Duke’s Trinity College of Arts & Sciences has invited its faculty to submit proposals for the creation of new research initiatives on campus.Following the successful launches of the SPACE Initiative and the Society-Centered AI Initiative, the Trinity Research Initiative will support new directions for interdisciplinary research through seed funding for nascent research collaborations, community-building, and complementary educational and outreach activities.Open to all areas of research and… read more about Trinity College of Arts & Sciences Invites Proposals for New Research Initiatives »
Class of 2027 students Megan Bonne, Sally Maroa, and Kimmy Parboosingh have received the Voyager Scholarship for Public Service. Created by the Obamas and Airbnb's Brian Chesky, this two-year scholarship for juniors supports young leaders who are committed to careers in public service. read more about Three Trinity Students Receive the Voyager Scholarship »
SpeakerDr. Kathryn Mathers, Dr. Christopher OumaDuke Human Rights Center’s Rights! Camera! Action! Series presents a screening of When I Say Africa, a documentary which “turns the lens on the West’s stereotypes of Africa from the first European adventurers’ sketches to pop culture today.” Please join us to celebrate and converse about the impact of this film on Monday, October 6th, 2025 and discuss how it shapes the worldly views today. Click here for details… read more about 'When I Say Africa' ...Free Film showing »
Professor Adam Rosenblatt and undergraduate student Shreya Joshi’s collaborative research uses oral history and visual storytelling to document Durham’s independent comics scene. From in-depth interviews with self-published creators and small-press artists, to exploring the key spaces that sustain the local indie comics community — like the Durham Public Libraries — this community-engaged research preserves the stories, places, people and culture that shape North Carolina’s creative pulse. read more about Drawing Durham: Documenting the Indie Comics Scene Through Story and Memory »
Duke University students Kaylyn Oh and Zane Holley have been selected to receive competitive DeJoy-Woś Scholarships and Fellowships. These awards provide North Carolina undergraduates with fully or partially funded access to the Fund for American Studies (TFAS) Academic Internship Program in Washington, D.C.Oh, an International Comparative Studies and Public Policy major, was one of just ten students to receive the full DeJoy-Woś Scholarship, which covers the cost of two academic courses at George Mason University and a… read more about Two Duke Students Selected for Prestigious DeJoy-Woś Scholarships »
Graphic Ethnography: Comics as Research, a service-learning course taught by Professor Adam Rosenblatt, explores comics as both an innovative research method and a medium for authentic human connection. Through a partnership with TROSA (Triangle Residential Options for Substance Abusers), students use comics to tell recovery stories—collaboratively crafted with TROSA residents. What emerges isn't just research. It's relationship. read more about Drawing New Connections: Comics, Community and Recovery »
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 fifteen students for creative projects spanning film, theater, creative writing, music, dance, and visual art. read more about Announcing the 2025 Benenson Award Winners »
The John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute has named Adam Rosenblatt, Professor of the Practice of the International Comparative Studies Program, as the new director of the Duke Human Rights Center (DHRC) at FHI. Rosenblatt, a prominent scholar in the fields of anthropology and death studies, will help expand the interdisciplinary perspective of DHRC’s mission of advancing human rights scholarship and practice.“I started reading Adam’s scholarship when he was a candidate for his position in International Comparative… read more about Adam Rosenblatt Appointed Director of the Duke Human Rights Center »
While March is celebrated as Women’s History Month, 2025 also marks a milestone: the 50th anniversary of the first United Nations World Conference on Women, held in June 1975 in Mexico City. The first in a series of four U.N. women’s conferences — which included Copenhagen in 1980, Nairobi in 1985 and Beijing in 1995 — the 1975 conference is considered by scholars to have been “a watershed moment.” Yet, few know about it. Professor of History Jocelyn Olcott wrote the book — or one of the books — on this landmark event… read more about Revisiting a Landmark in Global Feminism: Jocelyn Olcott Discusses the 50th Anniversary of the U.N. International Women’s Year Conference »
Amid ongoing chaos and outrage stemming from the Trump administration's gutting of the U.S. Agency for International Development, we hear a critique of USAID and the "humanitarian-industrial complex" from South African anthropologist Catherine Mathers. "USAID is very much a part of a system and industry that not only depends on global inequality … but in many ways produces it," she says. Funding for foreign assistance, much of which actually flows back to the United States, ultimately "does its job of supporting U.S.… read more about U.S. Humanitarianism Often Reproduces Inequality, But Killing USAID Is Wrong Answer: Catherine Mathers »
On Thursday, Feb. 13, Catherine Mathers, associate professor of the practice of program in International Comparative Studies, presented an early look at “When I Say Africa,” which she co-produced. Slated for a release later in 2025, the documentary presents multiple perspectives on the white-savior complex and how it manifests in western perceptions of and interactions with Africa. read more about 'When I Say Africa:' An Eye Opener »
Duke University senior Jenna Smith was among the 32 recipients selected this weekend for the prestigious Rhodes Scholarship, chosen from among 865 applicants across the U.S. after receiving the nomination of their university.Recipients are selected based on academic achievement, personal integrity, leadership potential and a commitment to service. The scholarship provides all expenses for two years of study at the University of Oxford.“Jenna Smith is an exceptional thinker, leader, writer, and reformer, and I… read more about Duke Senior Jenna Smith Wins Rhodes Scholarship »
