Events surrounding, readings, presentations and theater are scheduled during the upcoming week of the 39th season of Fanfare, Southeastern Louisiana University’s annual fall festival of the arts, humanities and social sciences.
Kicking off the week on Monday, Oct. 21, is a question and answer session with the Department of English and World Languages’ Common Read author Talia Lakshmi Kolluri. Scheduled in the Student Union Theatre, the session will take place at 11 a.m., followed by a reading from “What We Fed the Manticore,” at 12:30 p.m.
Each semester the department invites one author to share their work with students. The selections range from fiction to nonfiction, and poetry to prose. A large portion of the English classes read the chosen work, and English Department faculty members host a series of lectures offering insight into the book in the weeks leading up to the main event. The Common Read offers a unique experience for students to engage with the author and their work when the author visits campus.
On Oct. 22, at 11 a.m., the History and Political Science Department will present the next Then and Now lecture in the series. Scheduled in the Student Union Theatre, the lecture, titled “Echoes of Independence: West Florida and the Spanish American Revolutions,” will be given by Southeastern master’s graduate Colin Mathison.
Mathison will explain that while Louisiana’s Florida parishes occupy a unique place in American History, they are also important in Latin American History. In the revolution of 1810, West Florida became the first Spanish colony to declare independence in the wave of revolutions that rocked the Spanish Empire in the 19th century. The lecture places West Florida’s Revolution into the broader context of the Spanish Empire and Atlantic World.
Also beginning Oct. 22, at 7 p.m., Alpha Psi Omega presents “In Case of Emergency,” a series of one acts written by Southeastern students and alumni. Scheduled in the Student Union Theatre, the event runs through Oct. 24 and begins at 7 p.m. each day. Tickets are $10.
Rounding out the week Oct. 23-26, Southeastern Opera/Music Theatre presents Gioachino Rossini’s “La cambiale di matrimonio.” Scheduled in Pottle Auditorium, each performance begins at 7 p.m. The opera tells the story of a wealthy English merchant, Tobia Mill, who forces his daughter, Fanny, to marry his American trading partner, Slook, to combine business and pleasure.
Fanfare events are free, unless otherwise noted. For more information, contact the Columbia/Fanfare office at 985-549-2999.
COMMON READ – Talia Lakshmi Kolluri will serve as Southeastern Louisiana University’s Common Read author on Oct. 21, as part of Fanfare. The Common Read offers a unique experience for students to engage with the author and their work when the author visits campus.
