Toril Moi(link opens in a new window/tab), James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of Literature(link opens in a new window/tab), has been elected to the American Philosophical Society, the oldest academic society in the United States. read more about Toril Moi Elected to American Philosophical Society »
Congratulations to Professor Christopher Ouma, the new host of the Webby Awards-nominated web series “Left of Black.” read more about New Host Announcement for Award-Winning “Left of Black” Series »
The American Revolution was not a sudden moment but the result of decades of political debate, economic change and intellectual exchange that stretched across the Atlantic world. And while the signing of the Declaration of Independence marked a historic turning point, it also ushered in a period of uncertainty, experimentation and profound change. This collection of books by Trinity College of Arts & Sciences faculty invites readers to explore the Revolutionary era from multiple perspectives. Together, these works… read more about Revolutionary Reading: Trinity Faculty Books for America’s 250th »
Aarthi Vadde, E. Blake Byrne Associate Professor of English, spends a lot of time thinking about what happens to literature when anyone can write whatever they want, whenever they want, in public. “We’re in this era of mass writing, where if you want to, you can make a free account and start expressing yourself in the world,” Vadde says. (Courtesy of Columbia University Press) Her new book, “We the Platform: How the Internet Changed Twenty-First-Century Literature”, out this June with… read more about What Happens When Everyone Can Be a Writer? Aarthi Vadde’s New Book Asks Just That »
The yearlong series will explore how the humanities shape academic freedom and democracy at U.S. universities. Charlotte Sussman and James Mulholland lead the collaborative Sharing Ground initiative at Duke University and N.C. State University. Duke University and N.C. State University have been awarded a Sawyer Seminar grant for a cross-institutional collaboration exploring challenges to academic freedom that U.S. universities are currently facing. Sharing Ground:… read more about Sawyer Seminar Supports Duke-N.C. State Collaboration on Academic Freedom »
Trinity College of Arts & Sciences recently honored four staff members with Dean’s Pillar of Excellence Awards. The Dean’s Pillar of Excellence Awards recognize outstanding non-teaching staff whose work strengthens the mission and daily life of Trinity College of Arts & Sciences. The 2026 awards honor individuals who consistently demonstrate outstanding service, leadership, initiative, community, collaboration, enthusiasm and inclusion. Established in 2017, the award celebrates staff accomplishments and… read more about Trinity College Honors Four Staff Members with Dean’s Pillar of Excellence Awards »
What does it mean for an entire nation — not just an individual — to feel ashamed? What happens inside a family when one member becomes involved in the criminal justice system? How do people change the way they think in order to feel better? These are the questions anchoring the research recognized this year by the Trinity College of Arts and Sciences’ Distinguished Dissertation Awards. Now in its second cohort, the award honors three members of Trinity's graduating Ph.D. class who… read more about Big Questions, Bold Research: Trinity Honors 2026 Distinguished Dissertation Award Recipients »
Sophomore year is when things start to click, and the unknowns become the familiar. Classes feel more purposeful, friendships run deeper, routines develop and campus becomes home. As our four Trinity students return, the series picks back up to follow their next chapter focused on exploring new opportunities, choosing majors and finding momentum. Through stories, photos, videos and social updates, we’ll capture the energy as they lean in, step up — and hit their stride. read more about Trinity in Four Acts: Daniella Freedman »
On Saturday, May 9, close to 350 students attended the Centennial Ph.D. Hooding Ceremonies, representing the 466 students who earned their doctoral degrees this year—the largest class ever in Duke history!To access photos and videos of the ceremonies and the full list of 2025–2026 doctoral graduates, visit the link below. read more about 2026 Ph.D. Hooding Ceremony Recap »
Victor Strandberg is retiring at age 91. The English professor reflects on what’s changed—including Blue Devils basketball—and what comes next for him. read more about A 60-Year Duke Professor on Literature, Grade Inflation, and Whether Academia Will Survive »
We are thrilled to announce that Katie Carithers has been selected as the 2026 Stephen J. Horne Award for Teaching Excellence winner. This annual award celebrates a graduate student instructor in the English Department who best demonstrates outstanding commitment to student learning and excellence in teaching. Instructors are nominated by their students, and the Director of Graduate Studies, in consultation with the DGS Advisory Committee, selects the winner.One of Carithers’ students included the following comment… read more about Katie Carithers, 2026 Stephen J. Horne Award for Teaching Excellence Winner »
