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If you don’t think a laboratory is the ideal place to explore complex themes and methodologies like valuing care, ethnography, urbanism or games and culture, you may need to expand your definition beyond beakers and microscopes. Labs are hives of communication, cooperation and active collaboration. They are driven by a commitment to curiosity and exploration that often produces unanticipated paths and solutions. And utilizing those features for research in the humanities – a scholarly area that has traditionally focused on… read more about Innovative, Interdisciplinary Labs Reshape Humanities Research and Teaching »

Like most of us, the COVID-19 pandemic derailed the Duke Global Education Office for Undergraduates’ (GEO) plans. GEO supports about 1,200 students on experiential global education programs across the academic year and over the summer terms in an average year. After global borders tightened in response to the COVID-19 outbreak, GEO had been unable to support experiential programs since the spring of 2020—that is until Duke in Provence Virtual this summer. As the first virtual study away program offered at Duke, the… read more about Duke in Provence Goes Online »

When he was an undergraduate political science student, Kerry Haynie was never taught about the 1921 Tulsa massacre. Nor was there much discussion about the role of race in the founding political documents of this country or much examination of how race influenced public services such as sewer lines and zoning. In one sense, a lot has changed. In 2021, Duke’s faculty includes a strong lineup of leading scholars who examine how race is embedded in issues that cross all the schools of the university. This fall, many of… read more about University Course Raises Race as a Central Element of Undergraduate Education »

Six Duke professors who have demonstrated excellence both in research and undergraduate education have been selected as the 2021 Bass Fellows. "These Bass Scholars blend scholarly excellence with a commitment to the transformative power of faculty-student engagement, said Gary Bennett, vice provost for undergraduate education. “Their ingenuity, creativity and commitment are exemplary, and we Duke faculty are fortunate to have them as colleagues and exemplars. " The chairs were created in 1996 when Anne T. and Robert Bass… read more about Six New Bass Fellows Honored for Excellence in Research and Outstanding Undergraduate Teaching »

Launched by the Academy of American Poets in April 1996, National Poetry Month reminds us of the integral role poets play in our culture. For the 25th anniversary of this annual celebration of poets and poetry, we highlight six poets among the university's faculty who have published collections of poetry.  The works of these poets, along with many others, are available at Duke University Libraries, the Gothic Bookshop or the Regulator Bookshop. In addition, Duke University Press is offering a… read more about Celebrate National Poetry Month with Six Duke Faculty Poets »

When Elizabeth Schrader signed up for a free short-course in the summer of 2019, the doctoral candidate in religion had no idea it would have an immediate impact on her scholarship. Two years earlier, Schrader published an article arguing that early Christian copyists may have altered the Gospel of John to minimize the role of Mary Magdalene. This was an important finding, but it wasn’t getting the attention in scholarly circles that she’d hoped for. “Although my work had appeared in a prestigious journal (the Harvard… read more about What I Got Out of the Duke Graduate Academy »

As part of its event series tgiFHI, the Franklin Humanities Institute is conducting interviews with its faculty speakers in order to familiarize broader audiences with the diversity of research approaches in the humanities, arts, and interpretive social sciences at Duke University. Roberto Dainotto is Professor of Literature, Italian, and International Comparative Studies. In this edited and condensed interview, he describes how the popularization of the novel occurred at the same moment as the politicization of the… read more about Meet Your Humanities Faculty: Roberto Dainotto »

More than 1,000 Duke students from across the globe logged on to Zoom over the first two weeks of January to participate in an academic gateway for students of any major to explore new topics in a short form and without the pressure of grades Open to all Duke students- undergraduates, graduates, and professionals, Winter Breakaway offered 13 different programs focusing on topics including computational thinking, mindfulness, policies in the technology sector, intercultural competencies and navigating difficult… read more about Students Find Interdisciplinary Exploration and Connection in Winter Breakaway Courses »

The Graduate School has announced eight recipients for the 2021 Dean’s Awards, recognizing outstanding efforts in mentoring and teaching. The recipients will be honored at a virtual ceremony on March 31. More details about each recipient will be posted closer to the event. Dean’s Award for Excellence in Mentoring Each faculty award winner receives a $3,000 prize, while each student recipient gets $2,000. Faculty Makeba Wilbourn, Associate Professor of the Practice of Psychology and Neuroscience Marcos A. Rangel,… read more about 8 Graduate Students, Faculty Receive 2021 Dean’s Awards »

Anna Tybinko has been selected to receive the 2021 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching. The review committee of deans, graduate faculty, staff, and graduate students chose Anna from a highly competitive pool of nominees to receive this award, which recognizes graduate students who best exemplify the characteristics of effective college teaching described in the purpose statement and award criteria.  In addition, the review committee strives to recognize students who have engaged in… read more about Anna Tybinko Receives 2021 Dean’s Award for Excellence in Teaching »

