English Department
Struggling to find the last classes to add your schedule among the myriad of options listed on DukeHub? Your search ends here.Here is The Chronicle’s guide to five captivating courses being offered next semester. read more about 5 Interesting Classes to Consider During Drop/Add »
Julius Fleming delivered this year’s Tennenhouse-Armstrong Lecture. Fleming, an Associate Professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis, gave the audience a glimpse into his current project, “Empire After Civil Rights: Race, Outer Space, and the New Geographies of Colonialism.”Visiting Duke to deliver the Tennenhouse-Armstrong lecture was certainly the highlight of my semester. This was the first time I’ve shared work from my new book project. And what a treat to have done so with such an engaged and brilliant… read more about Julius Fleming - 2024 Tennenhouse-Armstrong Lecture »
I sat down for an interview with Dr. April Henry, Lecturer of German Studies and Director of the German Studies Language Program at the Duke University Trinity College of Arts and Sciences, and the most recent recipient of the Richard K. Lublin Award in the Humanities for outstanding achievement in undergraduate teaching. In addition to her scholarship in the field of German Studies, Dr. Henry has also created and taught a variety of courses in the study of literature, many of which have been cross listed as English… read more about An Interview with Dr. April Henry, Literary Scholar and Medievalist »
The 2024 Blackburn Literary Festival - “History and Its Alternatives” - featuring esteemed novelists Rachel Kushner, Claire Messud, and Paul Yoon - offered literature enthusiasts a unique and privileged experience. It allowed them to interact with writers they admire and gain insights into their craft that are often inaccessible to the public. This year’s festival began on Friday, October 18th, with a dozen or more Duke students joining Claire Messud and Paul Yoon for creative writing workshops. Each author provided the… read more about The 2024 Blackburn Literary Festival »
Duke English will host the second annual Tennenhouse-Armstrong Lecture on Tuesday, October 29th. This year’s featured guest will be Julius Fleming, Associate Professor of English at Washington University in St. Louis, who will present “Empire After Civil Rights: Race, Outer Space, and the New Geographies of Colonialism.” The lecture will be held at 3:30 PM in room 314 of the Allen Building. Empire After Civil Rights: Race, Outer Space, and the New Geographies of… read more about Tennenhouse-Armstrong Lecture Featuring Julius Fleming, Oct. 29th »
Acclaimed short-story writer Paul Yoon talked about his start as an author during a panel discussion on “History and Its Alternatives” at the Blackburn Literary Festival Oct. 19. Yoon shared the stage with authors Rachel Kushner, Claire Messud and Duke creative writing professor Ahkil Sharma for a discussion of “History and Its Alternatives.” read more about Said@Duke: Paul Yoon on the Love of Reading »
Claire Messud, author of several award-winning novels, including ”The Last Life” and ”This Strange, Eventful History,” spoke as part of a panel with other writers at the Blackburn Literary Festival Oct. 19. She shared the stage with authors Rachel Kushner, Paul Yoon and Duke creative writing professor Ahkil Sharma for a discussion of “History and Its Alternatives.” read more about Said@Duke: Claire Messud on the Goals and Challenges of Writing »
Booker 2024 shortlist and National Book Award longlist nominee Rachel Kushner, author of “Creation Lake” and other acclaimed novels, gave the keynote address at the annual Blackburn Literary Festival Oct. 19. In her address, Kushner paid tribute to the late Fredric Jameson, long-time Duke professor in the Program in Literature, noting how how Jameson’s ideas on history and literature were important to her writing. read more about Said@Duke: Rachel Kushner on the Magic of Writing »
This weekend, Duke English will be hosting the 2024 Blackburn Literary Festival. “History and Its Alternatives” is the theme of this year’s festival, which will explore the storyteller’s place in a world where the truth seems ever more contentious and elusive. The festival will feature three celebrated novelists: Rachel Kushner, Claire Messud, and Paul Yoon. Duke undergraduates have reserved seats to attend one of Claire Messud’s or Paul Yoon’s workshops on Friday, October 18, 2024, to kick off the festival. Both… read more about 2024 William Blackburn Literary Festival, Oct. 18-20th »
Fish, Tompkins return to share stories of how the department became the center of national attention read more about Looking Back at Duke English in the ’80s »
How do you turn a traditional academic department into one of the most exciting intellectual places in the country?For 90 minutes Friday, former and current Duke faculty, joined by dozens of staff and students sat entranced as they heard stories from a transformative moment at Duke, when the university made a significant and daring investment in the humanities during the 1980s.Leading the discussion were two of the key figures: Stanley Fish, who was hired to chair Duke’s Department of English in 1986, and his wife, Jane… read more about Looking Back at Duke English in the ’80s »
Enjoy nature, music and fascinating conversations on campus this month, including Duke English and Duke Art's Blackburn Literary Festival Keynote with Rachel Kushner. read more about 5 Free Things to do at Duke in October 2024 »
Black people’s severed relationship to land, water and air must be recovered for a thriving and joyful life, suggests artist and scholar Ashon T. Crawley. He asks, “Is there a wisdom, a thought practice, an approach to making things that lets us work against this severance, he asks, and prompt in us a way to move, think, and do otherwise?”“All my writing and my approach to art practices is about what I call otherwise possibility,” said Crawley, who has been appointed the Nannerl Keohane Distinguished Visiting Professor at… read more about Visiting Keohane Professor to Explore A Severed Relationship to Land »
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 about Creative Writing Collective Collaborates with Jordan High School Writing Club »
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 about Congrats to Alum, Caitlin Krause On The Release of “Digital Wellbeing" »
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 about Duets Episode 3: Don’t Choose the Group, Choose the People »
The 28 new books by Duke authors provide a variety of reading materials and includes work by English faculty members Mesha Maren and Kevin Hart. read more about New Books by Duke Authors: Exploring Politics, Theology, AI and Basketball »
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 about An Interview With Kevin Hart, Theologian and Poet »
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 about Duke English Welcomes Frances Leviston, 24-25 Visiting Blackburn Artist-in-Residence »
Professor Thomas Pfau was the keynote lecturer for the A.I. & Theology seminar. read more about Graduate Students Synthesize AI, Ethics, and Theology »
The author reads his story from the August 26, 2024, issue of the magazine. read more about Akhil Sharma Reads “The Narayans” »
Bass Connections Team Reframes Research on 20th Century Blues Artists and Rosetta Records Rising junior Trisha Santanam researched the Rosetta Records involvement of Victoria Spivey, or “Queen Victoria,” the Black blues singer and vaudeville performer. read more about The Archive is an Invitation »
Digital humanities scholar Victoria Szabo talks about some of the latest digital arts and history projects at Duke that are allowing students to learn in new ways read more about Digital Humanities on the Rise »
Duke Associate Professor Emeritus William Buford Jones, 91, of Durham, passed away at Hillcrest Convalescent Center, July 7, 2024, after a long illness. read more about Duke Flags Lowered: Professor Emeritus Buford Jones Dies »
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 about Graduate Research in Queer Studies and the Many Expressions of Pride »
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 about The Atlantic Magazine's The Great American Novels List Includes Professor Akhil Sharma's "Family Life" »
Congratulations to Professor Joseph Winters, one of three Duke University recipients of a 2024-25 National Humanities Center Fellowship. read more about Three Trinity Faculty Receive 2024-2025 National Humanities Center Fellowships »
Congratulations to Arielle Stern, ’25, one of three recipients of the 2024 Faculty Scholar Awards, for her analysis of poetry. The Faculty Scholar Awards are the highest honor bestowed by university faculty on undergraduates. read more about Three Juniors Named Faculty Scholars »