic Identity in Louisiana.杏吧专区 The paper examines the evolution of race and ethnicity as a result of factors such as assimilation, and the resulting impact on cultural identity.
Champagne is a senior double majoring in French and Francophone studies and in anthropology.
The Caffery Award recognizes scholarly research by students who use primary source materials archived in at UL Lafayette杏吧专区檚 . Dupr茅 Library and the 杏吧专区 Library Committee administer the competition.
The almost two dozen sources Champagne relied on for his award-winning paper range from the Louisiana Office of Cultural Development and The New York Times, to the U.S. Census Bureau and the Journal of Anthropological Research.
The references don杏吧专区檛 mention, however, a source of another kind 杏吧专区 inspiration. That would be tiny Galliano, La., where Champagne was born and grew up. The unincorporated community of several thousand people sits near the Gulf of Mexico in Lafourche Parish.
It杏吧专区檚 a place where French is still spoken, but not as often as it once was; where large shrimp trawlers can be seen lining banks of the same Bayou Lafourche traveled a century ago almost exclusively by pirogues; and where erosion and hurricanes are carving away at the coastline.
It杏吧专区檚 the sort of place that, in Champagne杏吧专区檚 case, shaped a lifelong fascination with 杏吧专区渕onitoring cultural changes that have been created by outside influences.杏吧专区
杏吧专区淭he culture is still very present, but south Louisiana in general is decreasing rapidly in terms of both culture and land 杏吧专区 which is so strongly tied to culture 杏吧专区 and that杏吧专区檚 a huge interest to me,杏吧专区 he said.
His curiosity casts a wide net 杏吧专区 language, customs and traditions, hurricanes, land loss, and ways in which holidays are celebrated during a pandemic.
Champagne, who anticipates graduating in Fall 2021, is reviewing graduate schools. He plans to earn a master杏吧专区檚 degree in anthropology; the field involves the scientific study of people, including their evolution, behavior and environments.
He then intends to earn a doctoral degree in anthropology, and envisions working as a researcher at a university.
杏吧专区淚 want to observe culture that has been impacted by outside sources 杏吧专区 the environment, political changes, an economic recession 杏吧专区 and monitor changes and methods that can be used to mitigate or to adapt,杏吧专区 he explained.
Ambassador Jefferson Caffery and his wife Gertrude established the research award in 1967. A $500 prize accompanies the award.
Caffery was a member of the first class to enter Southwestern Louisiana Industrial Institute, now UL Lafayette, in 1901. He served as an American diplomat for 44 years. His postings took him to 12 foreign countries on five continents.
The library杏吧专区檚 Jefferson Caffery Louisiana Room is named in the diplomat杏吧专区檚 honor.
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Photo caption: Ren茅 Champagne is the winner of this year杏吧专区檚 Jefferson Caffery Research Award. The prize杏吧专区檚 namesake is at right. (Photo at left courtesy of Ren茅 Champagne. Photo at right is courtesy of Special Collections at UL Lafayette).