What do you call a gathering of Franco-Americans and friends of Franco-Americans? If you are in central Maine, it’s a Rassemblement, and you are sure to see it happen every spring. The latest installment of the Rassemblement, an annual tradition for the Franco-American Centre at the University of Maine, was a tremendously thought-provoking and inspiring […]
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Why Franco-American History?
Good luck finding a French Canadian who has no personal connection to the grande saignée, the wave of emigration that afflicted Canada from 1840 to the Great Depression. I, for one, could mention my own great-, great-, great-, great-grandparents, Joseph and Dorothée Royer, who spent several years in the United States around 1830. Wave after […]
Continue readingLa Journée de la Francophonie in Exeter, N.H.
Yesterday, in celebration of Francophonie Day at Phillips Exeter Academy, I was invited to deliver the event’s keynote address. I gladly share my prepared remarks here. Thank you, all, for your presence here. I salute your interest in this language that bring us together—not merely today, I hope, but throughout the year. Thank you especially […]
Continue readingFranco-Americans and the U.S. History Survey
In the last twenty years, the emergence of transnational and borderlands history has profited many areas of historical research. Scholars have increasingly challenged portrayals of borders as immutable markers of national identity. The new approaches have helped us to better recognize the fluidity of identities across borders and, often, in spite of borders. But, as […]
Continue readingFinding a Larger Canvas: Franco-Americans’ Enduring Significance
An earlier version of this essay appeared in Le Forum, vol. 39, no. 3 (fall 2017), 3-5. See the full original version here. How knowledgeable are you of Franco-American history? What about your fellow Americans, or your fellow Canadians—how conversant are they? Unfortunately, many Americans of French descent know little about their heritage; it is […]
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