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
For the first time ever, the Duke Wind Symphony and the Duke Opera Theater join forces and present “Shining Night, O Night of Love,” an innovative multi-sensory collaboration featuring many of the greatest and most popular operas ever written.Conducted by Wind Symphony Conductor Verena Mösenbichler-Bryant, the ensemble will perform selections from “Carmen”, “The Magic Flute”, “The Marriage of Figaro”, “Tales of Hoffman”, “La Traviata” and others. This semi-staged event, which will be sung entirely in English, will… read more » about Shining Night, O Night of Love: Duke Wind Symphony & Duke Opera Theater
"You have to be resilient to bounce back. There are always multiple pathways and multiple ways forward to shape your future.”Steffen Bass has a unique way to sell failure to students: "I ask them, ‘How many of you are still dating your childhood sweetheart?’ They seem to be able to take that ‘failure’ on the relationship side much easier than on the academic side."The physicist’s own academic journey has not been without its challenges, including setbacks in securing research grants early on in his career, and being… read more » about Freedom to Fail: A Humbling Moment Paves the Way for Success
"Failure is always something that we use to build into the story of ourselves and who we are.”Bridgette Martin Hard has learned a lot about the value of failure through her own life experiences. As a psychologist researching growth versus fixed mindsets, the professor of the practice of Psychology and Neuroscience has seen firsthand how students' beliefs about intelligence and ability can hold them back. "I tell students that we hold both of these mindsets in our heads at all times. You're not one or the other,… read more » about Freedom to Fail: Viewing Failure as a Way to Improve
“People who take chances are usually more successful than those who play it safe.”“Do you want to hear how I crashed in front of an 80-piece orchestra and 120-voice choir?”So began Allan Friedman’s story of failure.The lecturing fellow of Music got his undergraduate degree at Duke, and while he was working on his doctorate in conducting, he returned to his alma mater as an assistant choir conductor. The choir’s director offered Friedman the opportunity to lead a 250-person orchestra in Duke Chapel… read more » about Freedom to Fail: Turning Public Humiliation Into a Teaching Moment
What would you sacrifice to pursue your dream?This is the question that the women in “By The Way, Meet Vera Stark,” Duke Theater Studies’ Fall 2024 Mainstage production, must grapple with as they struggle to forge careers as actors in 1930s Hollywood. Breaking into the movie business is challenging under any circumstances, but it was particularly difficult for Black actors in the early 20th century. The compromises they had to make, and the consequences of their choices, are deftly illustrated in Lynn Nottage’s play,… read more » about What Would You Do to Make Your Dream Come True?
Days before the election, faculty members of the Duke Department of Political Science gathered in the Holsti-Anderson Family Assembly Room to share their insights into the election. The event included former congressman David Price’s recounting of how Democratic leaders rallied to persuade President Joe Biden to step down only months earlier. The discussion circled around the theme of political trust: how it is secured — or lost — through public opinion and election integrity. John Aldrich, a scholar of political… read more » about Perspectives on the 2024 Election: a Duke Political Science Panel
An election year brings the return of a distinctive course merging media-making with the study of women in politics. In GSF 225S, Women and the Political Process, students get a hands-on approach to understanding how gender and politics interact, all while equipping them with skills in media production. Taught by Lauren Henschel and Rachel Gelfand, both instructors of Gender, Sexuality & Feminist Studies, and offered every two years, the course is especially relevant during election cycles, when… read more » about Gender, Politics and the Magic of Media, All in a Single Classroom
North Carolina is considered a close and must-win state for presidential candidates Kamala Harris and Donald Trump. Both campaigns have spent millions in the state and held numerous rallies here.Four Duke experts Tuesday discussed the North Carolina electorate, the issues behind support for either candidate in North Carolina, polling and changing demographics.HOW MUCH FAITH SHOULD WE PUT IN POLLS?“Polls are not a tool that are sufficient for doing the work that we want them to do in a close election. They… read more » about Squishy Polls, Changing Demographics: Election Factors to Watch in NC
Harold Baranger remembers his parents discussing physics at the dinner table, and his mother doodling Feynman diagrams during idle moments. Both his parents were theoretical physicists, his father at Carnegie Mellon and MIT and his mother at the University of Pittsburgh — a family setting that nourished his own fascination with science in general and physics in particular.Baranger, who is retiring in December 2024, grew up to become a successful theoretical physicist himself. After working for 13 years at Bell Labs in… read more » about Theoretical Physics is a Family Business
Duke is equipping students to respect differing viewpoints in a variety of ways. This Duke Today series examines the decline in civil discourse and Duke’s efforts to improve campus dialogue.Across this polarized country, college professors are grappling with the same dilemma: how to create a classroom environment where students feel free to speak their minds.Nasser Hussain has an answer, and you’ll forgive him if he sounds like a throwback to another era.“I establish ground rules,” says Hussain, associate director of the… read more » about Encouraging Civility