Cultural Heritage Months
UT Dallas recognizes the rich cultural heritage present in our community and invites Comets to honor, commemorate and celebrate the cultural contributions that different groups have made to the United States and beyond.
These celebrations provide opportunities to appreciate and learn from others’ traditions and culture, and shape our history, present and future.
Our calendar of Cultural Heritage Months is a reference point and is not meant to be interpreted as an exhaustive list. We invite the campus community to share other cultural heritage months/celebrations for consideration. Email us now.
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Cultural Heritage Months: July & August
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In the month of July, we honor French American and South Asian Heritage Month (July 18 – August 17). We recognize and celebrate the contributions, achievements and historical impact of Americans with French and South Asian heritage and how they have shaped our history and worldview.
In July 2021, Alliance Française de Las Vegas officially celebrated French American Heritage Month in Las Vegas. The organization, dedicated to promoting French culture and language, highlighted the month’s significance in celebrating the contributions of French Americans. The French have played a pivotal role in shaping American culture, from the arts and cuisine to diplomacy and historical alliances with figures like Marquis de Lafayette and Pierre Charles L’Enfant who contributed to American history. The Statue of Liberty, gifted to US by France on July 4, 1884, remains a powerful symbol of friendship between the two nations.
South Asian Heritage Month, an annual celebration of South Asian culture and history, was first conceptualized in the United Kingdom. It originated with a groundbreaking launch event held at the House of Commons in London in July 2019, organized by a coalition of community groups. This set the stage for the official observance that began in 2020, right in the heart of the pandemic, with the founding leadership of Dr. Binita Kane and Jasvir Singh OBE. The South Asian Heritage Month runs from 18th July to 17th August where 18th July commemorates the day the Indian Independence Act 1947 gained royal assent from King George VI, and 17th August marks the publication of the Radcliffe Line in 1947, which delineated borders between India, West Pakistan, and East Pakistan (now Bangladesh). While in the United Kingdom the celebration offers a moment to reflect on a critical freedom movement and the decolonization of the 20th century, in the United States, South Asian Heritage Month is observed to recognize and honor the contributions of South Asian Americans who have shaped and enriched the cultural, social, political, economic, scientific, and educational landscape of the United States.
According to U.S. Census Bureau’s 2022 American Community Survey (ACS), approximately 6.3 million people in the United States reported French ancestry, encompassing individuals of French Canadian, Cajun, Basque, and Alsatian descent. According to South Asian Americans Leading Together (SAALT)’s 2019 report, 5.4 million people in the US identified themselves as South Asians.
Learn More
At UT Dallas, we are proud of the contributions of our French and South Asian American community members. We invite you to explore and celebrate their cultures through events and programs hosted in partnership with Intercultural Programs and UT Dallas organizations, as well as through off-campus cultural events happening throughout the summer.