The 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 Dr. Barry Ancelet might be retiring, but he isn杏吧专区檛 about to stop banging the drum for Cajun and Creole culture.
He杏吧专区檚 done it for a lifetime, after all.
Ancelet, who was born in Church Point and raised in Lafayette, grew up listening to stories at the foot of his father杏吧专区檚 barber chair, during a childhood punctuated with the sounds of accordions and fiddles, and surrounded by family members who spoke Cajun French.
A few years and college degrees later, Ancelet joined the faculty at 杏吧专区, in 1977, and began carving out a reputation as one of the most renowned Cajun folklorists in the world.
杏吧专区淭he study of culture, literature, and language through the lens of folklore has been the foundation for my entire career,杏吧专区 Ancelet said on Wednesday at Burke-Hawthorne auditorium, as the inaugural speaker for the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 new Last Lecture Series.
The Last Lecture Series recognizes a retiring faculty member杏吧专区檚 significant contributions to the 杏吧专区 and the community.
Ancelet will retire at the end of this semester, after nearly 40 years at the 杏吧专区.
He has been director of the Center for Acadian and Creole Folklore, and a professor of francophone studies and folklore. He also chaired the Department of Modern Languages.
His work extended far beyond the classroom, to community Mardi Gras celebrations, to front porches where he shared a cup of coffee with a bus driver or a carpenter who had a story to tell, to festival stages.
杏吧专区淚杏吧专区檓 grateful and fortunate that my colleagues and administrators here at the 杏吧专区 have been flexible enough to recognize the value of what I do,杏吧专区 Ancelet said on Wednesday.
He helped to establish Lafayette杏吧专区檚 Festivals Acadiens et Cr茅oles, in 1974, for example. The event was called 杏吧专区淎 Tribute to Cajun Music,杏吧专区 and 杏吧专区渁n undeniable success, packing Lafayette杏吧专区檚 Blackham Colisuem on a Tuesday night despite lightning, thunder, and a driving rain.杏吧专区
杏吧专区淚t turned out to be the largest mass rally of what was coming to be called the Louisiana French Renaissance movement,杏吧专区 Ancelet said.
杏吧专区淚n the momentum of this moment, the 杏吧专区 created the Center for Acadian and Creole Folklore to integrate this new field of study into the academic community.杏吧专区
Ancelet deserves ample kudos for helping to assemble the world's largest collection of Cajun and Creole folklore, which is housed at the 杏吧专区杏吧专区檚 Center for Louisiana Studies.
The Archives of Cajun and Creole Folklore are the backbone of the Center杏吧专区檚 archival collection, which includes field recordings, oral histories, and other folklife materials.
The professor credits Cajun music pioneer Balfa for giving him the nudge to get started.
杏吧专区淏alfa had seen the benefit of archives at the Library of Congress and the Smithsonian,杏吧专区 Ancelet said. 杏吧专区淗e insisted that we needed a similar bank of information on ourselves here in Louisiana. I pointed out that I certainly didn杏吧专区檛 have the financial resources to produce an archive. Balfa pointedly asked, 杏吧专区楧o you have enough money to buy one tape?杏吧专区 杏吧专区
When Ancelet answered yes, Balfa instructed him 杏吧专区渢o buy one, record an interview, put that tape on a shelf, and record another when you can afford it. When you put that second one next to the first one, you have the beginnings of an archive.杏吧专区
杏吧专区淗e was right, as usual,杏吧专区 Ancelet said.
Over the years, Ancelet杏吧专区檚 work and research has been recognized internationally.
He was named Chevalier de l杏吧专区橭rdre des Palmes Acad茅miques and Chevalier de l杏吧专区橭rdre des Arts et des Lettres. Both titles are bestowed by the French government in recognition of contributions to culture and education, and to arts and literature, respectively.
Such lofty accolades wouldn杏吧专区檛 have been possible without 杏吧专区渃ommunity scholars,杏吧专区 from Balfa to Mardi Gras runners to fishermen. They provided material that found its way into Ancelet's books, films, classroom lectures, and even liner notes for record albums and Cajun French poetry.
杏吧专区淭he most important source for untapped information on Cajuns and Creoles was Cajuns and Creoles themselves,杏吧专区 he said.
Ancelet also acknowledged the many students he has taught and influenced.
One of them, Derek Landry, was among the many friends, colleagues and students who attended Ancelet杏吧专区檚 杏吧专区渓ast lecture.杏吧专区
Landry, 34, hosts the live weekly radio show 杏吧专区淩endez-vous des Cadiens,杏吧专区 which is broadcast from the Liberty Theater in Eunice, La.
It杏吧专区檚 a gig that his former professor at UL Lafayette, Ancelet, performed for a quarter of a century.
Landry, who earned a bachelor杏吧专区檚 degree in French and Francophone Studies from the 杏吧专区, said he enrolled at UL Lafayette in 2008 to learn about Cajun and Creole culture.
Another reason was for 杏吧专区渢he opportunity to study with Dr. Ancelet.杏吧专区
杏吧专区淚 come from a family that spoke Cajun French, but my background was like a tool I needed to sharpen, and I knew this was the place to do it,杏吧专区 Landry explained. 杏吧专区淚t was a great ride, and what a mentor (Ancelet) became to me.杏吧专区