As part of an investigation into the history of American celebrity, a team of undergraduate students created an exhibit, “Stories We Sell: Crafting Public Persona from Walt Whitman to Billie Eilish," now on view in Perkins Library. Merrit Jones (‘21), Tristan Kelleher (T ‘22) and Andrew Witte (T ‘22) worked together during Story+, a 6-week humanities research program in which undergraduate students complete a project under the guidance of a sponsor and a graduate student mentor. read more about Exhibit on Walt Whitman and celebrity created by Story+ team »
The Duke Campus Farm serves the Duke community as well as our Durham neighbors. This Thanksgiving, we reflect on the power of food, shared labor, and love. read more about A Campus Farm Thanksgiving »
Prof. Mesha Maren and Prof. JP Gritton in conversation on the Chicago Review of Books discussing the JP Griffton's first novel "Wyoming." read more about "Creating 'Colorado Noir' "- Chicago Review of Books »
Good teachers aren’t born that way, even the best ones admit that it took years before they felt comfortable in front of the classroom. Experience helps, but mentoring from other teachers is a critical component. read more about Five Things To Know About Great Teaching »
Industry leaders share perspectives on working with academic and trade presses read more about Advice for Would Be-Book Authors »
A great migration is happening on U.S. college campuses. Ever since the fall of 2008, a lot of students have walked out of English and humanities lectures and into STEM classes, especially computer science and engineering. read more about The world’s top economists just made the case for why we still need English majors »
As a senior English major, I’ve taken several creative nonfiction writing classes at Duke, during which my professors have encouraged us to seek out small local publications in Durham or Chapel Hill in the hopes of being published. read more about 8 Tips for Writing a Bestselling Book »
Cave Canem, a national organization committed to cultivating the artistic and professional growth of Black poets, speaks with Duke's Tsitsi Ella Jaji, winner of the Cave Canem Northwestern University Press Poetry Prize for a second-book and author of Mother Tongues. Read the full interview In Pen America. read more about The PEN Ten: An Interview with Poet Tsitsi Ella Jaji »
Jay Arora is a senior pursuing an interdisciplinary major in English and Public Policy. While he has enjoyed English since a young age, he came into Duke planning to major in Public Policy because he questioned the viability of majoring in English. But after taking Public Policy 155, Jay realized that his interest lay more in the stories than the data. He wanted to focus on “the narratives in policy and the political realities that shape English texts.” In his English thesis, he does just that by using English texts to… read more about Jay Arora: From Slop to Soul »
The exploration the public lives of the “first ladies” of America’s Christian evangelical megachurches and an intimate portrait of the joys and hardships of rural life in Appalachia are among the new noteworthy books by Duke authors this fall. Many of the books, including new editions of previous titles, can be found on the "Duke Authors" display shelves near the circulation desk in Perkins Library. Some are available as e-books for quick download. Most can also be purchased through the Gothic Bookshop. [Duke Today will… read more about Fall Books: Clean Hands, Aging Brains, Evangelical Women and Other Great Reads »
For undergraduates interested in creative writing, the halls of the English department in the Allen Building come with a few history lessons. read more about Duke Creative Writing Is on the Rise »
Given the state of the academic job market, I was worrying about job prospects before I even entered my English Ph.D. program. I remember, when I visited Duke with my prospective cohort, asking the Director of Graduate Studies about their job placement statistics. I received a carefully worded response about the impressive number of people who had secured tenure-track jobs within three or four years of graduation. I remember wondering, well, what happened to everyone else? read more about Reframing the PhD: Takeaways from the English Department’s Careers Panel »
The weekend of November 1-2, 2019, will mark the 10th Annual DEMAN (Duke Entertainment, Media, and Arts Network) Weekend at Duke. DEMAN Arts & Media weekend is the annual signature event at Duke that brings together students and alumni interested in creative industries. DEMAN Weekend is a resource for Duke students, alumni, faculty, and staff. Many Duke English alums have returned to campus as guest speakers for DEMAN Weekend over the decade that Duke has been hosting this event. During… read more about English Alums Participating in 2019 DEMAN Weekend »
Alumni in entertainment and other creative industries will return to campus November 1-2 for panel discussions and meetings with students read more about A Decade of DEMAN: How a Networking Weekend Has Blossomed »
Is America ruining English or giving it new life? Most of this old transatlantic debate concerns words. read more about How America saved old-fashioned English grammar »
Jessica Covil, a third-year doctoral candidate studying English, African and African American studies and gender, sexuality and feminist studies, is the creator and instructor of the Black Feminism in Pop Culture course. read more about New Writing 101 class teaches first-years through black feminist lens »
President Vincent Price returned to Washington, D.C. on October 16 for a day of meetings and events that emphasized a host of Duke's federal priorities and cultivated both new and existing relationships. read more about President Price in DC: Discussing University Priorities and Celebrating General Martin Dempsey »
On Wednesday, October 9th, students from English 90S.04, “Success and Failure: ‘Striving’ in Literature and Film,” went to see Joker with their professor, Catherine Lee, Ph. D. candidate in English. In class, in the course of exploring various narratives that engage with the theme of success and failure, the students had encountered a number of troubled, and troubling, protagonists, such as the creature in Mary Shelley’s Frankenstein, Ava the AI robot in Alex Garland’s Ex Machina… read more about English 90S.04 “Success and Failure”: Joker Screening »
