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A man sits onstage facing a large audience in a gallery or conference room. The crowd is diverse, with people of various ages and backgrounds, seated and attentive. Paintings hang on the walls, adding to the formal setting.

History Symposium

Every year, HNOC goes deep on a topic of local interest, bringing together scholars, community members, and history lovers.

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About History Symposium

Since making its debut in 1996, HNOC’s History Symposium has become one of Louisiana’s leading public history events. Every year we bring together scholars, experts, and community members to unpack a different topic from our region’s ever-changing narrative. Past editions have explored architecture, sports, media, Black activism, Storyville, jazz, and Mardi Gras, as well Louisiana’s ties to Haiti, Cuba, Canada, France, Spain, and Great Britain.

Three women dressed in elegant cultural attire stand in front of a backdrop featuring a historical image and handwritten text. One woman at the center is speaking, exuding confidence and energy.
A group of people sit in an auditorium facing two speakers on stage. One speaker gestures while talking, and the other listens. Behind them, arched windows and a painting add to the settings formal atmosphere.

Past Symposia

Friday
March 20, 2026
5:30–6:30 p.m.
2026 History Symposium

One Single Place: Louisiana and the Shaping of the Early American Republic

The 2026 History Symposium explores how cultural exchange and trade between Louisiana and the Illinois Country shaped the early American republic.
Signature Program
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A stylized version of a French colonial map of the Mississippi River valley.
Saturday
April 5, 2025
9 a.m.–5:30 p.m.
History Symposium 2025

Navigating the Ports of the Lower Mississippi Valley

Our 2025 symposium loads up on maritime history to examine Louisiana’s role in international trade and commerce.
Signature Program
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A historical black-and-white photo of a busy river dock with three large steamships. People and horses are unloading cargo, including barrels and bags, onto wooden carts. The scene is bustling with activity.
Saturday
February 24, 2024
9 a.m.–5 p.m.
History Symposium 2024

Above the Fold: The History of Newspapers in Louisiana

The 2024 History Symposium will explore the complex and transformative role that newspapers have played in Louisiana.
Signature Program
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A man wearing a suit stands with newspapers under his arm, looking at a newsstand vendor. The vendor, in a plaid shirt and hat, stands behind a wooden counter piled with newspapers. The scene is set in front of a storefront window.
Saturday
April 1, 2023
History Symposium 2024

Democracy in Louisiana

The 2023 History Symposium explores how the democratic system has functioned in Louisiana and how key events have influenced our current political environment.
Signature Program
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Black and white photo of a diverse group of people standing in a long line in a hallway. They are waiting outside a door labeled Registrar of Voters with ward numbers listed. The atmosphere is orderly and focused.
Tuesday
February 8, 2022
History Symposium 2022

Making Mardi Gras

The 2022 History Symposium celebrates the makers who carry the history and traditions forward, who shape their evolution, and who, every year, bring us “The Greatest Free Show on Earth.”
Signature Program
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A museum exhibit featuring a large, colorful sculpture of a face with an open mouth and extended tongue. It is flanked by two elaborate costumes on mannequins. Artwork decorates the walls in the background.
Friday
March 5, 2021
History Symposium 2021

Recovered Voices: Black Activism in New Orleans from Reconstruction to the Present Day

The 2021 History Symposium celebrates the voices of Black activists from the era of Reconstruction, as featured in three HNOC publications.
Signature Program
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A historical illustration depicts African American men waiting in line to vote. An elderly man at the front places a ballot in a box, with others standing behind him, in what appears to be a 19th-century setting.
Saturday
January 18, 2020
History Symposium 2020

Crescent City Sport

The 2020 History Symposium explores New Orelans sport and how it was impacted by—and helped instigate—broader social and cultural change.
Signature Program
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Aerial view of a dome-shaped stadium in an urban setting, with tall buildings in the background. The scene appears to be at dusk, with an orange tint over the landscape. Various city lights and roads are visible surrounding the stadium.

2019

The French Quarter
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2018

Making New Orleans Home: A Tricentennial Symposium
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2017

Storyville and Jazz, 1917: An End and a Beginning
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2016

Perspectives on New Orleans Architecture: Past, Present, and Future
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2015

Forgotten Conflicts: Indians, Andrew Jackson, and the War of 1818 in the South
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2014

Home and Battlefront: Louisiana in the Civil War
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2013

Seeking the Unknown: Perspectives on Louisiana's Natural History
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2012

Louisiana at 200: In the National Eye
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2011

Identity, History, and Legacy: Free People of Color in Louisiana
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2010

Between Colony and State: Louisiana in the Territorial Period, 1803–1812
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2009

The Acadian Diaspora
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2008

The Mississippi River: Artery of Commerce and Culture
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2007

Food for Thought: Culinary Traditions of New Orleans
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2006

Common Routes: St. Domingue and Louisiana

2005

English Spoken Here: Great Britain and Louisiana

2004

Charting Louisiana: Exploration and Settlement

2003

Louisiana Purchase Biennial Conference

The Louisiana Purchase and Its Peoples: Assessing Historical Knowledge on the Eve of the Third American Century

2002

The French Empire in North America

2001

Bourbon Louisiana: Reflections of the Spanish Enlightenment

2000

France and Louisiana: Une Journée d’Études

1999

The Pearl of the Antilles and the Crescent City: Historical Connections between Havana and New Orleans in the 19th Century

1998

Arsène Lacarrière Latour: Eyewitness to History

1997

Devoted to the American West: The Century of Bernard DeVoto, 1897–1997

1996

A Founder, A Defender, and a Conqueror: Bienville, Andrew Jackson, and Zachary Taylor
A panel of four people sitting at a table with microphones discuss in a room adorned with paintings. The man on the left, holding a microphone, is speaking while the others listen attentively.

Related Stories

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First Draft

Patriotism in Print

As the young republic formed and took its first steps, print media served a crucial role in uniting the nation.

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First Draft

The Streetcar Protests of 1867

Two decades before the spread of Jim Crow segregation, African Americans in Reconstruciton-era New Orleans successfully fought to integrate public transportation. 

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Related Collection Highlights

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A photograph of the cover of “The Land We Love” magazine, Vol. 1, No. 5 (1866); Vol. 2, No. 2 (1866), September 1866.

The Land We Love

After the Civil War, a one-man publisher aimed to reeducate the Southern gentry with a magazine devoted to both practical skills and the arts.

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The cover of the newspaper "Hospital Banner" from August of 1955.

Hospital Banner Newsletters

An unusual periodical, written and produced by residents of the state mental hospital in the mid-20th century

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Related Books

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Cover of Afro-Creole Poetry: In French from Louisiana’s Radical Civil War-Era Newspapers. Features a circular design on a background of faded text. Includes A Bilingual Edition and contributors Clint Bruce and Angel Adams Parham.

Afro-Creole Poetry in French from Louisiana’s Radical Civil War–Era Newspapers

translated and introduced by Clint Bruce
with a foreword by Angel Adams Parham

Learn More Buy Now Buy Now
Cover of Printmaking in New Orleans featuring an aerial illustration of New Orleans along the Mississippi River. Riverboats are visible on the water. The book is edited by Jessie J. Poesch with various contributing authors listed.

Printmaking in New Orleans

edited by Jessie J. Poesch

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