Methods Lab Series

Methods Lab's goal is to build intellectual community among our graduate students and faculty by hosting events that bring graduate students into conversation with Duke faculty, alumni of our PhD program, and historians more generally. Among events Methods Lab hosts are book and article conversations, dissertation chapter workshops, panels devoted to questions of historical theory and methodology.

Fall 2023:  Katlin Risen, Methods Labs Assistant; Anna Krylova and Juliana Barr, Faculty Advisors

Upcoming Events

There are no upcoming events at this time.

News of Past Events

(Click on event for video record.)

ML participants
Cheese, Worms, and Microhistory

On Monday, 10/23/23, Methods Labs welcomed Thomas Robisheaux and John Martin to discuss the historical methodology of Microhistory. Using the classic work The Cheese and the Worms by Carlo Ginzburg as a jumping off point, Drs. Robisheaux and Martin commented on their experiences--including, in the case of Dr. Martin, points where he came up short--in practicing microhistory. From there, discussion moved into other topics such as whether microhistory is a useful methodology, how to do global microhistory, advice for… read more »

Mireya Loza
Methods Lab: Curating Latinx History with Dr. Mireya Loza

On Monday, September 18, the first Fall 2023 Methods Lab featured a presentation from Dr. Mireya Loza, professor of History and American Studies at Georgetown University, about her work curating exhibits at the National Museum of American History. Discussing her contributions in curating two exhibits, “De Ultima Hora: Latinas Report Breaking News” and “Girlhood (it’s complicated),” Dr. Loza walked the audience through the methodological aims and challenges of presenting public history on sometimes controversial topics.… read more »

Methods Lab: John Martin's "A Beautiful Ending"

Monday, April 17th saw the final Methods Lab of the Spring 2023 semester: A Conversation with John Martin about his new book, A Beautiful Ending: The Apocalyptic Imagination and the Making of the Modern World (Yale University Press, 2022).  The event was held from 11:45am-1:15pm, in-person (Classroom Building Room 229) and via Zoom. The event began with introductory remarks from Prof. Martin (Duke History Department), followed by commentary from Matthias Riedl (Department of History, Central European University), … read more »

Methods Lab: From Dissertation to Book

"From Dissertation to Book" featured Corinna Zeltsman, Assistant Professor of History at Princeton University and author of the award-winning Ink Under the Fingernails: Printing Politics in Nineteenth Century Mexico. Prof. Zeltsman provided an overview of her book, which takes printers seriously as historical actors and thinkers in order to revise conventional accounts of liberal state formation and of the emergence of modern public spheres. Prof. Zeltsman also discussed how she revised her dissertation into a book… read more »

Methods Lab: Civil Rights in Black and Brown Oral History Project

The first Methods Lab of the Fall 2022 semester occurred on September 12, 2022.  Featured, was a discussion of the "Civil Rights in Black and Brown Oral History Project" with Project Director Max Krochmal, Assistant Professor of History at Texas Christian University and distinguished alum of our PhD program (2011).  Jessica Muñiz served as discussant.  Calvin Cheung-Miaw acted as Chair.   "Civil Rights in Black and Brown Oral History Project" with Max Krochmal… read more »