Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University

09/03/2026

Another gathering to see “Til Íslands” exhibition by Emma Geiger is coming up at CDS on Thursday, September 10, at 7 pm!

Join the screening of the “Til Íslands” short documentary film at 8 pm, and stay for Q&A with Emma moderated by Alexa Dilworth.

Come experience beautiful imagery and engage this amazing artist. For more information check the link in bio. We will see you there.

Hosted at CDS in partnership with Duke MFA|EDA program and supported by the Jessina Leonard Biennial Travel Fellowship.

09/01/2026

“Being a student in the arts or humanities can be really hard sometimes. It feels like people don’t recognize or validate a lot of the work that you do. But in spaces like CDS and through programs like Doc+, I truly felt like the work I was doing mattered, and that the academic path I had chosen was valid.”

Zoe, one of our talented Doc+ students, beautifully explains the power of being in creative spaces and consistent mentorship with amazing artists in our community. This summer, Doc+ gave students first-hand experience in the documentary arts and introduced them to the creative community at Duke and CDS.

Read more about their experience and how you can get involved here: https://documentarystudies.duke.edu/news/doc-summer-six-weeks-documentary-immersion

Photo Credits
Photo 1: Victoria Guillem Victoria Isabella Guillem Villafuerte
Photo 2: DaManuel Richardson DaManuel.
Photo 3: Victoria Guillem
Photo 4: Zoë Flint Zoë
Photo 5: Lauren Henschel Lauren Henschel
Photo 6: Zoë Flint
Photo 7: Lauren Henschel

08/28/2026

🚨 New Audio Workshop added to our Fall semester lineup!

Scene-making is the key to cinematic audio storytelling. But how do you pull off what can feel like a magic trick? 
 
In this two-day, hands-on intensive, we’ll break down scenes from award-winning audio storytellers including Jonathan Goldstein (Heavyweight), Sam Mullins (Wild Boys), Stephanie Wittels Wachs (Last Day), and Pulitzer finalist Lauren Chooljian (The 13th Step). 
 
Then, we’ll gather interviews and sound around Durham and on campus and turn them into 2–3 minute audio stories from scratch. You’ll learn how to capture interviews and evocative scenes, write and voice narration, apply narrative techniques to your own stories, edit and produce a 2–3 minute audio piece using Adobe Audition. 
 
Open to beginners and those with experience in podcasts, journalism, or documentary audio. Recording equipment is available to borrow. 
 
About the instructor: 
Elaine Appleton Grant is an award-winning audio journalist, podcaster, and educator. She is the creator and host of Sound Judgment, where she and leading audio storytellers dissect the craft of narrative podcasting in real time. Elaine brings decades of experience in documentary audio, narrative storytelling, and editorial coaching. 
 
📍 2-day in-person workshop 
🎙️ For podcasters, filmmakers, journalists, and storytellers 
🔗 Register now — link in bio 
 
ContinuingEducation

04/17/2026

03/31/2026

📣 Now accepting proposals for the Lehman Brady Visiting Joint Chair in Documentary Studies & American Studies! 

Duke Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) coordinates this two-year, open-rank professorship at Duke University and UNC–Chapel Hill — and we’re welcoming applicants from all backgrounds. 🎓 

Whether you’re a professor, artist, writer, documentarian, or independent scholar, we want to hear from you. 
What the residency looks like:  
 
🗓️ Year One (2026–27): Four week-long site visits to engage with faculty, students, and community groups and present work-in-progress  
 
🏡 Year Two (2027–28): Full-time residency in Durham/Chapel Hill — teaching one course per semester at each university and leading a creative public engagement project  
 
🎉 Culminating in Spring 2028 with a major public event, exhibition, and/or screening at Duke, UNC–Chapel Hill, or a community venue.

The position includes a research fund, salary (one-fifth salary for Year 1 and full salary for Year 2), and Duke benefits (Year 2). 

📅 Deadline: April 10, 2026 at 11:59 p.m. ET Apply via Academic Jobs Online — link in bio for details! 

