Tip Sheet
LSU Experts in Louisiana Heritage and Culture
The first Mardi Gras of the new millennium is Tuesday, March 7, 2000. The Carnival season runs from January 6, 2000, through Mardi Gras Day.
FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE
January 14, 2000
Coming to Louisiana to film Mardi Gras revelers?
If so, you may want to consider doing some accompanying stories on the state's unique Cajun heritage and Mardi Gras traditions. In South Louisiana, French and Spanish cultures have intertwined to create a gumbo, or interesting mix, of languages, architecture styles, music and food. Louisiana State University in Baton Rouge, La., features numerous experts who can discuss the colorful Cajun traditions and folklore, as well as the religious history behind Fat Tuesday.
Some of LSU's leading experts on Louisiana heritage, and their areas of study, are:
Mardi Gras history and customs -- Professor Frank DeCaro, Department of English, 225-769-9629 or 225-388-3049, [email protected]. Also, Professor Wesley Shrum, Department of Sociology, 225-388-5311, [email protected] or [email protected].
Cajun French language, literature, folklore and legends, Cajun music traditions -- Instructor Amanda LaFleur, Department of French and Italian, 225-388-1396, [email protected].
Cajun and Creole architecture in Louisiana, vernacular and folk architecture in Louisiana, influence of architecture in the West Indies on Louisiana buildings, Cajun and Creole oral literature and folklore, Louisiana's historic buildings -- Professor Jay Edwards, Department of Geography and Anthropology, 225-388-2566, [email protected].
History of Louisiana architecture -- Professional-in-residence William Brockway, LSU School of Architecture, 225-388-4260, [email protected].
History of 19th-century Louisiana burial dress and artifacts; artifacts and clothing from three coffins in a family tomb unearthed in Louisiana; use of artifacts and clothing to draw conclusions about social and religious customs of the 1800s -- Associate Professor Jenna Kuttruff, LSU School of Human Ecology, [email protected] or [email protected].
Louisiana's Spanish culture, the Spanish settlement of Louisiana, the state's colonial period -- Professor Paul Hoffman, LSU Department of History, 225-388-4459 or 225-769-2430, [email protected].
How different Louisiana religions and cultures can be identified by examining the style, architecture and landscaping of courthouses and courthouse squares -- Professor Miles Richardson, Department of Geography and Anthropology, 225-388-6192, [email protected].
Louisiana art and archaeology; identifying ancient Native American artifacts found in Louisiana, particularly pottery, dating back to 500-1,200 A.D. Working at several archaic sites in Louisiana; curator at LSU Museum of Natural Science -- Assistant curator Rebecca Saunders, LSU Museum of Natural Science, 225-388-6562, [email protected].
Designing high-fashion clothing from alligator skins, the American alligator industry, alligator leather -- Professor Teresa Summers, LSU School of Human Ecology, 225-388-1524, [email protected].
For a sample of Louisiana's rural history, including actual slave cabins, Acadian cottages and a church from the antebellum era, contact David Floyd, director of the LSU Rural Life Museum, at 225-765-2437 or visit the museum's web site, which is available through the LSU home page at www.lsu.edu. The museum, formerly a plantation site that has been preserved and maintained, has been ranked one of the top 20 outdoor museums in the world.
For additional information on Louisiana's unique French and Cajun culture, visit the web site for the LSU Center for French and Francophone Studies at www.artsci.lsu.edu/cffs.
Some popular Louisiana terms:
Cajun -- Term used to refer to the Acadians, or those who migrated to Louisiana from Nova Scotia after fleeing France, primarily for religious freedom.
Creole -- Term used by those of French and Spanish descent to describe a first-generation American, or someone who was born in the New World, but whose parents were from another country.
King Cake -- A Mardi Gras confection that was initially baked on Jan. 6 -- King's Day or the Feast of the Epiphany -- the day the Magi paid homage to the Christ child. Originally, king cakes were baked in honor of the Three Wise Men. Each cake contains a small plastic baby, representing the baby Jesus.
** LSU holds a Guinness World Record for the world's largest King Cake, which was 182 feet long, weighed 350 pounds and fed 3,000 people.
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Contact Kristine Calongne
LSU News Service
225 388-5985
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