History
When Michaeline Crichlow moved from her native St. Lucia to upstate New York, she had a lot to learn — and not just in the graduate program she attended at Binghamton University. “I became a Black person not in the Caribbean, but in the United States,” said the professor and interim chair of African & African American Studies. Race wasn’t often discussed in St. Lucia, where the vast majority of the population is Black. The rare times it was, the conversation wasn’t about Black and white, but the Indo-Caribbean peoples… read more about What Decolonization Means »
Black History Month draws its origins to February 1926, when Dr. Carter G. Woodson organized “Negro History Week,” a celebration that honored the contributions of African Americans with activities such as parades, history clubs, speeches, and more. Woodson, who founded the Association for the Study of Negro Life and History, was one of the first historians to study African American history. Eventually joining the faculty of Howard University, Woodson spent his life documenting Black history as a means of… read more about Black History Month: Showcasing the Contributions of Six Faculty and Staff »
No plans for Spring Break? Register for Prof. Lentz-Smith's four day course, Modern US History in Popular Culture, March 7th - 10th. This course will explore U. S. history as informed by media and Hollywood. Students will watch, discuss, and learn from iconic television shows, make their own soundtrack to the timeframe, and learn to treat the arcade as an archive. "Spring Breakthrough offers Duke students a free, unique spring break. It consists of 11 four-day courses taught by Duke faculty from Monday, March… read more about Spring Breakthrough 2022 - Modern US History in Popular Culture with Prof. Adriane Lentz-Smith »
John French has received this year’s Warren Dean Memorial Prize for his most recent monograph, Lula and his Politics of Cunning: From Metalworker to President of Brazil (Chapel Hill: University of North Carolina Press, 2020). This prize is given annually by the Conference on Latin American History for a book or article judged to be the most significant work on the history of Brazil published in English. The citation for John’s award reads as follows: “In this methodologically innovative biography… read more about John French's book "Lula and His Politics of Cunning" awarded the Warren Dean Memorial Prize »
Thursday marks the first anniversary of the violent Jan. 6 insurrection at the United States Capitol, when a mob stormed the building as Congressional members gathered to certify the 2020 presidential election. “If we don’t reckon with the deep historical roots of what happened this time last year, those events could be prologue to a far worse outcome in the future,” says Nancy MacLean, a Duke professor of history and public policy. MacLean points to the finding from the House select committee tasked with… read more about One Year Later, Scholars Examine Fallout From U.S. Capitol Riot »
The Duke History department mourns the passing of our friend, mentor, student, and colleague Julius Scott, PhD ’86. Through his legendary dissertation and celebrated book, The Common Wind, Professor Scott reshaped the fields of Atlantic and Caribbean history. His work gave scholars a vital and vibrant way to access the intellectual and political networks of enslaved and insurgent peoples. Through his teaching and mentoring a cohort of scholars diverse in their composition and brilliant in their approach, he… read more about Department of History mourns the passing of Julius Scott, PhD ’86 »
There are many stories told about the late Lawrence Goodwyn, the sometimes cantankerous Duke historian famed as co-founder of Duke’s Oral History program and a mentor to numerous students, activists, journalists and organizers. Many stories are told with a feel of legend. This one is true. Near the end of his life in 2008, Goodwyn, long suspicious of politicians, shed some of this cynicism to canvass on behalf of the Obama campaign. Duke Professor Gunther Peck remembers how Goodwyn, then needing an oxygen tank, for went on… read more about Larry Goodwyn's Powerful Belief in Democratic Values »
Thavolia Glymph's, The Women's Fight, is the recipient of this year’s Julia Cherry Spruill Prize, awarded by the Southern Association for Women Historians. This prize is awarded annually for the best book in southern women’s history. read more about Thavolia Glymph's "The Women's Fight" wins another award »
