Andia Augustin-Billy

Home
Academics
Departments & Schools
Department of Languages and Cultures
French
Faculty
Andia Augustin-Billy

Meet Dr. A-B!

Dr. Andia Augustin-Billy, commonly called Dr. A-B by her students, is Associate Professor of French and Francophone Studies at Centenary.

Andia Augustin-Billy received her M.A. and Ph.D. in French language and literatures from Washington University in St. Louis and also earned a certificate in Women, Gender, and Sexuality Studies as part of her graduate training. Her research interests include analysis of gender and sexuality in 19th and 20th century French literature, travel literature, and themes of migration and exile in Francophone African and Caribbean literatures and cultures.

Office Hours: Tuesday and Thursday 3-4 PM
Phone number: 318.869.5251
Office location: Jackson Hall, 306C
Email: aaugustinbilly@centenary.edu

About Dr. Andia Augustin-Billy

Education

Washington University in St. Louis

  • Ph.D., French Language and Literatures, May 2015. Dissertation: “Bodies in Transgression: Exploring Same-Sex Relations in Contemporary Francophone Caribbean Literature.” Director: Professor Seth Graebner
  • Certificate in Women, Gender and Sexuality Studies, May 2015. 
  • M.A., French Language and Literatures, August 2009.

 

Lee University, Cleveland, TN

  • B.A., French Language and Literature, May 2002.

Courses Taught

Centenary College of Louisiana

French and Francophone Studies

  • French 304, Introduction to Haitian Literature
  • French 306, The Literature of Children and Young Adults in the Francophone World
  • French 308, Introduction to Literary Texts: Love, Sex, and Lies in French Literature
  • French 310, La communication dans les affaires internationales
  • French 402, Gender and Sexuality Studies in the Francophone World, (cross-listed in Gender Studies).
  • French 408, Postcolonial Power and the Rape of the Atlantic World (cross-listed in Gender Studies).
  • French 421, L’évolution de la Louisiane créole et cadienne

French Language

  • French 101, Elementary French I, every fall 
  • French 102, Elementary French II
  • French 201, Intermediate French
  • French 211, “A Taste of French,” 

Gender Studies

  • GEN101, Introduction to Women’s and Gender Studies
  • GEN 201, Introduction to Sexuality Studies, 
  • GEN 391, Sun, Sand, Sex in Caribbean Literature (cross-listed in English and Gender Studies).
  • GEN 392, Ballers and Shawtys: Deconstructing Black Manhood and Womanhood in America

Centenary in Paris (France)

  • French 190, Paris Noir: Black America in the City of Light, 

Culture Programs “Modules” (Haiti, St. Kitts, Barbados)

  • CDS 292, Barbados: Haiti: Killing with Kindness
  • CDS 292, Haiti: Killing with Kindness
  • CDS 292, St. Kitts and Nevis: Sport and Culture

Independent Studies

  • English 391, Independent Study: Sun, Sand, Sex in Caribbean Literature
  • French 493, Independent Study: Women in Contemporary French Literature

Washington University in St. Louis

  • French 101, Elementary French I
  • French 102, Elementary French II
  • French 105, Advanced Elementary French
  • French 201, Intermediate French, 
  • French 307, Advanced French, 
  • French 385, Cultural Differences,Washington University Summer Institute in France
  • French 4211, The Novel of the 1930s: The Human Condition and the Meaning of Life, Spring 2012. Undergraduate preceptorial for Prof. Pascal Ifri’s seminar. 
  • Independent Study: Haitian Creole for Health Care Professionals
  • WGGSS 100, Intro to Women Gender Studies

  • WGSS 206, Sexuality and the State: Introduction to Sexuality Studies,  (T.A.)

University of North Carolina at Greensboro 

  • French 101, Elementary French I, Spring 2008. 

American University of the Caribbean in Les Cayes, Haiti

  • English as a Second Language (ESL) I Instructor, (2002-2004).
  • English as a Second Language (ESL) II Instructor, (2002-2004).