Heartfelt moments and jubilant smiles were captured during the Duke English 2026 Graduation Ceremony and reception, highlighting the joy of the occasion. read more about PHOTOS: 2026 Graduation Ceremony »
The Duke University English Department honored the graduating class of 2026 on Sunday, May 10, in Reynolds Theater, Bryan Center, Duke’s West Campus. The event captivated guests with uplifting speeches from five student keynote presenters and the ceremonial awarding of diplomas. read more about RECORDING: 2026 Duke English Graduation Ceremony »
With Victor Strandberg set to retire in June, he reflects on a lifetime of teaching, knowing his students and opening minds... read more about Sixty Years, 10,000 Duke Students, One Last Lesson for English Professor »
During the 2025-26 academic year the Duke English department launched a lunch series to welcome our newest faculty, sparking engaging conversations between the 2025 arrivals and English PhD candidates that spotlighted each professor's research. For the series the three newest additions to the Duke English Faculty, professors Timothy Heimlich, Marguerite Nguyễn, and Richard So, were paired with Duke English PhD candidates with whom they sat down and discussed their literary work over lunch with other members of the Duke… read more about Review of the New Faculty Publications Lunch Series »
Each year, the Duke English faculty celebrates exceptional undergraduate writers, nominating students whose creative work has truly captivated them. The Creative Writing Committee then selects the winners of the prestigious William M. Blackburn, Francis Pemberton, and Margaret Rose Knight Sanford Scholarships. Frances Pemberton ScholarshipThis scholarship honors a junior or senior who is passionately pursuing creative writing. Established by the Trustees of The Mary Duke Biddle Foundation, it pays tribute to Francis… read more about 2026 Creative Writing Scholarship Winners »
Congratulations to Davis Shedd, ‘27, one of the fourteen 2026 winners of the Benenson Awards. Each year, Duke University awards Benenson Awards in the Arts, which provide funding for arts-centered projects proposed by undergraduates, including graduating seniors. This year, the Student Arts Award Committee awarded prizes to fourteen students for creative projects spanning stage combat, dance, interdisciplinary performance, filmmaking, costume design, music, and creative writing. read more about 2026 Benenson Award Winners »
The memories I have of my time here almost four years ago are slightly fuzzy, but my first semester in the English Department remains clear—mostly because it touched me so deeply. – Trisha Santanam, ’26 Every so often, someone comes along who leaves a trail of inspiration wherever they go. For the past four years, Trisha Santanam has been that beacon for the Duke English Department. From her very first day on campus, she poured her energy into the English major, launching creative student engagement… read more about Senior English Major, Trisha Santanam »
On Friday, we celebrated the 2026 arts awards winners across the Duke departments and programs, including Art, Art History, and Visual Studies; Center for Documentary Studies; Creative Writing, Dance Program; Music, and Theater Studies. Congratulations to all the awardees! read more about 2026 Duke Arts Awards Ceremony »
You could call this my last will and testament. I will begin with the testament, based on my institutional memory going back sixty years. After earning my PhD at Brown in 1962, I taught at the University of Vermont for four years and came to Duke in 1966 in search of a higher salary and warmer weather for my family. My new salary was $9500, a nice jump from the $7600 I got in Vermont, and I bought my first house, with two baths and nine rooms, including a full cellar and huge family room, for $22,000.… read more about Farewell Letter from Vic Strandberg »
When Madeline Sutton, assistant professor of the practice for the Thompson Writing Program, was in the fourth year of her Ph.D. program, she applied for a highly competitive national fellowship in education. The application process was intense: She needed a personal statement, a work plan, a detailed narrative about her dissertation research, and letters of recommendation from mentors. The people whose opinions Madeline Sutton valued most didn’t see her fellowship rejection as… read more about Freedom to Fail: Madeline Sutton »
JR Cassidy is a senior from Seattle, Washington, double majoring in English and Theater Studies. At Duke, his work has centered on music, literature and theater. Cassidy studied abroad in the Duke in London - Arts and Duke in Seoul programs. In 2025, Cassidy directed Euripides’ “The Bacchae” for Duke Players, which earned him a Duke Arts Award for excellence in directing. He also received the Reynolds Price Award for Screenwriting for a screenplay he wrote through the Duke Arts Studio program. He is a contributing editor… read more about JR Cassidy '26: From Directing “The Bacchae” to Writing for Film »