03/25/2026

This spring, CDS Continuing Education presented a series of Free Talks 🎤 introducing new instructors and welcoming both new and returning students back into the CDS CE community. Each talk brought renewed energy and reconnection — and we loved every moment of it. ✨ 
 
The Free Talks are one of the ways CDS is expanding access to documentary arts and studies across the Duke and Durham/Triangle communities. Free and open to all, they’re deeply aligned with CDS’s mission to amplify voices, advance human dignity, break down barriers to understanding, and illuminate social injustices — and they count toward a Continuing Education Certificate in Documentary Arts. 🎬 
 
This spring’s speakers — Natalie Bullock Brown, Rebekah Fergusson, and Resita Cox — each brought something distinct to the conversation: 
 
- Natalie Bullock Brown reflected on how the liberatory visions of Marlon Riggs, bell hooks, and Angela Y. Davis shaped her path and inspired the Documentary Accountability Working Group (DAWG)’s care-centered approach to documentary ethics.

- Rebekah Fergusson drew on case studies from End Game, Crip Camp, and Make a Circle to trace the producing decisions behind access, funding, and distribution. 

- Resita Cox hosted a live pitch night where CE students presented their projects to a panel of industry leaders — a window into the full documentary ecosystem. 
 
Stay tuned for more on each speaker — and if you missed Rebekah Fergusson’s talk, her 6-week course on Documentary Film Producing starts March 31! Link in bio to register. 🎥 

03/18/2026

How does our food really get from farm to table in North Carolina? 🌱
In Farmworkers in North Carolina: Roots of Poverty, Roots of Change (DOCST 332S – Summer II), we dig into the history behind our food system—from plantation economies to sharecropping to today’s seasonal farmworker programs. Through media analysis and fieldwork, we explore how farmworkers are represented—and how those narratives shape advocacy and change.
Grounded in community engagement, this course connects us directly with local farmworker advocacy organizations, reminding us that behind every meal is a story, a history, and a fight for justice.

03/16/2026

📣 Deadline Extended!! New scholars, this one’s for you.

The Duke Center for Documentary Studies & Department of History are accepting applications for the Bill and Lorna Chafe Postdoctoral Fellowship in Oral History and Social Justice running July 2026–June 2028.

This two-year fellowship supports scholars who have earned a Ph.D. within the last two years; whose work sits at the intersection of oral history, historical inquiry, and social equity; and who are ready to bring that work into the classroom and community.

Fellows will teach, collaborate, and engage with Duke’s vibrant ecosystem of community-centered programs like Bass Connections and DukeEngage.

📅 Deadline: March 18 at 11:59 PM ET

🔗 Apply via Academic Jobs Online. Link in bio!

DocumentaryStudies DocumentaryFilmmaking ContinuingEducation

03/05/2026

🎬 Doc Film for Social Impact: Live Pitch Night — Free Talk

Join us Monday, March 10 | 6–8 PM for the culminating session of Doc Film for Social Impact — a live documentary pitch night where student filmmakers present before a panel of industry leaders, impact producers, and festival representatives.

This is what a real pitch looks like: story, stakes, audience, distribution strategy, and social impact goals — in real time, in front of professionals.

🎙️ Panelists include reps from: Cucalorus · Southern Documentary Fund · Emory Doc Ethics Summit · PBS/ITVS · Working Films · DAWG Next Doc

Hosted by Emmy-winning documentary filmmaker Resita Cox, whose debut film Freedom Hill premiered nationally on PBS in 2024. Her work centers Southern Black communities and explores environmental justice and hidden Black histories.

📍 In person: Duke Center for Documentary Studies, 1317 W Pettigrew St, Durham, NC
- Also on Zoom
- Snacks provided for in-person attendees
- Counts toward Continuing Education credit

Free — sponsored by our Continuing Ed program

Whether you are a filmmaker, student, supporter of documentary work, or simply curious about how social impact films move from idea to production, this session offers an inside look at the pitching process and the ecosystem that supports documentary storytelling.🎥

03/04/2026

📣 New scholars, this one’s for you. 

The Duke Center for Documentary Studies & Department of History are accepting applications for the Bill and Lorna Chafe Postdoctoral Fellowship in Oral History and Social Justice running July 2026–June 2028. 

This two-year fellowship supports scholars who have earned a Ph.D. within the last two years; whose work sits at the intersection of oral history, historical inquiry, and social equity; and who are ready to bring that work into the classroom and community. 

Fellows will teach, collaborate, and engage with Duke’s vibrant ecosystem of community-centered programs like Bass Connections and DukeEngage.  

📅 Deadline: March 16 at 11:59 PM ET  

🔗 Apply via Academic Jobs Online. Link in bio! 

DocumentaryStudies DocumentaryFilmmaking ContinuingEducation