The following list contains a select number of lectures and conferences hosted on the Mount Allison University campus between 1955 and 2000 relating to Acadians.
Père Théodore Gallant, Superior of St. Joseph University in Memramcook, New Brunswick, was invited to speak at the 1955 Spring Convocation, held in the Charles Fawcett Memorial Hall on 10 May 1955. President Flemington invited him in honour of the Bicentenary of the Expulsion of the Acadians (Le grand dérangement). President Flemington in turn addressed the students of St. Joseph at their 1955 Spring Convocation.[1]
In August 1961, Mount Allison University hosted the annual Summer Institute on the topic of “French Canada Today.” Francophone dignitaries from all across Canada were in attendance, including New Brunswick Premier Louis J. Robichaud, who spoke on “The Acadian Outlook.”[2]
On 24 March 1964, Emery LeBlanc was invited to speak at the Senior Banquet for the Class of 1964. LeBlanc was a journalist for l’Évangeline between 1943 and 1963, at which point he left to work in Public Relations for Canadian National. He was a staunch supporter of Acadian rights and wrote a number of articles on the topic during his time at l’Évangeline. LeBlanc was also co-founder of the Société historique acadienne, and published a series of stories on Acadian life and culture, including Les entretiens du village (1957), Les Acadiens (1963), and La vie à Sainte-Marie (1984).[3]
On 30 October 1964, the Hon. Louis J. Robichaud, Premier of New Brunswick, was invited to speak to the Mount Allison Liberal Club in Tweedie Hall.
Between 5 and 7 February 1965, Mount Allison hosted a Conference on Maritime Union in Tweedie Hall. The conference included a panel entitled "Maritime Union: Acadian Views" with speakers Jean Cadieux, Director of the School of Commerce at l'Université de Moncton; Alexnadre J. Boudreau, Directeur services exterieurs at l'Université de Moncton; C. E. Leger, barrister from Moncton, New Brunswick, and Euclide Daigle from l'Association Assomption Vie.
On 15 November 1968, Mount Allison hosted a lecture entitled “The French in New Brunswick” as part of the larger “Dialogue ‘69” conference. The panel leading the discussion consisted of Reverend Fernand Arsenault, Sister Corinne Gallant, department of Philosophy at l’Université de Moncton, Jacques Filteau, editor and general manager of the Acadian daily newspaper l’Évangeline, and Bernard Dauphin.[4]
On 27 October 1977, the Mount Allison Historical Society hosted a talk by Carleton University professor Dr. Naomi Griffiths on Acadian identity from early settlements in the 1630s to the deportation in 1755.[5]
On 6 March 1978, the director of the Folkore Studies Department at l’Université de Moncton, Charlotte Cormier, gave a lecture on the folkore and musical tradition of Acadians in New Brunswick.[6]
During the 1979-1980 academic year, the Department of History offered a non-credit course entitled “Chignecto Regional History,” which included a unit on The Acadians, with lectures by Dr. John G. Reid (course coordinator).[7]
On 9 February 1981, Charlotte Cormier, former director of Folklore Studies at l’Université de Moncton and professor of folklore at Laval University, delivered the fourth Winthrop Bell Folklore lecture series entitled “Fieldwork and Folksong in a Small Acadian Village,” on the folklore traditions of Pré-d’en-Haut.[8]
On 10 February 1981, Charlotte Cormier discussed her research into English and Acadian songs as part of the Winthrop Bell Folklore lecture series.[9]
On 17 March 1981, Professeur Marguerite Maillet, Head of the Department of French Studies at l’Université de Moncton, spoke on the subject of “Quatre Poètes Acadiens des années 70 et la Contestation” as part of the Jean Bousquet Lectures.[10]
In [April] 1984, the Centre for Canadian Studies at Mount Allison University sponsored the third Anchorage Symposium on the subject of “Art and Music in New Brunswick.” Professor Charlotte Cormier presented a paper on “Acadian Native Songs.”[11]
On 22 November 1984, professor Marguerite Maillet from l’Université de Moncton delivered a lecture entitled “La Littérature Acadienne: D’un Printemps à l’Autre.” She was the Winthrop Pickard Bell Visiting Fellow in Maritime Studies between 18 and 24 November. The lecture was the third in the Winthrop Pickard Bell Lecture in Maritime Studies for the 1984-85 academic year. [12]
On 12 March 1985, Prof. Fernand Arsenault from l’Université de Moncton delivered a lecture entitled “A Christian Contribution to Peace: An Address on French-English Relations in New Brunswick in Tweedie Hall. The talk was jointly sponsored by the Canadian Studies Programme, and the departments of Political Science and Religious Studies.[13]
On 4-6 April 1986, the Centre for Canadian Studies at Mount Allison hosted the fourth Anchorage Symposium on the subject of “Theatre in Atlantic Canada / Le théâtre dans le Canada Atlantique.” Two of the papers presented at the symposium dealt with Acadian theatre: “Évangeline Deusse: l’exil du théâtre contemporain en Acadie” by Michèle Lacombe and “Le Théâtre en Acadie et les enjeux d’une société minoritaire” by Zénon Chiasson.[14]
On 11 October 1988, Dr. Naomi Griffiths gave her first lecture of the year as the 1988-89 Winthrop Pickard Bell Chair in Maritime Studies. It was entitled “1682-1692: Settlement Achieved” and discussed the origins and settlement of the Acadians.” Her second talk, entitled “1729-1730: Identity Established” was presented on 15 November 1988.[15]
On 11 November 1994, Dr. David Beatty gave a talk entitled “An Acadian remembers the First World War” at the Owens Art Gallery. The talk was based on Fred Robichaud’s memories of the Great War. Robichaud, who joined the 106th Nova Scotia Infantry Battalion in 1915, was a native of Lower Cap-Pelé, New Brunswick. He fought on the battlefields of France and Belgium for four years, taking part in some of the most crucial battles of the war, including the Battle of Vimy Ridge.When he returned home in May 1919, Robichaud faced an immediate problem. As he recounted to Dr. Beatty, “My relatives and friends said, ‘Speak French, we can’t understand you.’ I replied, ‘I am speaking French, it’s you who aren’t making sense.’ I had been in France in Belgium so long, I had picked up the European accent. It took me quite a while to adjust to [Cap-Pelé] French, and to civilian life in general.” Robichaud married Eva LeBlanc of Memramcook and eventually settled in Amherst, where he worked at the Amherst Car Works.[16]
On 14-15 February 1997, Mount Allison University hosted the “First Annual Folklore Symposium: Stories of Place.” The symposium included lecture from Mr. Ronald Labelle entitled “Acadian Performance Genres.”[17]
The Superior of St. Joseph University, Père Théodore Gallant, and University President Ross Flemington at the spring convocation, held in the Charles Fawcett Memorial Hall on 10 May 1955.
