Centenary professor wins prize for recent essay
SHREVEPORT, LA — Dr. Andia Augustin-Billy, associate professor of French and Francophone Studies, recently accepted the 2024 Ulloa Prize from the Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Conference (MIFLC) for her essay, "White Women, Black Men: Interracial Intimacy in Adolphe Duhart and Samuel Snaër's Short Stories," published in the MIFLC Review.
The Ulloa Prize honors the lifelong contributions of Professors Leonor and Justo Ulloa to the Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Association and to the MIFLC Review. The prize is awarded to the best essay in each published volume of the MIFLC Review as determined by a committee composed of members of the journal’s editorial board. Augustin-Billy accepted the award at the 2024 MIFLC at East Tennessee State University in October.
“This award is exciting because it highlights a significant, yet overlooked, part of American literature,” said Augustin-Billy. “Adolphe Duhart’s ‘Simple Histoire’ and François-Michel- Samuel Snaër’s ‘Souvenirs de Bonfuca,’ both published in 1865 by the U.S.’s first Black daily newspaper, La Tribune de la Nouvelle-Orléans, offer critical insights into the experiences of gens de couleur in 19th century Louisiana. Not only do Duhart and Snaër tell compelling tales, but they also deliver biting criticisms of slavery and champion racial and economic justice.”
Augustin-Billy notes she would not have been exposed to these works without the groundbreaking work of her Centenary colleague, Dr. Dana Kress, with the College’s heritage language press, Les Éditions Tintamarre.
“Tintamarre made these works accessible to me and other scholars,” said Augustin-Billy. “This award recognizes the importance of preserving and sharing silenced voices, and I’m excited to contribute to this essential scholarly dialogue.”
Augustin-Billy joined the Centenary faculty in 2015 after earning her Ph.D. in French language and literatures from Washington University in St. Louis. Her ongoing research interests and published scholarship include analysis of race, class and gender, travel and migration in French and Francophone African and Caribbean literatures, as well as Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies. She co-teaches an immersive course for Centenary students examining the experiences of Black Americans in Paris as part of the College’s Centenary in Paris program. In addition to the Paris program, she guides students on yearly May Module courses to the Caribbean, including Haiti, where she grew up, as well as St. Kitts and Barbados, exploring the region’s unique history and culture.
Augustin-Billy was chosen for the prestigious Mellon Emerging Faculty Leaders Award in 2019 and was honored with the Harry Blake Education Award from Mt. Canaan Baptist Church in Shreveport in 2018 for her efforts to promote Black history and culture in the field of education.
“The Ulloa Prize motivates me to expand my research into the underrepresented histories of Creole Louisiana and the free people of color, addressing the gaps in our knowledge of race, gender, and citizenship in the United States,” said Augustin-Billy. “I’m motivated to publish more, amplifying diverse voices in American literature, and enriching my teaching through discussions of 19th-century Creole Louisiana, reflecting thus Centenary College’s commitment to liberal arts education.”