Invited Lectures

  • “Black Bodies Mattered: Defiance and Desire in Creole Louisiana Fiction,” MACH-III Center Masterclass Series Special Lecture, Prairie View A&M University, April 2024.
  • “The Enslaver Enslaved: The Black Dominator in Creole Louisiana,” Department of African and African-American Studies, Washington University in St. Louis, February 2022.
  • “The Future of Feminism,” Centenary Diversity Committee, Shreveport, Louisiana, March 2021.
  • “Conversations About and Within the African Diaspora,” Centenary Diversity Committee, Shreveport, Louisiana, March 2021.
  • “Bodily Possession: A Virtual Interdisciplinary Panel Discussion about Women,” Meadows Museum of Art, Centenary College of Louisiana, Shreveport, Louisiana, October 2020.
  • “Photography, Work, & the Birth of Modern Shreveport: A Collection of Readings,” Meadows Museum of Art, Centenary College of Louisiana, Shreveport, Louisiana, March 2018.
  • “Interpreting Get out: Race in Contemporary America,” Black History Month Series, Robinson Film Center, Shreveport, Louisiana, February 2018.
  • “Literature and Gender: How I Read as a Woman,” English Department Colloquium, Centenary College of Louisiana, Shreveport, Louisiana, November 2017.
  • “French Connection: Louisiana and France.” French Film Week, Robinson Film Center, Shreveport, Louisiana, November 2016.
  • “Haiti: Myths and Truths,” Meadows Museum of Art, Centenary College of Louisiana, Shreveport, Louisiana, October 2015.
  • “Contemporary French Culture.” French Film Week, Robinson Film Center. Shreveport, Louisiana, October 2015.

Papers Presented

  • “Black and White Knots: Forbidden Passion in Nineteenth-Century Louisiana Creole Literature.” Modern Language Association Convention, New Orleans, LA, January 2025. Forthcoming.

  • “‘A Big Butt Was Worth a Plantation!’: A Regenerative Reading of the Creole Mulatta.” 57th Northeast Modern Language Association Convention, Pittsburgh, PA, March 2026. [Upcoming].

  • “Precious as Jewels, Priced as Commodities: Sexual-Economic Exchange and Agency in Creole Louisiana Literature.” 75th Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Conference, University of Alabama, Huntsville, AL, October 2025.

     

  • “The Black Man as Object of Desire in Creole Louisiana.”73rd Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Conference, Shenandoah University, Winchester, VA, October 2023.

     

  • “Reading Feminine Resilience in 19th-Century Louisiana Creole Literature.” 54th Northeast Modern Language Association Convention, Niagara Falls, NY, March 2023.

     
  • “Eloquent Rage and Gendered Emancipation in Victor Séjour’s “Le Mulâtre.” 71st Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Conference, Virtual Conference, October 2022.
  • “Echoes of Haitian Revolutionary Thought in the Literature of Creole New Orleans,” 45th Caribbean Studies Association, Virtual Conference, June 2022.
  • “Beyond the (un)Natural Disasters: a Haitian Literary Response,” 45th Caribbean Studies Association, Georgetown, Virtual Conference, June 2021.
  • “La chasteté et la transgression dans le discours féminin du 16e siècle.” 70th Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Conference, Furman University, Greensville, South Carolina, October 2021.
  • “Notre terre est fichue!: L’exploitation, l’érosion et la révolte dans le roman paysan haïtien.” 31st Haitian Studies Association Conference, Gainesville, Florida, October 2019.
  • “(Dé)respecter les vieux de Guinée: Vodou, Class, and Citizenship in Haitian Literature.” 13th International Conference on Foreign Languages, Communication and Culture, Universidad de Holguín, Cuba, April 2019.
  • “Est-ce cela être ‘aliéné’?: Becoming French, Becoming a Woman in Caribbean Francophone Literature.” 50th Annual Northeast Modern Language Association Convention, Washington, D.C., March 2019.

  • “‘Tu es ridicule!’: When Women Finally Speak Out in Ferdinand Oyono’s Novels.”68th Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Conference, The University of Tennessee, Knoxville, Tennessee, October 2018.