Celebrating Latinx Culture with a Spanish-language Reading Program (CLC) / Celebrando la Cultura Latinoamericana con un Programa de Lectura en Español Consider applying for this 2021-2022 Bass Connections project that celebrates Latinx cultural heritage and maintaining the Spanish language. It promotes the forging of relationships through shared language journeys. CLC engages and connects Spanish-language users, namely Latinx children (~10 years old) and Duke undergraduate students, as “peer… read more about Apply for 2021-2022 Bass Connections: Celebrando la Cultura Latinoamericana con un Programa de Lectura en Español »

As educational institutions seek ways to enhance opportunities for students during the pandemic, the College Board has tapped five Duke University professors to provide recorded lectures to millions of advanced high school students around the world. The new lecture series, called “AP Daily,” offers free, online videos across a variety of college-level topics to students who are learning in person, remotely or in blended learning environments. Students can view the videos independently or Advanced Placement (AP)… read more about In Pandemic, Advanced Placement Turns to Duke Faculty for Help in High School Lecture Series »

ArtReview named Felwine Sarr, a research professor in the Department of Romance Studies, as the third most influential person in the contemporary art world in 2020, alongside his collaborator Bénédicte Savoy. The magazine said: No single government-commissioned report in recent decades has had such a dramatic impact on cultural debates as that written by economist Sarr and art historian Savoy for French president Emmanuel Macron in 2018. By proposing the unconditional restitution of any object in national… read more about Felwine Sarr Third Most Influential in Art World »

Nicolás Sánchez-Rodríguez, recent Romance Studies Ph.D graduate has been named to the Princeton Society of Fellows for Fall 2021.  The Princeton Society of Fellows in the Liberal Arts seeks to support innovative interdisciplinary approaches to scholarship and teaching in the humanities and humanities-related social sciences. Each year, the Society chooses a new cohort of postdoctoral Cotsen fellows, who are appointed for three-year terms to conduct research and to teach in a home department, frequently also a… read more about Nicolás Sánchez-Rodríguez to Join Princeton Society of Fellows »

Please join Romance Studies in congratulating Samar Miled for receiving the highest honors in the American Journal of French Studies 2020 national writing competition in French! Samar received 20th place for her poem, "Je ne l'ai pas choisie" in response to the prompt, "Why did you start learning French?" Her playful and elegant description of  her relationship with the French language secured her top honors: "Je ne l’ai pas choisie. C’est elle qui m’a saisie" (I… read more about Samar Miled receives highest honors from American Journal of French Studies »

Laurent Dubois, professor of Romance Studies, was quoted in a U.S. News & World Report story about the legacy of late Argentine soccer legend Diego Maradona. "I think partly there is this sense that writers and football players kind of embody the soul of nations and the Latin American continent in a way that no-one else does, certainly not political leaders," Dubois said. read more about Maradona Mourning Shows Again Latin America's Devotion to Sport and Arts »

Associate Professor of Romance Studies, Dr. Lamonte Aidoo has been awarded the Nicolás Cristóbal Guillén Batista Outstanding Book Award for his book, Slavery Unseen: Sex, Power, and Violence in Brazilian History. The prize is to be awarded to an author whose contribution to Caribbean thought is through the medium of the novel, poetry, theater, or cinema.  His extraordinary book examines sexual violence as a technology of enslavement in Brazil and its impact on Brazilian society—… read more about Lamonte Aidoo Receives Nicolás Cristóbal Guillén Batista Outstanding Book Award »

One important thing that hasn’t changed in a semester of the pandemic is the arrival of new faculty members. They come with new ideas, research problems and classes. Their importance in sustaining existing strengths and guiding Duke toward new areas of excellence can’t be underestimated. “We welcome and celebrate our new faculty this year in the most unusual ways and circumstances, but with no less enthusiasm,” says Duke Provost Sally Kornbluth. “We have selected these faculty, and they have chosen to join us, to be a part… read more about Meet Duke's new faculty of 2020 »

Virginie A. Duzer is a scholar of late nineteenth, twentieth and twenty-first century French literature, art and culture. She received her Ph.D. in Romance Studies from Duke in 2008. Currently, Duzer is Associate Professor at Pomona College where she also serves as the Chair of the Romance Languages and Literatures Department. Her research deals with the relation between texts, images and aesthetics in avant-garde movements. She is author of L’Impressionnisme littéraire (Presses… read more about Alumni Profiles Series: Virginie A. Duzer »

The Purpose Project at Duke has announced the inaugural cohort of the Race and the Professions Fellowship, a year-long program that will explore the challenges of racial inequities and the work of antiracism in the professions, the broader community, and the world.   More than 200 graduate and professional students applied to the fellowship. The 28 fellows represent eight schools, eight Trinity departments, and three interdisciplinary programs,… read more about Ofelia Lopez Named a Race and the Professions Fellow with the Kenan Institute for Ethics at Duke »