History
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 unpaid work and can involve… read more about Vital but Invisible: How Women Drive the Care Economy in the United States »
Discussion with Dr. Anna Krylova about her article. “Agency and History,” (AHR, June 2023) featuring Dr. Anna Krylova, Dr. Malachi Hacohen, Vivien Tejada, and Dr. Prasenjit Duara. The panel was chaired by Dr. Jehangir Malegam. Duke History Methods Lab featuring Dr. Anna Krylova, 3/6/23. read more about Methods Lab: Anna Krylova on History and Agency »
"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 about Methods Lab: From Dissertation to Book »
Durham Mayor Elaine O’Neal calls herself a daughter of Durham, and the native of the West End neighborhood has a record of long service to the community as judge, political leader and community activist to prove it. For that career of seeking to build a strong community, O’Neal received the Distinguished Service Award, one of five members of the Duke and local community celebrated for their activism at the Samuel DuBois Cook Society dinner Monday night at the Washington Duke Inn. The mission of the Cook Society is to… read more about Cook Society Honors Five for Helping to Build Stronger Communities »
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 about Methods Lab: Civil Rights in Black and Brown Oral History Project »
NASA plans to send astronauts to the moon in the next few years, as well as to Mars in the late 2030s or early 2040s. But with the looming anniversaries of the Challenger (Jan. 28, 1986) and Columbia (Feb. 1, 2003) tragedies,Alex Roland, a retired Duke University history professor and a former historian at NASA, cautions against both missions. Simply put, there’s no need for humans to rocket to space. Such missions are too dangerous, and technology can handle what needs to be done,… read more about Challenger, Columbia Tragedies A Reminder Not to Send Humans to Space, Says Former NASA Historian »
On December 6, 2022, the American Historical Association launched Long Overdue, a project to commemorate historians of color who were marginalized by the American Historical Association by the time they passed away. Managing Editor Laura Ansley explains, "obituaries...say something about how communities are defined, who is included and who is left out." PhD Candidate Mohammed S. Ali contributed to Long Overdue as a Summer 2022 Provost Intern. Together with Laura Ansley and Research & Publications… read more about AHA launches "Long Overdue" series, with archival research by Mohammed S. Ali »
Professor of History and Vice Provost for Interdisciplinary Studies, Edward Balleisen, is the author of Fraud: An American History from Barnum to Madoff (Princeton University Press, 2018). "During the 19th and 20th centuries, the people who helped build and shape American society were some of history’s most notorious swindlers. Many of these scams still exist today - in some form or another." On Sony's Cheat! podcast, Dr. Balleisen discusses the current and historical relationship between American business and… read more about Ed Balleisen talks "Founding Fraudsters" on Cheat! Podcast »
North Carolina’s first known mosque was established in Durham nearly 65 years ago, and a current exhibit honors the rich, living history of African American Muslims in the city. “The Transformational History of Ar-Razzaq Islamic Center in Durham” will be on view through December 12, 2022, in the Jerry and Bruce Chappell Family Gallery at the Perkins Library. The thoughtfully curated and thought-provoking exhibition explores five facets of thriving Muslim life in Durham: culture, business, education, civic engagement and… read more about Celebrating North Carolina’s First Mosque and Durham’s Muslim Community »
It may take weeks before the country knows which party will control the U.S. Senate, but the 2022 midterms elections already provided Duke political science, policy science and history scholars with a lot to think about. The faculty spoke at a special briefing open to media and the public at the Sanford School of Public Policy Wednesday, covering topics from Republican party leadership to the role abortion and other hot-button issues played in the election results. Panelists included: Kerry Haynie, professor of political… read more about Duke Experts Offer Takeaways from the Midterm Elections »
In the October 5th issue of Duke Today, Dr. John D. French, author of Lula and his Politics of Cunning: From Metalworker to President of Brazil (UNC Press, 2020), discussed the recent Brazilian election and the resulting runoff, scheduled for October 30th. read more about Duke History Professor On A 'Phoenix-Like' Political Comeback »
The latest twist in the extraordinary career of Luiz Inácio Lula da Silva, the Brazilian politician known simply as Lula, has seen him enter a runoff to become the country’s president once again. “The life of Lula is very much a phoenix-like situation,” said John French, a professor of history at Duke and Lula biographer who has studied him for 40 years. Professor John FrenchLula, who was president of Brazil from 2002-2010, led the pack in the first round of voting in Brazil’s presidential… read more about Duke History Professor On A 'Phoenix-Like' Political Comeback »
What do you get when you cross the oil painting "Washington Crossing the Delaware" with a Hubble Space Telescope photograph? PhD Candidate Mohammed S. Ali recently answered this question in fulfillment of a commissioned artwork for Perspectives on History, the official magazine of the American Historical Association. Find out what he created on the cover of Volume 60, Issue 9 of Perspectives, slated for December 2022. read more about Mohammed S. Ali commissioned for artwork by the American Historical Association »
In her new book, "Made-Up Asians: Yellowface During the Exclusion Era," Esther Kim Lee traces the history of yellowface from 1862 to 1940 — a time when Asians faced legal and cultural exclusion from immigration and citizenship in the United States. We sat down with the professor of Theater Studies, International Comparative Studies and History and director of the Asian American Diaspora Studies Program to talk about the book, why Hollywood producers would go to such lengths to avoid hiring East Asian actors and how this… read more about Esther Kim Lee Explains How Today’s Racism Has Roots in Last Century’s Yellowface »
The history we are often familiar with is rarely the whole story. That’s what Sarah Balakrishnan wants students to understand, especially as it pertains to the history of Ghana and West Africa more generally. Some histories haven’t been well preserved or thoroughly researched. Some, over time, become mischaracterized to Western audiences through colonial leaders and racist myths. One overlooked aspect of this history in particular is the relationship of people to their land, which is what Balakrishnan’s research is… read more about Historian and Fiction Writer Sarah Balakrishnan Is Complicating Our Narratives of Africa »
Justin Leroy was in the beginning of a graduate program at New York University in the summer of 2008 when it became clear that Barack Obama would become the Democratic nominee for president. Leroy recalls countless pundits talking about the move as a turning point in history. “As I walked from the subway to my apartment, I would pass by these newsstands, and every national magazine had a cover story about the end of race and a post racial society,” he says. “And I was skeptical.” “I think I am more pessimistic,” the new… read more about No Straight Line to Progress: Meet Historian Justin Leroy »