Please join the From Slavery to Freedom Lab on Tuesday, October 22, 2019, for two events with Dr. Tracy Sharpley-Whiting, Gertrude Conaway Vanderbilt Distinguished Professor of Humanities and Chair of the Department of African American and Diaspora Studies at Vanderbilt University. SEMINAR | When the Research Becomes Personal, or “Men I'd Like to Have Known” Lunch served 12–12:30 pm | Seminar 12:30–2 pm From Slavery to Freedom Lab | Smith Warehouse,… read more about Upcoming From Slavery to Freedom Lab's Events »
Ranjana Khanna knew former acclaimed author Reynolds Price when the two were fellow Duke Duke Faculty members. Now Khanna Does her work in the Allen Building office that used to belong to Price. read more about The Offices Where Great Things Happened »
(Update) On December 14, 2019, Joe Ashby Porter passed away. Joseph Ashby Porter's Duke obituary After being a part of the English Department faculty for nearly 40 years, Professor Joseph A. Porter, aka Joe Ashby Porter, has retired. Prof. Porter joined the faculty at Duke in 1980 after teaching full-time at the University of Virginia and part-time at three other institutions. During his tenure at Duke, Professor Porter taught in the English and Theater Studies departments. Prof.… read more about After Nearly Four Decades at Duke Professor Joseph A. Porter Retires »
What could bring a group of busy Duke students together on a Friday night to play a board game? Nineteenth century (British) literature, of course! Our English 90S class, Economics of Romance, had a lovely evening on September 20th enjoying tea, strawberries, and cookies ostensibly shaped like Jane Austen. We were playing Marrying Mr. Darcy, a board game originally based on the novel Pride and Prejudice, but which also has an Emma expansion pack. Throughout this semester so far… read more about English 90S: Jane Austen Game Night »
Caryl Phillips and Amit Chaudhuri were the featured novelists for the 2019 Blackburn Festival Feature Reading session held Thursday, September 26, in the Ruby Lounge at the Rubenstein Art Center on the campus of Duke University. Caryl Phillips and Amit Chaudhuri each read from their works followed by and a Q&A session in which the audience got to ask each novelist about what inspires them. Each novelist shared concepts and insight into the thought process they have come to utilize when writing. … read more about Photos Gallery from Caryl Phillips and Amit Chaudhuri Readings at the Blackburn Festival »
The 2019 Blackburn Festival kicked off with Opening Night readings by Duke English Department faculty and staff at the Durham Hotel, located in downtown Durham. This year's Opening Night included readings by Michelle Dove, English Department Undergraduate Studies Assistant, Professor C. Faulkner Fox, Professor JP Gritton, Professor Melissa Malouf, and Professor Mesha Maren. Each read from works they are in the process of completing or their most recently published works. Photo Gallery… read more about Opening Night of the 2019 Blackburn Festival Kicked Off Last Night »
Last Monday, September 16, 2019, Duke English hosted its first English Ice Cream Social. This event allowed students interested in English as a major, minor or just curious about what courses Duke English offers to learn more about the department and meet the faculty, Ph.D. candidates and more while enjoying ice cream, from the Parlour, located in downtown Durham on one of the final summer days of 2019. English Ice Cream Social Photo Gallery read more about 2019 English Ice Cream Social in Review »
The Duke University English Department welcomes Professor John (JP) Gritton as one of our two new Assistant Professor of the Practice of Creative. Gritton joins the Duke English department after serving as the Cynthia Woods Mitchell fellow at the University of Houston last year. Professor Gritton earned his BA in English and Creative Writing from Hamline University, MFA from Johns Hopkins University, and his Ph.D. in English and Creative Writing from the University of Houston. … read more about New Addition: Professor JP Gritton Joins Duke English »
Beginning with the new school year Professor Julie Andresen Tetel transitioned to Professor Emerita of English with the Duke English Department. Professor Tetel initially joined the Duke English Department faculty as an Adjunct Assistant Professor in 1987. Tetel completed her undergraduate degree right here at Duke University before attending the University of Illinois – Urban Champaign for her M.A. Professor Tetel received her Ph.D. from the University of North… read more about Professor Julie Andresen Tetel Becomes Professor Emerita of English »
The English Department welcomes Professor Mesha Maren to our faculty from the University of North Carolina where she served as the Kenan Visiting Writer Fellow. Maren earned her MFA from Queens College in Charlotte, NC. She has been the recipient of fellowships from the MacDowell Colony, the Ucross Foundation and the Kenan Visiting Writer Fellowship at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill. She serves as a National Endowment of the Arts Writing Fellow at the Federal Prison Camp in… read more about Duke English Department Welcomes Professor Mesha Maren to the Faculty »
You are warmly invited to attend a working and planning meeting for the Writing is Thinking Working Group on Wednesday, September 4that 6pm in Allen 314. (Food will be served.) We will be joined by our new colleagues in the English department’s writing program: JP Gritton and Mesha Maren. This is a chance to meet them, to hear some of their thoughts about writing and research, and to add your voice to this coming year’s annual project. For the past three years, Sarah Beckwith, Toril Moi, and Cathy… read more about Writing is Thinking »
Professor Aarthi Vadde has co-edited The Critic as Amateur with Saikat Majumdar. The Critic as Amateur brings leading and emerging scholars together to explore the role of amateurism in literary studies. While untrained reading has always been central to arenas beyond the academy – book clubs, libraries, used bookstores – its role in the making of professional criticism is often disavowed or dismissed. This volume, the first on the critic as amateur, restores the links between expertise,… read more about "The Critic as Amateur" Co-Edited by Professor Aarthi Vadde »