News

THE ETHICS OF ORAL HISTORIES, HUMAN RIGHTS, AND THE ARCHIVE A conversation between Peter Jan Honigsberg and Cahal McLaughlin, guided by Leela Prasad Join us on Thursday, February 10, at noon for an online conversation exploring the practice of documenting and archiving human rights abuses through oral history and documentary film, the creation of memory and collective memory, and the ethical issues implicated in providing access to personal stories of trauma, loss, and torture. Duke University professor Leela… read more about Prisons and Public Memory: The Ethics of Oral Histories, Human Rights, and the Archive »

A new program for Duke sophomores – which launched earlier this year – will include a Religious Studies course this fall: “The Good Life: Religion, Philosophy, and Life’s Ultimate Concerns” (RELIGION 210). The course is part of the new “Transformative Ideas” program that is designed to promote open and civil cross-disciplinary dialogue on questions and big ideas that change lives, link cultures and shape societies around the world. “The Good Life” – taught by instructors from Religious Studies, Philosophy, Classical… read more about Religion Course Among Fall “Transformative Ideas” Offerings »

 Holi, the Hindu holiday also known as the Festival of Colors, celebrates love, the triumph of good over evil, and the end of winter. And after two years of cancelling the campus celebration because of the global pandemic, the colorful celebration has added significance. “There’s just such a release, a relief, a joy at being able to hang out together once again, to be able to throw color on one another, maybe not wear masks,” says Leela Prasad, professor of religious studies at Duke University. “There’s a greater… read more about Holi 2022, A Celebration of Spring and Renewed Gatherings »

Holi, the Hindu holiday also known as the Festival of Colors, celebrates love, the triumph of good over evil, and the end of winter. And after two years of cancelling the campus celebration because of the global pandemic, the colorful celebration has added significance. “There’s just such a release, a relief, a joy at being able to hang out together once again, to be able to throw color on one another, maybe not wear masks,” says Leela Prasad, professor of religious studies at Duke… read more about Holi 2022, A Celebration of Spring and Renewed Gatherings »

From China to modern Palestine, from Renaissance Europe to Reagan’s America of the 1980s, new books by Duke faculty will take you on a fascinating journey through time and space. We present a selection of books published in late 2021. 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 Dance, Spirituality and Black Art: Books by Duke Authors Warm This Winter  »

Several times a year, I listen to Reverend Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech,[1] given on August 28, 1963, as the culmination of the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom. Approximately 250,000 people heard it at the National Mall—the largest audience for a Washington rally up to that time. Others heard it, or parts of it, on the evening news. (You can listen to here, or read it here.) In this speech, King speaks about how America has failed to live up to its promise of life, liberty… read more about I have a dream: Martin Luther King Jr.'s Biblical Prophetic Speech »

A new program for Duke sophomores – which launches in Spring 2022 – will include a Religious Studies course focused on happiness, success and our beliefs. “The Good Life: Religion, Philosophy, and Life’s Ultimate Concerns” (RELIGION 210) is part of the new “Transformative Ideas” program that is designed to promote open and civil cross-disciplinary dialogue on questions and big ideas that change lives, link cultures and shape societies around the world. “The Good Life” – taught by instructors from Religious Studies, Duke… read more about Religious Studies Course Among New "Transformative Ideas" Offerings »

Elizabeth A. Clark, 82, the John Carlisle Kilgo Professor Emerita of Religion and Professor of History at Duke University, passed away Sept 7, at Duke Hospital.  Liz was an eminent scholar of Late Antiquity and early Christian history. Her work has been crucial to transforming the field formerly known as “patristics” — the study of the church fathers — into “early Christian studies,” an approach that applies cultural, social and feminist theory to the study of early Christianity. Her scholarship and service to the… read more about Duke Flags Lowered: Elizabeth Clark, Taught Religion at Duke for Four Decades, Dies at Age 82 »

If you don’t think a laboratory is the ideal place to explore complex themes and methodologies like valuing care, ethnography, urbanism or games and culture, you may need to expand your definition beyond beakers and microscopes. Labs are hives of communication, cooperation and active collaboration. They are driven by a commitment to curiosity and exploration that often produces unanticipated paths and solutions. And utilizing those features for research in the humanities – a scholarly area that has traditionally focused on… read more about Innovative, Interdisciplinary Labs Reshape Humanities Research and Teaching »

Four visiting humanities scholars from historically Black colleges and universities and liberal-arts institutions arrived at Duke this August to collaborate with Duke students, faculty and staff. Their projects will cover commemoration practices, early Christian manuscripts, a 17th century Mexican philosopher and the ephemeral nature of digital projects. The fellows are part of Humanities Unbounded, an Andrew W. Mellon Foundation-funded initiative designed to nurture collaboration and inventive expressions of the… read more about Duke Welcomes New Cohort of Visiting Humanities Scholars from HBCUs and Liberal-Arts Schools »

When he was an undergraduate political science student, Kerry Haynie was never taught about the 1921 Tulsa massacre. Nor was there much discussion about the role of race in the founding political documents of this country or much examination of how race influenced public services such as sewer lines and zoning. In one sense, a lot has changed. In 2021, Duke’s faculty includes a strong lineup of leading scholars who examine how race is embedded in issues that cross all the schools of the university. This fall, many of… read more about University Course Raises Race as a Central Element of Undergraduate Education »