The Acadian Archives/Archives acadiennes located at the University of Maine at Fort Kent will launch its annual Acadian History Lecture Series on February 12, featuring five weeks of expert-led presentations exploring 400 years of heritage.
The series will take place every Thursday at 6 p.m. and will be entirely available through Zoom. This year’s curriculum spans a diverse range of topics, including Native-French relations, transatlantic trade networks, colonial textile culture, Louisiana myths and legends, and the experiences of Acadian soldiers during World War I.
“This annual event has grown beyond our hopes,” explains Patrick Lacroix, director of the Acadian Archives. “In 2025, we received more than 130 registrations with people signing up from as far away as California, Alberta, and even France. Folks come back year after year because there is nothing quite like it.”
The 2026 speaker lineup includes:
- Thomas Peace, professor of history at Huron University
- Nicole Gilhuis, professor of history at Pepperdine University
- Hilary Doda, instructor in Dalhousie University’s Costume Studies program
- Nathan Rabalais, professor of Francophone Studies at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette
- Gregory Kennedy, dean of the Faculty of Arts at Brandon University
Each lecture concludes with a Q & A segment, offering attendees the opportunity to engage directly with the scholars.
Registration is $25 for the full five-week series. The deadline to sign up is Feb 9. Interested participants can register online.
For more information, please contact the Acadian Archives at 207-834-7535 or e-mail acadian@maine.edu.