  • “Une affaire de femmes!: Disrupting and Queering the Caribbean Space in Francophone Texts.” 49th Annual Northeast Modern Language Association Convention, The University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburg, Pennsylvania, April 2018.
  • “C’est pas Dieu qui abandonne le nègre: Reimagining Exclusion in Selected Haitian Novels.” 29th Haitian Studies Association Conference, New Orleans, November 2017.
  • “‘Entre deux mondes’: l’anticolonialisme réimaginé dans Le Vieux nègre et la médaille de Ferdinand Oyono.” African Literature Association, New Haven, Connecticut, June 2017.
  • “M pral beat sissy sa!: Pour une homosexualité évidente et impossible.” 41st Caribbean Studies Association, Port-au-Prince, Haiti, June 2016.
  • “La voix d’un masisi depuis la diaspora: Le cas d’Assotto Saint.” Haitian Studies Association Conference,  Université de Montréal, Québec, Canada, October 2015.
  • “Migration of Pain: Women’s Tales from Saint-Domingue to New Orleans.” 40th Caribbean Studies Association Conference, New Orleans, Louisiana, May 2015.
  • “Vos papiers, s’il-vous-plaît?: Undocumented Haitian Women in Guadeloupe and the Economy.” 12th Annual Yale Bouchet Conference, New Haven, Connecticut, April 2015.
  • “Haiti is not Home Anymore: In Search of Home in Assotto Saint’s Works.” 26th Haitian Studies Association Conference, Notre Dame, South Bend, Indiana, November 2014.
  • “Ré-imaginer la ville: Classe, race, et désir dans le Port-au-Prince de Dany Laferrière.” 56th Midwest Modern Language Association, Detroit, Michigan, November 2014.
  • “‘The Impossible Black Homosexual’: Blurring Identities and Homes in the Works of Assotto Saint.” Spring 2014 WGSS Graduate Student Workshop Series. Washington University in Saint Louis, Missouri, March 2014.
  • “Changing Boys into Men: Aspects of Masculinity in French Algeria.” 27th Society for the Study of French History Conference, Cardiff University, Cardiff, U.K., June 2013.
  • “Lavi nan Gwadloup: Des femmes commerçantes haïtiennes en Guadeloupe, défis et survie.” 24th Haitian Studies Association Conference, Jamaica, Queens, New York, November 2012.
  • “They so big bout their sexiness!: Regulating Female Sexuality in  Jamaica Kincaid’s Lucy and Oonya Kempadoo’s Buxton Spice.” 37th Caribbean Studies Association Conference, Le Gosier, Guadeloupe, May 2012.
  • “Gendering Revolt: Desire and Resistance in Marie Vieux Chauvet’s Amour, Colère, Folie.”61st Mountain Interstate Foreign Language Conference, Auburn University, Auburn, Alabama, September 2011.
  • “Pimping the Self: Negotiating Freedom through the Mulatto Woman’s Body.” 36th Caribbean Studies Association Conference, Willemstad, Curaçao, May 2011.
  • “The Disabled Body in the Fabliaux.” 40th Popular Culture Association/ American Culture Association Conference, St. Louis, Missouri, March 2010.

Awards, Fellowships, and Honors

  • William C. Arceneaux Chair in French Studies, Centenary College, 2015-
  • Outstanding Faculty Award, Centenary College, 2025.
  • The Ulloa Prize for best essay, “White Women, Black Men: Interracial Intimacy in Adolphe Duhart and Samuel Snaër’s Short Stories,” MIFLC Review, 2024.
  • Shreveport-Bossier-Dessoto African-American Scholarship, “Outstanding African American Achievement Award,” Shreveport, LA, 2022.
  • A Resolution from the City of Shreveport “Honoring Dr. Andia Augustin-Billy as the First African American Faculty Member to Receive Tenure at Centenary College of Louisiana in their 196-year History,” 2021.
  • The Mellon Emerging Faculty Leaders Award, Woodrow Wilson National Fellowship Foundation, 2019.
  • The Harry Blake Education Award, Mt. Canaan Baptist Church, Shreveport, LA, 2018.
  • James E. McLeod Honors and Awards – Mary McLeod Bethune Graduate Leadership, Honorable Mention, Washington University, 2014.
  • Edward A. Bouchet Graduate Honor Society, Washington University, 2014.
  • Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Teaching Citation for Acquired Enhanced Pedagogical Training and Skills, Washington University, 2014.
  • Graduate School of Arts and Sciences Dissertation Fellowship, Washington University, 2013-2014.
  • Trans-Atlantic Forum Fellowship in collaboration with École des Hautes Études en Sciences Sociales (EHESS) in Paris and the University of Amsterdam (UvA), Spring and Summer 2013.
  • Dean’s Award in Teaching Excellence, Washington University, 2012.
  • Center for the Humanities Reading Group Grants, Washington University, 2010-2013.
  • Women and Gender Studies Teaching Fellowship, Washington University, 2011-2012.
  • International Pre-Dissertation Grant to conduct research on same-sex relations in Dakar, Senegal, Washington University, 2011.
  • Elizabeth Schreiber Award in French for Excellence in Teaching, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, Washington University, 2010-2011.
  • Graduate Fellowship, Department of Romance Languages and Literatures, Washington University, 2009.

