News

This spring, Duke authors have unusual stories to tell: The sublime but endangered snow leopard in Afghanistan; a Maoist group striking terror throughout Peru in the 1980s; a Togolese fixer who assists those with dreams of escaping poverty through a US visa. Below, we offer a roundup of titles worthy of attention. read more about Spring Books: Adventures in Artificial Intelligence, Peruvian Guerrillas, Snow Leopards and More »

A tugboat co-owned by a Duke professor has been impounded by the Italian government after rescuing 49 migrants from the Mediterranean Sea and bringing them to a Sicilian shore. Since last October, the Mare Jonio, a 27-meter tugboat registered in Italy, has conducted two-week monitoring missions in the international Search and Rescue Zone off the Libyan coast. Earlier this week it rescued the 49 people from a rubber boat and brought them to the Sicilian island of Lampedusa. read more about Duke Professor's Boat Seized After rescuing 49 Migrants on the Mediterranean »

Providing a venue for the scholarly study of gaming, Trinity College of Arts & Sciences recently refurbished a classroom in the Link to create a new Game Lab. Link Classroom 6 is now decked out with popular gaming consoles — from Microsoft Xbox to Sony PlayStation to Nintendo Switch — as well as a growing collection of board and card games, and several high-end computers and monitors to give those using the facility an immersive gaming experience. read more about Let the Games Begin: Trinity Opens Lab to Study Game Development & Culture »

Story+ is a 6-week summer research experience for students – undergraduate and graduate – interested in bringing academic research to life through dynamic storytelling. Students will be challenged through a variety of activities including archival research, oral histories, narrative & visual analysis and more! Application deadline is February 15. First round team selections will be made by Spring Break. read more about Story+: Where Academic Research Meets Dynamic Storytelling »

“As scholars, we often find ourselves being asked to separate teaching from scholarship from service,” says Dr. Jennifer Ahern-Dodson, Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Thompson Writing Program and founder of the Faculty Write Program. The reality, however, is that all of those components are inextricably linked, as experience in one sphere enhances perspective in another. Recognizing this, Ahern-Dodson seeks to provide a space for faculty doing community-engaged work to take the time to thoughtfully integrate the… read more about Being a More Engaged Scholar Through Writing »

“There’s a standard misconception that activists only act, and scholars only think,” says Social Movements Lab co-director Michael Hardt, who teaches political theory as a professor in the Program in Literature at Duke University. “The Social Movements Lab is oriented towards activist-scholars who combine these two modes of activity.” read more about FHI Social Movements Lab Connects Duke Scholars with the Rich Thinking of Global Activists »

Co-directed by Michael Hardt (Duke University) and Sandro Mezzadra (University of Bologna), the Social Movements Lab has two central premises. One, it will approach its analysis of movements by avoiding a theory/practice divide. Two, social movements are more powerful when they are intersectional and international. read more about New FHI Humanities Lab to Explore How Social Movements Are Shaping Our World »