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Photo of Writing Club Collaboration
Creative Writing Collective Collaborates with Jordan High School Writing Club

Duke University’s English Department and Charles E. Jordan High School (JHS) sponsor writing organizations that allow students interested in creative writing to collaborate with peers who have similar interest. During the 2023-24 academic year, Duke Writers Collective (DWC), advised by English Professor JP Gritton, began collaborating with Jordan High’s Writing Club, advised by English teacher Stuart Albright. The two groups were introduced to each other by Blackburn Artist in Residence Toby Martinez de las… read more »

Headshot of Alum Caitlin Krause
Congrats to Alum, Caitlin Krause On The Release of “Digital Wellbeing"

Caitlin Krause, ’00 alum, is an experience designer, public speaker and author whose expertise is in wellbeing, technology, AI, innovation, and imagination. She founded MindWise in 2015, a design studio for meaningful XR, and teaches about digital wellbeing, AI, and XR at Stanford University. Krause has published three books, and her newest, Digital Wellbeing: Empowering Connection With Wonder and Imagination in the Age of AI (Wiley Press), was released on September 24, 2024… read more »

Christine Folch and Andew McCallum search for yaupon on Duke’s West campus. Photo courtesy of Christine Folch.
Duets Episode 3: Don’t Choose the Group, Choose the People

Cultural Anthropology professor Christine Folch and student Andrew McCallum (T’24) discuss the value of friendship and camaraderie in research, how forgotten stories can be uncovered in archival records, and the cultural significance of South America’s most popular beverage, yerba mate — whose North American cousin hides in plain sight on Duke’s campus. read more »

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An Interview With Kevin Hart, Theologian and Poet

We sat down for an interview with Kevin Hart, the newly appointed Jo Rae Wright University Distinguished Professor at Duke Divinity School, who also has a secondary appointment in the Department of English. We asked him about the layers of his scholarly work, his involvement with Catholic initiatives at secular universities, and the themes from his latest book. read more »

Headshot of Frances Leviston
Duke English Welcomes Frances Leviston, 24-25 Visiting Blackburn Artist-in-Residence

Duke English is excited to welcome British poet, critic, short story writer and photographer Frances Leviston to our faculty as the 2024-25 Blackburn Visiting Artist-in-Residence. She is a Senior Lecturer in Creative Writing at the University of Manchester, UK. This Fall, Leviston will teach an English 110S "Introduction to Creative Writing" course on Thursday afternoons. She describes this creative writing course as one that will allow you to feel the differences between poetry,… read more »

Headshot of Luoshu Zhang
Graduate Research in Queer Studies and the Many Expressions of Pride

Pride and the Posthuman Luoshu Zhang, Duke English PhD Candidate "While queer theory can offer non-normative ways to understand the human, Luoshu Zhang’s (she/her) research focuses on the posthuman—specifically, the idea of letting go of the human and what that might open up."     read more »

Headshot of Akhil Sharma
The Atlantic Magazine's The Great American Novels List Includes Professor Akhil Sharma's "Family Life"

Earlier this year, The Atlantic published its most recent list of "The Great American Novels." This list includes great American authors like James Baldwin, Judy Blume, and Ralph Ellison, well-known novels such as The Grapes of Wrath, The Catcher in the Rye, and Family Life written by Duke English's Akhil Sharma, Adele Schiff Professor of the Practice. The Atlantic's list places Sharma's Family Life in the company of literary giants like F… read more »

DUL Creative Writing Award Flyer -2024
DUL Creative Writing Awards - Deadlines June 15, 2024

Are you an undergraduate who enjoys creative writing?  You could win an award for your talents! The Rudolph William Rosati Creative Writing Award The Rosati Creative Writing Prize is awarded each spring in recognition of an outstanding work of creative writing.  All Duke first year or sophomore students are eligible to submit work for consideration.  Projects may be any genre and take any form (audio/video, digital media, etc.), but must include a substantial creative writing… read more »

Three Juniors Named Faculty Scholars
Three Juniors Named Faculty Scholars

Three undergraduate students whose research shows their deep expertise on number theory, 19th century American history and analysis of poetry were honored with Faculty Scholar Awards, the highest honor bestowed by university faculty on undergraduates. Presented through the Academic Council, the 2024 winners are Sarah Konrad, Arielle Stern and Marie-Hélène Tomé. The award was established to highlight students who are likely to pursue a scholarly career and already have established a record of research and independent study… read more »

Professor Faulkner Fox and her “Plays that Change the World Class"
Reuben-Cook Fellows Honor Legacy of Groundbreaking Alum

2022-23 Reuben-Cooke Fellows at Duke, Faulkner Fox, Lecturing Fellow of English, “Plays that Change the World” Fox led a project highlighting the work of Black playwrights and theater professionals across North Carolina. The grant allowed Fox to take her Spring 2023 students to plays featuring Black artists and playwrights across the state, and to bring theater professionals to her class for related discussions. She also hired theater studies major Anastacia Pogodina as a teaching assistant. read more »

Headshot of Effie Harrington
Effie Harrington, Ph.D. Candidate, Receives 2024 Stephen Horne Excellence in Teaching Award

We are pleased to announce that Effie Harrington is the 2024 recipient of the Stephen Horne Award for Excellence in Teaching. Harrington was nominated by five students in her Spring ’24 “Inventing Childhood” course.  One of the students stated in their nomination: "Effie Harrington is an outstanding teacher and inspiring mentor. I looked forward to her creative, engaging lectures and the detailed feedback she provided on writing assignments, which helped me refine my ideas and become a better writer. Her… read more »

Photo of Robert Goldstein BlackRock
The Rise of the English Major: BlackRock COO Wants to Recruit Liberal Arts Analysts That ‘Have Nothing to Do With Finance or Technology'

Quote from George Lee, Co-Head of Goldman Sachs’ Global Institute:  “Some of the skills that are really salient to cooperate with this new of intelligence in the world are critical thinking, understanding logic and rhetoric, the ability to be creative,” he continued. “It will allow non-technical people to accomplish a lot more — and, by the way, begin to perform what were formerly believed to be technical tasks.” read more »

’24 Photo fo Dr. Daniel Saurborn at HuMed Celebration
Said@Duke: Dr. Daniel Saurborn on Combining Studies In Biomedical Engineering, English and Medicine

Duke alumnus Dr. Daniel Saurborn recenctly spoke at a Duke Humanities in Medicine (HuMed) Celebration. Saurborn is a physician-entrepreneur, biomedical engineering and English double major graduate ('92), and the founder of numerous telehealth companies.  These include Radiology 24/7 (a leading provider of medical imaging services), PrayerSpark (a novel platform to send prayers and positive affirmations to anyone in the world regardless of religious affiliation), and Arete… read more »