Name Glenn Conrad Role Historian | Education Georgetown University | |
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Died June 4, 2003, New Iberia, Louisiana, United States Books Land Records of the Attakapas District: Attakapas-st. Martin Estates, 1804-1818 | ||
Glenn R. Conrad (September 3, 1932 – June 4, 2003) was a historian of south Louisiana culture, as well as an expert on archival studies, nineteenth-century European history, and the history of colonial Louisiana.
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Education and career
Conrad obtained a master's degree from Georgetown University in 1959 and, prior to becoming a historian, he worked as an editor for the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).
He taught at the University of Louisiana at Lafayette (then the University of Southwestern Louisiana), where he served as director of the Center for Louisiana Studies from 1973 until his death. During that time, Conrad developed the center into a self-supporting university press that issued several academic titles each year on Louisiana-related subjects, particularly Louisiana history, but also Louisiana architecture, botany, and poetry, among other topics.
Noted folklorist and linguist Barry Jean Ancelet once said that Conrad "had the remarkable vision many years ago to focus serious scholarly attention on the many layers of Louisiana's history that were neglected by the official story. This included research on the history and culture of the Cajuns and the Louisiana Creole people. It was based on basic and original research, including conducting field interviews and poring over census reports, court records and early journals and newspaper accounts; it made the emerging history come alive with a wealth of interdisciplinary considerations, including music, literature, architecture, cuisine and sociology, among others. Spurred by his efforts . . . much of our once neglected history is now part of the record."
From 1973 to 1993 Conrad served as managing editor of the state academic journal Louisiana History, and he served for many years as secretary-treasurer of the Louisiana Historical Association, which published the journal.
Conrad served as town historian for New Iberia, Louisiana, where he was born and resided for most of his life.
Among other awards, Conrad received the Humanist of the Year award in 2001 from the Louisiana Endowment for the Humanities.
Works
Conrad published over 40 academic articles and over 20 books. A book edited by Conrad, The Cajuns: Essays on Their History and Culture, is considered one of the first serious works on the Cajun people. He also oversaw the publication of the 20-volume Louisiana Purchase Bicentennial Series and the three-volume A Dictionary of Louisiana Biography.
Among Conrad's books are: