We are excited to announce the winners of the 2022 Creative Writing Contests and the Creative Writing Scholarship awardees. Each year the English Department administers writing contests to recognize fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry by English majors and non-major undergraduates. Congratulations to the following students! Anne Flexner Memorial Award for Fiction Sascha Seinfeld, '23 Download Mint-Ting-A-Ling (pdf - 141.98 KB… read more about 2022 Creative Writing Award Winners »
Sophomore Milla Surjadi was elected Friday as the editor-in-chief of The Chronicle’s 118th volume. In a staff-wide election, members of the student newspaper chose Surjadi to succeed junior Leah Boyd as editor-in-chief of The Chronicle and president of the Duke Student Publishing Company, Inc., the publisher of the independent, student-run daily newspaper. Surjadi, who is from Forest Hills, N.Y., is an English major with a certificate in policy journalism and media studies. read more about Milla Surjadi Elected Editor-in-Chief for Chronicle Vol.118 »
Duke Alumni Engagement and Development announced 81 honorees for its 2021 awards. The awards, presented each fall, honor outstanding achievement and commitment to Duke and its alumni around the world. Awardees will be honored during Homecoming Weekend, Nov. 5-7, 2021. read more about New Alumni Awardees Announced, Including New Changemaker »
StudioDuke is a two-semester creative lab and mentorship program providing students the opportunity to take their advanced, ongoing creative projects to the next level. StudioDuke is a collaboration between Duke Innovation & Entrepreneurship, DEMAN (Duke Entertainment, Media & Arts Network), and Duke Arts. Students are matched with creative industry professionals (including Duke alumni) for one-on-one mentorship. The fifth year of this arts mentorship program pairs twenty students with… read more about 2021-22 StudioDuke Student Cohort »
English major Caroline Petrow-Cohen, '22, is an Opinion intern for the Los Angeles Times (Times). Her article, "Opinion: Microplastics Are Getting Into Our Bodies," was recently published by the Times. We Need to Understand What That Means." Caroline was the English department's digital media intern in 2020. read more about Opinion: Microplastics Are Getting Into Our Bodies »
Theo Cai, ’21, recipient of the 2021 Anne Flexner Award for Poetry, shares their award-winning piece “Filaments.” The Anne Flexner Award is given annually as part of the creative writing contest sponsored by the Department of English at Duke University. Student submissions are judged by our Creative Writing Committee. This award was established in 1945 by family members and friends of former English student Anne Flexner to recognize undergraduates for their work in… read more about Theo Cai Reads “Filaments,” the 2021 Anne Flexner Award Winning Poem »
Look back on sights, sounds and legendary moments from Duke University's undergraduate 2021 commencement ceremony. read more about Duke Commencement 2021 Glory »
In spring 2020, Duke’s campus cleared out and the classrooms were left empty. Students returned home and finished out the semester over Zoom. Like so many others, Nima Babajani-Feremi struggled to learn online. As the strangest semester most of us have ever experienced drew to a close, Babajani-Feremi, a sophomore at the time, decided that another semester of “Zoom University” was not realistic for him. Babajani-Feremi is no traditionalist — the bright yellow and blue floral print shirt he is wearing will… read more about Learning, Away From Duke »
Cliff Haley’s “Stuck on the Spectrum” is a queer analysis of male heterosexuality within mid-20th-century American literature. Haley’s thesis begins with Giovanni’s Room by James Baldwin, then moves to Ernest Hemingway’s The Sun Also Rises before returning to Baldwin’s Another Country. Within these texts, Haley explores the dilemmas of sexuality—and he argues that while we as modern readers better understand the sexual spectrum, we embrace… read more about What's in a Thesis? We Ask Undergrads What It Takes »
Duke’s theaters, galleries, and other arts venues are typically busiest in April! This year, we bring the buzz, artwork, and stages online. Our creative community has risen to meet the challenges of the pandemic while connecting us through making and sharing new work. The Duke Arts Student Showcase shines a light on Duke University academic arts departments—Theater Studies, Dance, Music, English, and Art, Art History & Visual Studies. Join us for the premiere of this produced special that… read more about Duke English Featured As Part of the Duke Arts Student Showcase »
We are excited to announce the winners of the 2021 Creative Writing Contests and the Creative Writing Scholarship awardees. Each year the English Department administers writing contests to recognize fiction, creative nonfiction, and poetry by English majors and non-major undergraduates. The department also awards three academic scholarships to undergraduate students who have been nominated by English faculty for work done in one or more creative writing courses. Congratulations to the following students! … read more about 2021 Creative Writing Contest and Scholarship Winners »
Learn how Duke's libraries have adjusted their services so that the community has access to the resources they need. read more about Keeping the Pages Turning at Duke Libraries »
Undergraduate, graduate and professional students are invited to apply to be a Young Trustee—serving on the Duke University Board of Trustees. An information session will be held today at 5:30 p.m. ET. More about the Young Trustee position and the selection process is available here. Applications are due on Sunday, Feb. 28. read more about You Could Be a Young Trustee »
Collen Flaherty's recent article in Inside Higher Ed looks at the growing diversity of what is being taught in English departments. read more about Not the Queen's English Department »
