UL Lafayette History Department

05/27/2026

Congratulations to Connor Benoit (MA, 2026), who won the 2026 Jefferson Caffery Research Award at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette! The following is from the University's press release:

Benoit, who earned a master’s degree in history from UL Lafayette this spring, submitted his winning historical research essay last fall as part of the Caffery competition. It is judged by a panel that includes members of the Edith Garland Dupré Library staff.

The Caffery Award is given yearly to an undergraduate or graduate student who conducts scholarly research using primary sources housed in Special Collections at Dupré Library. Special Collections is home to Caffery’s papers and other mementos of his career.

Benoit, who also earned a bachelor’s degree in history from the University in 2024, claimed this year’s Caffery Award for “Alexandre Declouet: A Study and Re-examination of Chauvinistic Heritage in Antebellum Louisiana, 1812-1860.” He received a $500 prize for his winning essay.

In it, Benoit examines topics such as slavery, suffrage, the French Creole aristocracy and Creole identity, the American Civil War and Reconstruction. He filtered it all through the life of Declouet, a sugar planter and politician from St. Martin Parish who was born in 1812 and died in 1890.

As Benoit writes in his essay: “Declouet was a product of his cultural heritage. His upbringing and career as a member of the French Creole Aristocracy resulted in his reluctance and negative attitude towards assimilation into the United States. As the country started to drift towards a Civil War, Declouet’s identity as both an isolationist Creole and sugar planter guided his decision-making throughout his career to the eventual secession of the South.”

A key source for Benoit’s project was the Declouet Family Papers, which are housed in Special Collections’ University Archives and Acadiana Manuscripts Collection.

Materials in the library’s Jefferson Caffery Louisiana Room, the Louisiana Collection, the Rare Books Collection, Ernest J. Gaines Center, the Cajun and Creole Music Collection and microforms can also be used for Caffery competition research.

The Caffery Award is provided by a fund established in 1967 by Ambassador and Mrs. Jefferson Caffery. A 1903 graduate of UL Lafayette, Caffery served as U.S. ambassador to El Salvador, Columbia, Cuba, Brazil, France and Egypt.

Find more information about the Jefferson Caffery Research Award.

Photo caption: Connor Benoit (left) has won the 2026 Jefferson Caffery Research Award at UL Lafayette. Benoit is pictured with Dr. Zack Stein, assistant dean of technical services at the Edith Garland Dupré Library. It is judged by a panel that includes members of the Dupré Library staff. Photo credit: Doug Dugas / University of Louisiana at Lafayette

05/26/2026

"Frey said earning a college degree is still worthwhile, as it imparts three core skills in which humans hold a competitive edge over AI: complex social interactions, creativity, and navigating complex environments." Sure, you can learn these things in a lot of places, but it's at college and university, and especially in the humanities and social sciences departments, that students fully develop them through intensive training. Our department is proud to be home to three of these foundational fields of study: history, geography, & philosophy.

College can help safeguard employees from having their jobs offshored to India or the Philippines, Carl Benedikt Frey told Fortune.

05/13/2026

Congratulations to Drs. Conque and Simpson on winning Research Intensive Semesters for next year!

We are pleased to announce the faculty selected for the College of Liberal Arts Research Intensive Semester program for the 2026–2027 academic year.

The Research Intensive Semester initiative is designed to support faculty scholarship and creative activity by providing dedicated time for sustained research productivity. These projects represent a wide range of disciplines and scholarly approaches across the college and reflect the remarkable intellectual energy of our faculty.

Please join us in congratulating these colleagues on their achievements and in wishing them productive and rewarding research semesters!

05/13/2026

Congratulations to Emma Thomas (back row, second from left) for being named the College of Liberal Arts' outstanding graduate for Spring 2026. Thomas, of Metairie, has also been named our department's Outstanding Graduate, as well as winner of the W. Magruder Drake Senior Award for Excellence in History, the Guilbeau/Cusimano Award for Best Undergraduate Paper in History, and the Charles B. Allen Award for Contributions to Phi Alpha Theta and the History, Geography, & Philosophy Department.

Read more about Thomas’s outstanding work at the Outstanding Graduates announcement page: https://louisiana.edu/news/eight-ul-lafayette-students-recognized-spring-2026-outstanding-graduates

05/08/2026

Did you know that History majors at UL Lafayette graduate with less debt than students from any other degree program? That's according to the Department of Education's College Scorecard website. https://collegescorecard.ed.gov/school/?160658-University-of-Louisiana-at-Lafayette

05/06/2026

“I think it’s communication, it’s critical thought. The fundamentals of a liberal education are probably more important than learning how to code in Java right now.”

https://www.latimes.com/world-nation/story/2026-05-05/college-students-are-in-search-of-ai-proof-majors

05/05/2026

Congratulations to graduating senior Emma Thomas, who successfully completed History Advance Student Research Experience (ASRE) pathway to excellence! The ASRE Program expands research, skills, and hands-on experiences for undergraduate students.

There are two ASRE Pathways: Distinction & Excellence. Both increase the quality of students' knowledge and marketable skills in research, creativity, and scholarship.
Students complete designated courses and co-curricular activities to earn the Advance attribute on their transcript. The research, skills, and experiences gained by Advance scholars strengthen their resumes and competitiveness after completion.

Learn more about ASRE and check out the History pathways here:
https://advance.louisiana.edu/students/advance-asre-pathways

05/05/2026

Congratulations to graduating senior Kaori Rodney, who successfully completed the History Advance Student Research Experience (ASRE) pathway to distinction! The ASRE Program expands research, skills, and hands-on experiences for undergraduate students.

There are two ASRE Pathways: Distinction & Excellence. Both increase the quality of students' knowledge and marketable skills in research, creativity, and scholarship. Students complete designated courses and co-curricular activities to earn the Advance attribute on their transcript. The research, skills, and experiences gained by Advance scholars strengthen their resumes and competitiveness after completion.

Learn more about ASRE and check out the History pathways here:

https://advance.louisiana.edu/students/advance-asre-pathways

04/19/2026

"The most prized future workers will be those who can decode a sea of outputs, spot the meaningful signal and translate it into action that others understand and trust." Are we entering the era of the Judgment Economy? If so, our department is at the forefront of training the next in-demand workforce.

The most prized workers will be those who can decode a sea of outputs, spot the meaningful signal and translate it into action that others understand and trust.