With France Semester well on its way, members of the planning committee are already excited about upcoming events.

Dr. Chad Stebbins, director of the Institute of International Studies, said the first few events were already successful. Dr. Barry Jean Ancelet, professor of folklore and Francophone studies in the Department of Modern Languages at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette, spoke earlier this week at four separate events.

On Monday he spoke about the Cajuns and Creoles of Louisiana at 9 a.m. then at 11 a.m. he spoke about Social and Community Values in the Oral Tradition of French Louisiana. On Tuesday he spoke about Cajun Music and Zydeco as Social Barometers and presented a film he made named Against the Tide.

“His lectures were very well-received and attended,” said Stebbins. “Which was a nice way to kick off the semester.”

The next upcoming event will be the student brown bag, presented by Dr. Paul Teverow, professor of history.

He will be giving a PowerPoint presentation on “French History for Dummies.”

The student brown bag special is a new event this semester, in which a different Missouri Southern professor will give a presentation every Wednesday in the Spiva Library coffee shop.

The idea was mentioned last spring during planning for the France semester. When someone had the idea to use Missouri Southern faculty for speakers.

“We bring in all these experts from other places, when we needed to make better use of the expertise we have on campus,” said Teverow. But the student brown bags will only accommodate up to 60 students, so students need to contact the Institute office prior to the event to receive a meal pass.

Other events for fall semester include the French Film Festival, which will play 10 films over the course of the semester.

“The concerts are also always amongst the most popular events,” Stebbins said.

There will be three concerts this semester, starting with “No Jazz,” an electro-jazz five-piece dance band, on Sept. 19.

Then there will be “Blue Railroad Train” on Oct. 2 and Eric Vincent on Oct. 30.

In total, there will be 63 events during the France semester.

With some weeks busier than others, ranging from two or three events some weeks up to 4 or 5 events on others. Stebbins said he doesn’t expect anyone to attend all the events, but everyone should attend at least a few events.

Not only is there a wide range of interests covered in the events there is also a wide range of times and dates. While some events will be held in the mid-morning hours Monday through Friday, others, like the music events, will be held in the evening.

For more information concerning the events please contact Stebbins with the Institute or log on to www.mssu.edu/france.