Publications

  • “White Women, Black Men: Interracial Intimacy in Adolphe Duhart and Samuel Snaër’s Short Stories,” forthcoming in MIFLC Review.

  • “'Partout on me reconnaît, partout on me nomme’ : Recognizing the Unnamed in Sidonie De la Houssaye’s Amis et Fortune,” forthcoming in Revue interdisciplinaire en études acadiennes

  • “‘Tu es ridicule!’: When Black Women Speak Up and Speak Out in Ferdinand Oyono’s Novels.” MIFLC Review 19, (2020):57–70.
  • “A Conversation with Lavar Munroe.” Devil in a White City: A Painting Series by Lavar Munroe (Shreveport: Publications of The Meadows Museum of Art, 2018). 38-41.
  • “Ayiti pa lakay ankò: Assotto Saint’s Search for Home.” Journal of Haitian Studies, Spring 2016.
  • “The Disabled Body in the Fabliaux.” Postmedieval: A Journal of Medieval Cultural Studies 3.2, Summer 2012.

Works in Progress

  • A Potently Feminine Text: Reclaiming Victor Séjour’s Literary Transatlantic Legacy [Accepted with Revisions]
  • “So What If People are Uncomfortable!” Black Bodies and a Queer’s Quest to Break Down the HIV/AIDS Closet [Accepted with Revisions]
  • “Je garde ma pensée pour moi”: Piercing Black Feminine Rage in Creole Louisiana Literature (forthcoming)
  • African Americans in Paris From the Eighteenth Century to the Present: An Encyclopedia and Chronology (forthcoming)
  • Becoming French, Becoming a Woman, co-edited cluster (forthcoming)
  • Feminine Folly: Disrupting Francophone Caribbean Womanhood (forthcoming)

Service

Centenary College of Louisiana

  • Faculty advisor, Le Quartier français, LLC, 2015-
  • Invited Speaker to First-Year Freshman Orientation, “Preparing for Paris: French Language & Culture,” every fall since 2017, except 2020.
  • Member, Academic Policy Council, 2021-
  • Member, Faculty Personnel’s Development Committee,  2020-2021
  • Member, Enrollment Policy Committee, 2019.
  • Chair, Convocations Committee, 2017-2019.
  • Member, Convocations Committee, 2016-2017
  • Member, English Department Search Committee for Assistant Professor in English Literature and Creative Writing, 2017.
  • Member, Diversity Committee, 2016- 2019.
  • Invited speaker, International Student Orientation, 2017.
  • President, Faculty Club, 2016-2017.
  • Invited speaker, Open House for Prospective Students, 2016.

Department of Foreign Languages

  • Faculty advisor, La Légion louisianaise,  2017-
  • Faculty advisor and organizer, La Table française, 2015-
  • Editor, Le Tintamarre French Language Newspaper, 2015-

Service to the Profession and the Community

  • Editorial Board, Les Éditions Tintamarre, Centenary College of Louisiana, 2016-
  • Dissertation committee, outside reader, Maurice Tetne, “La régionalisation du français et l’esthétique de sa transcription dans la littérature et le cinéma francophone.”
  • Mentor [selected], Faculty of Color Connect Cross-Institutional Mentoring Program, Associated Colleges of the South (ACS).
  • Co-Secretary, CODOFIL Consortium of Louisiana Colleges and Universities 2020-2022.
  • Editorial Board, Les Éditions Tintamarre, Centenary College of Louisiana, 2016-Present.
  • Invited panel facilitator, “Can French Jumpstart Your Career?” at the New Orleans French Language Job Fair, organized by the French Embassy in the U.S., the French Consulate in Louisiana, and Tulane University.