Trisha Santanam is a senior majoring in English with a minor in Music. Her academic interests focus on literature, music and questions of identity, diaspora and belonging. In addition to serving as a Trinity Ambassador, Santanam is a Mellon Mays Undergraduate Fellow researching how diasporic experiences can be heard through music and literature, as well as a member of the Bass Connections Archives and Creative Process team studying the archives of a feminist record collector and writer. On campus, she serves on the… read more about Trisha Santanam '26 Finding Home in Literature and Music »
Angelli Garibaldi-Arias is a first-generation student born in Lima, Peru, and raised in Denver, Colorado. She is double majoring in English and Romance Studies with a minor in Medieval and Renaissance Studies. Her research focuses on medieval and early modern literature — particularly Dante’s Divine Comedy and Cervantes’ Don Quixote — exploring questions of ethics, migration, empire and human value. Through literary and philosophical analysis alongside interviews with immigrants, her honors thesis, “Global Inequalities:… read more about Angelli Garibaldi-Arias '26: Reading Migration Through Literature »
The Duke English Department is thrilled to unveil the 2026 Creative Writing Contest winners and this year's standout critical essayists. Every year, we honor the imaginative voices and sharp insights of English majors and undergraduates from across the university. Meet the winners in each category below and dive into their award-winning works through the links provided. FICTIONAnne Flexner Memorial Award for FictionFamily members and friends of former English student Anne Flexner (… read more about 2026 Creative Writing, Critical Essays, and Department Award Winners »
On April 17, 2026, the Duke English Department celebrated its annual Undergraduate Distinction Day, where twelve graduating English majors proudly unveiled their senior thesis projects before an audience of over 50 attendees. Following their presentations, each student participated in a lively panel, delving deeper into their work and engaging with thoughtful questions from the audience. Below you can find the recording of the 2026 Duke English Undergraduate Distinction Day in its entirety.… read more about RECORDING: 2026 Undergraduate Distinction Day »
The Office for Faculty Advancement has awarded seed grants to seven new projects led by Duke faculty members. The theme for this grant cycle is “Building Community and Strengthening Networks to Improve the Faculty Experience.”Faculty were invited to propose innovative initiatives to build community, creative approaches to address specific mentorship needs, and novel approaches to improve the faculty experience.The seed grant program will provide financial support for these projects through April 2027. Project leaders… read more about Trinity Faculty Awarded Seed Grants by Duke Office of Faculty Advancement »
Sancia Milton knew what she wanted: a strong research university with a solid liberal-arts base. She found the right combination at Duke, “plus beautiful weather, a perfect campus size and basketball,” she adds.Her exact course of study was another matter. While creative writing and poetry have always been central to her identity, so has a penchant for biology — and a fascination with classical studies. “I came to Duke with a lot of interests,” she says, “and no clear sense of how they could fit together in a major.” It was… read more about Sancia Milton '26: Biology or English? She Chose Both »
In English 101, professor Thomas Ferraro always says, “Don’t give me the Duke answer. Give me your answer.” I remember feeling so embarrassed, angry even, the first time he told me I was flat out wrong. It was probably the second day of class. We were reading Willa Cather’s “A Lost Lady,” and I voiced my thoughts on the main character. I said that I believed Mrs. Forester to be a weak female lead, doomed due to her lack of power in a patriarchal society. Professor Ferraro simply looked at me and said, “No. That’s… read more about Don’t Give Me the Duke Answer: Say What You Really Think »
Trinity English alumna Annabel Monaghan is the bestselling author of several contemporary romance novels. Her newest book, “Dolly All the Time,” will be released May 26, 2026. (Headshot courtesy of Monaghan) Annabel Monaghan, T ’91, didn’t set out with a tidy, linear plan to become a bestselling novelist. In fact, for a long stretch of her adult life, writing seemed like the dream she had quietly shelved. But the foundation for the career she has now, writing contemporary romance novels… read more about From the English Classroom to the Bestseller List: How Trinity Shaped Annabel Monaghan’s Writing Journey »