"Despite a struggling labor market and emerging technologies that emphasize the importance of STEM fields, an English degree is as useful as ever," says John Hopkins University Professor Mark Christian Thompson read more about Q+A The Enduring Value of An English Degree »
The first spring 2021 installment of the Duke English Faculty Works-in-Progress series will take place on Zoom this Friday, January 22, at 1:15 p.m. Professor Joseph Winters will discuss "Recovering the Irrecoverable: Blackness, Melancholy, and the Duplicities that Bind,” an article he is working on for an upcoming special issue of the journal Religion. Religion is an international, interdisciplinary, peer-reviewed, open-access journal on religions and theology from Multidisciplinary… read more about January 22: Joseph Winters on Blackness and Melancholy »
In email messages sent to Duke faculty, staff and students Tuesday, President Vincent Price invited them to a series of online Leadership Conversations with to address concerns about the new semester. read more about Price Invites Duke Community to Leadership Conversations January 25-27 »
A most unusual and painful year also brought us moments of joy and solidarity. We revisit some of the highlights in photos and videos. read more about 20 Moments From 2020 »
2020 has been a year unlike any other in our lifetimes. This article will reflect how Duke English addressed the challenges and opportunities presented by this historic year. Learning at Duke spread far beyond East and West campuses, for all of us. Faculty and students learned to take advantage of Duke resources beyond the classroom and Duke campus. With our students dispersed worldwide during the pandemic, the Duke English experience expanded well beyond Durham with Zoom becoming a primary resource for… read more about Duke English:2020 in Review »
The Great Gatsby entered the public domain. Works from 1925—including movies by Harold Lloyd and Buster Keaton, recordings by Ma Rainey, songs such as "Sweet Georgia Brown" and major works of literature—are now available for artists to legally build upon. What's not available: works from 1964 that would have entered the public domain under older U.S. law. read more about January 1, 2021 is Public Domain Day: Works from 1925 are open to all! »
Duke received 5,036 Early Decision applications for undergraduate admission—a 16 percent increase over last year and the most in the university's history. The states most represented among those admitted are North Carolina, New York, California and Florida. read more about Duke Announces First Members of the Class of 2025 »
“We wanted a senior year for the record books, and we got it! … Just not for the reason we expected. COVID-19 threw a curve ball at us, but we’ve made it our mission to find happiness in different places.” read more about COVID-19 Threw a Curve Ball at US': Student Photo Essays Document Life During a Pandemic »
The Trinity College of Arts and Sciences has loosened restrictions on satisfactory/unsatisfactory grading for the spring—though the overall policy will remain similar to the fall—and released the list of classes with mandatory S/U grading. read more about Trinity Loosens Limits on S/U Grading for Spring 2021, Releases List of Mandatory S/U Classes »
Students in a class on "Women in the Political Process" used the lens of documentary filmmaking to celebrate this year's centennial of American women winning the right to vote. They produced six films following women candidates campaigning during a most unusual election year. read more about GSF Projects Showcase Undergraduate Research Through Documentary Filmmaking »
It’s been seven months since the Class of 2020 celebrated their graduation, and their post-graduation lives haven’t quite been what they’ve expected. Nevertheless, recent alumni say that they’ve experienced unexpected blessings in their transition into the workforce. read more about Setbacks an Silver Linings: Class of 2020 Reflects on Graduating in a Pandemic »
The start of the COVID-19 pandemic kicked off a race to develop and deploy safe and effective vaccines. How do vaccines work to protect our health? With help from the Duke Human Vaccine Institute (DHVI), here's a short course on how they are developed. The investigators at the DHVI conduct basic and translational research to develop novel vaccines, therapeutics, and diagnostics for diseases such as HIV-1, tuberculosis, influenza, syphilis, gonorrhea, cytomegalovirus, rotavirus, parainfluenza, zika flavivirus, plague,… read more about Quick Learner: How Vaccines Work »
Duke nurse Glenda “Faye” Tate Williams became the first recipient of the COVID-19 vaccine at Duke Hospital Monday. A dozen Duke Health employees received doses after nearly 3,000 vaccine vials were delivered to the Duke Health System. Plus: READ THE FIVE THINGS you should know about the vaccine at Duke. read more about An Amazing Day »
Duke received a record number of Early Decision applications and expects a record-low acceptance rate this year. Dean of Undergraduate Admissions Christoph Guttentag wrote in an email that Duke received 5,040 Early Decision applications to the Class of 2025, compared to 4,280 last year—a 17.76% increase. read more about Duke Sees Record Early Decision Applications, Expects Lower Admit Rate »
In this pandemic, you've heard a lot about what you can't do. Four Duke Health physicians and health workers offer advice on what you can do this holiday to be social and lessen stress but still significantly reduce your COVID risk. read more about How to Safely Enjoy the Holidays During COVID-19 »
Goals can differ in some fundamental ways, as can our reactions when we achieve them or fail to achieve them. In this video Duke Psychology Professor Angie Vieth dives into the effects our #goals can have on our #emotions. This video is a part of Duke's series Extra Credit: Life's Curiosities Explained Playlist ► http://duke.is/HDM1C3 read more about How Goals Affect Our Emotions »