In his latest book, Cemetery Citizens: Reclaiming the Past and Working for Justice in American Burial Grounds, Adam Rosenblatt pays tribute to the volunteers restoring systemically neglected cemeteries across the country, even coining a name for them: cemetery citizens.“I’m not a scholar who typically invents new jargon,” the International Comparative Studies professor confesses, “but I needed to explain and name a social movement that hasn’t been studied or properly acknowledged yet.” A cemetery citizen himself,… read more about Cemetery Citizens and the Practice of Care »
Maya Ghanem is a graduating senior majoring in International Comparative Studies and minoring in Religious Studies, with a concentration in the Middle East. A leader of the queer Muslim student group, Jummah 4 All, Ghanem’s research is grounded in queer Muslim studies and sexual ethics among Muslim authorities. Their honors thesis on queer Muslims and environmental futurisms focused on the interconnected struggles of queer Muslims and nonhuman creation against Orientalist binaries. Ghanem’s writing on analyzing Arab media… read more about Maya Ghanem Knows Collaboration is Critical »
Suzie Choi is a graduating senior from Seoul, Korea studying International Comparative Studies with a Political Science minor and Innovation and Entrepreneurship Certificate (I&E). On campus, Choi served as the Vice President of the Social Impact Committee at Business Oriented Women (BOW), as the Co-Vice President of Duke’s UNICEF-Durham Affairs Committee, as a I&E Student Fellow and as a flutist at the Duke Flute Studio. Choi’s keen interest in locally led international development led her to a… read more about Suzie Choi Would Like You to Pursue Everything »
Bidirectional learning and research between Duke and Latin America is a topic of particular interest for CLACS Director Liliana Paredes, professor of the practice of Romance Studies and International Comparative Studies. read more about Liliana Paredes Among Scholars Reflecting Latinidad Perspectives at Duke »
The course of Esther Kim Lee’s scholarship was set by a book that didn’t exist. When she accepted the 2023 Distinguished Scholar Award from the American Society for Theatre Research (ASTR) on November 11, Duke's Frances Hill Fox Professor of Theater Studies, International Comparative Studies and History recounted an experience from her days as a graduate student at The Ohio State University in the 1990s. While working on her dissertation, Lee searched the library for books about the history of Asian American theater. To… read more about Esther Kim Lee Wins American Society for Theatre Research’s Distinguished Scholar Award »
The National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) revealed its allocation of $41.3 million in grants, benefiting 280 humanities projects throughout the nation. Two Trinity College of Arts and Science Faculty are recipients of the grant. Jocelyn Olcott Jocelyn Olcott’s project focuses on the value of care. (John West/Trinity Communications) Jocelyn Olcott, Professor of History; International Comparative Studies; and Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies, was… read more about Two Trinity Faculty Awarded Grants from National Endowment for Humanities »
The first day of the inaugural Duke Climate and Sustainability Teaching Fellows’ weeklong workshop series is wrapping up when Alex Glass assigns homework to the assembled faculty participants: “Before tomorrow, I challenge you to come up with a topic from your course that you think doesn’t relate to climate change at all. Tomorrow we’ll discuss ways it does.” The Climate and Sustainability Teaching Fellows Program may be new, but for its three faculty co-leads — Charlotte Clark, Associate Professor of the Practice of… read more about For the Climate and Sustainability Teaching Fellows, the Connections are Myriad »
Five members of the Class of 2024 have been named to the third class of Nakayama Scholars. The Nakayama Public Service Scholarship bolsters the university’s efforts to encourage students to use their Duke experience to engage with significant challenges facing communities around the world. The students represent multiple disciplines across Duke’s academic departments as well as a variety of future careers pursuits. Juniors Nhu Bui, Grace Endrud, Jacob Hervey, Chloe Nguyen and Ronit Sethi were chosen for their… read more about Duke Names Third Class of Nakayama Scholars »
Seven faculty members have been named 2023 Bass Chairs and inducted into the Bass Society of Fellows in recognition of their demonstrated excellence in both undergraduate teaching and research. The group was celebrated Monday evening during a reception at the J.B. Duke Hotel. The chairs were created in 1996 when Anne T. and Robert Bass gave $10 million as a matching gift to encourage Duke alumni, parents and friends to endow the positions. Candidates are nominated by faculty and evaluated by a faculty committee for… read more about Three Trinity Faculty Named 2023 Bass Chairs »
“It seems like any other day. You wake up, pour a cup of coffee, and head out. But today, when you open your front door, waiting for you is a small wooden box. This box holds your fate inside: the answer to the exact number of years you will live.” – “The Measure” by Nikki Erlick That is the premise of this year’s book selection for first-year students as part of the Duke Common Experience. Each year since the 2001-2002 academic year, newly minted Blue Devils have been expected to read and be prepared to discuss a book… read more about Summer Reading Program to be More Inclusive, Create Common Experience for All »
When they arrived in Mississippi for an internship last year, students Jenna Smith and Vishal Jammulapati learned they would spend their summer documenting history. Their assignment was to interview Civil Rights activists throughout the Mississippi Delta, weaving together personal stories with old photos and other artifacts that describe this era in American history. The students soon realized that although the Civil Rights movement is often perceived as long-ago history, in the Delta, the movement is still very much a… read more about ICS Students Ensure Mississippi’s Civil Rights History Isn’t Left in the Past »
Jennifer Nash, Jean Fox O'Barr Professor of Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies, minces no words summing up how care as a product is viewed in the United States. “I think care isn’t valued because it's women's work. Anything that women do is devalued.” From birth to death, everyone receives care at some point in their life. And the “care economy” is the economic activity generated by the provision of care services like childcare, elder care and health care. This includes both paid and… read more about Vital but Invisible: How Women Drive the Care Economy in the United States »