Ernest J. Gaines Center
Resources and Links
- Browse the Ernest J. Gaines webpage and follow it on Facebook
- Take a virtual tour of The Gaines Center
- Have questions about the center? Contact The Gaines Center
A Research Center
The Ernest J. Gaines Center is an international center for scholarship on Ernest Gaines and his work. The center honors the work of UL Lafayette’s Writer-in-Residence Emeritus, and provides a space for scholars and students to work with the Gaines papers and manuscripts. Research avenues have included:
| Gaines' biography and book history | Passing narratives | Rural spaces |
| Gaines' writing process | Racial dynamics | Temporality |
| Louisiana Studies | Foodways | Memory and nostalgia |
| Civil Rights | Religiosity | Gender and sexuality |
| Southern economics | Sports and fan culture | Identity-creation |
Student Opportunities
Graduate students have the opportunity to work for the Gaines Center as a part of their assistantship. Gaines Center assistants enjoy autonomy in task-completion, and often hold their positions for their tenure at UL—establishing an in-depth understanding of Gaines’ life and work, as well as relevant historical and cultural contexts. Assistantships bolster students' own research and teaching, and professonalize them through the following work:
- Archival (digitize collections; inventory and catalogue donated items; archival programs)
- Curatorial (give class tours, research and annotate pedagogical materials for instructors)
- Scholarly (present materials at various classes, meetings, events, and conferences)
- Managerial (build purchase orders; use of Word, Excel, and Trello; transcribe meeting minutes)
- Outreach (maintain social media; contact other departments; organize Books from the Bayou)