Workshops

  • Institute on Truth, Racial Healing & Transformation sponsored by American Association of Colleges & Universities (AAC&U), Virtual, June 21-24, 2022.
  • Faculty of Color Uniting for Success Institute through Associated Colleges of the South (ACS), Southwest University, June 10-15, 2018.
  • “Professional French,” Louisiana State University, in cooperation with the Cultural Services of the French Embassy in the U.S., the Consulate General of France in Louisiana and the Paris International Chamber of Commerce, June 4-8, 2018.
  • “Unité et Diversité Unity and Diversity: A Conference on Louisiana French,” Natchitoches, Louisiana, September 2016.

Teaching and Research Fields

  • French literature: surveys of the novel, theatre, and poetry from the middle ages to the present, nineteenth-twentieth century French literature, gender and sexuality in French literature, travel literature, realism, exoticism in theatre and prose.
  • Francophone literature: Francophone African and Caribbean literatures and cultures, migration, exile.
  • French language: all levels, translation.
  • Literary theory, feminist theory, performance studies, cultural studies, Haitian studies, women, gender, and sexuality studies, African diasporic studies, postcolonial.

For students - Request a Letter of Recommendation

Letter of Recommendation  

Before asking, note that you should: 

  • have taken at least one course with me in which you did a B+ work or better 
  • have participated actively in class  
  • have engaged in campus life, be it student clubs, organizations, res life 
  • have shown respect to me and your peers

Still need that letter? 

  • Ask me in writing no later than three (3) weeks before your application deadline. 
  • I have to agree before you put my name down as a reference. 
  • A meeting is essential! I’ll be better informed of your plans and write accordingly. 
  • A copy of your resume or a brief paragraph of your accomplishments at Centenary will assist me greatly.  
  • Do not ask me to send you a copy of the letter. It is a confidential document for the reviewing committee.
  • Consequently, when given the option, waive your right to access the letter of recommendation.

Languages

  • English: fluent
  • French: fluent
  • Haitian Creole: fluent
  • Spanish: fluent

Dr. A-B in the News

Centenary professor wins prize for recent essay Teaching beyond the call BLACK HISTORY MONTH: Dr. Andia Augustin-Billy | KSLA 12 News Outstanding African American Achievement Award | KTBS 3 News Centenary welcomes new French professor Centenary College professor honored with civil rights award After 196 years, Centenary College celebrates its first Black tenured faculty member Louisiana College Grants Tenure To Black Professor For First Time In 196 Years After 196 Years, College Grants Tenure to a Black Professor Two Centuries Later, Louisiana's Centenary College Has Tenured Its First Black Faculty Member Centenary College showcases creole literary works at book festival in Montreal Andia Augustin-Billy Professeur Cabaret de la Louisiane

Dr. Andia Augustin-Billy becomes first Black faculty member to achieve tenure at Centenary

Travel with Dr.A-B to Haiti!

Students travel with professors Dr. Augustin-Billy and Dr. Dana Kress Haiti and explore Haitian cultures and traditions. Haiti: Killing with Kindness is offered in May as a May Immersion Course (Modules) and qualifies for culture credit.
Learn More

Professor Andia Augustin-Billy

Meet Your Professors: Andia Augustin - Billy & Dana Kress Paris Noir

1/3

Centenary in Paris Professor Andia Augustin-Billy on Paris Noir course

2/3

English Dept. Colloquium Literature and Gender Dr. Andia Augustin-Billy

3/3

Dr. A-B teaching the Paris Noir course during Centenary in Paris.

1/13

2018 Paris Noir Class

2/13

2018 Paris Noir class silly edition!

3/13

Centenary in Paris

4/13

Dr. A-B speaks at MLK Convocation

5/13

Dr. A-B receives one of Mount Canaan Baptist Church’s Black History Awards from Pastor Blake. Testing the caption wrap.

6/13

Dr. A-B serves with students on MLK service day.

7/13

Dr.A-B with students in front of Notre Dame.

8/13

Dr.A-B with students in front of Notre Dame.

9/13

Dr. AB leads Afro Caribbean Night

10/13

Afro Caribbean Night

11/13

Afro Caribbean Night

12/13

Dr. AB with French students at the French Club Cookout.

13/13

Dr. Andia Augustin-Billy, moderated the panel at the French Language Job Fair held at Tulane University on November 14, 2019

 

© 2025 Centenary College of Louisiana

Notice of Nondiscriminatory Policy The institution does not discriminate in its educational and employment policies against any person on the basis of gender, race, color, religion, age, disability, sexual orientation, national or ethnic origin, or on any other basis proscribed by federal, state, or local law.