Mount Allison University Archives, Picture Collection, 2007.07/2130
Premier Louis Joseph Robichaud standing in front of the Alex Colville mural in Tweedie Hall with an unidentified student by his side. Robichaud was invited to campus to speak to the Mount Allison Liberal Club on 30 October 1964 as the Leader of the Liberal Party and Premier of New Brunswick.
Mount Allison University Archives. Picture Collection, 2007.07/2124
Premier Louis Joseph Robichaud standing in front of the Alex Colville mural in Tweedie Hall with an unidentified student by his side. Robichaud was invited to campus to speak to the Mount Allison Liberal Club on 30 October 1964 as the Leader of the Liberal Party and Premier of New Brunswick.
Mount Allison University Archives. Picture Collection, 2007.07/2125
The lecture series included two talks by Charlotte Cormier from the Department of Folklore at Laval University.
Marguerite Maillet, Head of the Department of French Studies at l'Université de Moncton, was invited to give a talk on "Quatre Poètes Acadiens des années 70 et la Contestation" as part of the Jean Bousquet lecture series on 17 March 1981.
[1] Mount Allison University Record, Summer 1955, p. 46
[2] “Summer Institute,” The Record, vol. XLIV, no. 2. -- Summer 1961. -- pp. 6-13.
[3] See 2014.53/18 for the programme of the Senior’s Banquet.
[4] “Dialogue ‘68” / Hans Durstling. The Argosy Weekly – 1 November 1968 – p. 6 and “[Acadians topic at Dialogue ‘68].” The Moncton Daily Times. – 16 November 1968.
[5] “The Acadians – A Sense of Identity.” / Julia Cornish. The Argosy Weekly, vol. CVI, no. 7. – 3 November 1977. – p. 5
[6] “Ecoutez tous, petits and grands.” / Janie Rushton and Heather McFadyen. The Argosy Weekly, vol. CVI, no. 17. – 17 March 1978. – p. 19
[7] 0106 Lectures / Series: The Chignecto Regional History
[8] “Pris d’Haut.” / Jerry Hicks. The Argosy Weekly, vol. CIX, no. 16. – 12 February 1981. – p. 11 and two documents from the 0106 Lectures / Series: Winthrop Bell Lecture Series
[9] 0106 Lectures / Series: Winthrop Bell Lecture Series
[10] 0106 Lecture/Series: Bousquet Lectures est. 1981
[11] For a text of the proceedings of the symposium, see: The Proceedings of the Art and Music in New Brunswick Symposium, edited by Margaret Fancy. Goose Lane Editions, 1987. Available in the University Archives.
[12] 0106 Lectures / Series: Winthrop Bell Lecture Series: “Marguerite Maillet to give Winthrop Pickard Bell lecture at Mount Allison University.” 2 leaves of textual records and “L’Université Mount Allison annonce avec Plaisir la troisième conference…” 1 leaf of textual records.
[13] “Treat with love.” / Andrea Marr. Argosy Weekly, vol. CXIV, no. 18. – 14 March 1985. – p. 3, 8, 14. See also 0106 Lectures: by speaker name, Arsenault: “You are invited to attend a presentation on French-English relations in New Brunswick.” 1 leaf of textual records, and copy of address “A Christian contribution to peace: an address on French-English Relations in New Brunswick.” / Fernand Arsenault. 6 leaves of textual records.
[14] For a text of the proceedings of the symposium, see The Proceedings of the Theatre in Atlantic Canada, edited by Richard Paul Knowles. The Centre for Canadian Studies, 1988. Available in the University Archives.
[15] “Acadian history subject of lecture.” The Argosy Weekly, vol. CXVIII, no. 2. – 29 September 1988. – p. 6 and “Acadian culture subject of lecture.” The Argosy Weekly, vol. CXVIII, no. 7. 9 November 1988. – p. 6.
[16] Notice. The Argosy Weekly, vol. 124, no. 6. – 3 November 1994. – p. 27. See also “Fred Robichaud’s memories of the Great War” in The New Brunswick Reader. – 12 November 1994. – pp. 5-8
[17] Notice. The Argosy, vol. 126, no. 15. – 6 February 1997. – p. 19