GLS eNews February 15, 2021
GLS Express - February 15, 2021
GLS House remains closed until further notice. GLS staff are working remotely and may be reached via email.
Office Hours with Anne
GLS Director Anne Whisnant will resume her weekly "drop-in" office hours on Fridays 1-2 PM, starting this week. See Anne via her Zoom meeting room, meeting ID 930 5848 9417.
February Race & Bias Conversation Today at 5 PM
Join graduate student group Women in Science and Engineering (WiSE) as they engage Dr. Jay A. Pearson, Assistant Professor in the Sanford School of Public Policy, Assistant Research Professor of Global Health, and Associate of the Duke Initiative for Science and Society, and Abdullah Antepli, Associate Professor of the Practice of Interfaith Relations and Associate Professor of the Practice of Sanford School of Public Policy, in a discussion about structural inequality and systemic racism, and bringing the conversation closer to home by finding creative ways to look into the policies and principles at Duke. There will be an opportunity for brief discussion and a meet-and-greet with additional graduate student group leaders during this virtual event. Click here to register for the Zoom event.
GLS Alum Documents Local Efforts to Ease Hunger
Documentary photographer Rhonda Klevansky (MALS 2014) has created a series of portraits of Durhamites who are supplying food to those in need through food pantries, cooked meals, and informal giveaways of locally produced vegetable, breads and dairy products. The photos will be displayed on banners outdoors in various parts of the city, so that those living in food-plenty bubbles become aware of the amount of hunger on their doorstep. The exhibition is also intended to honor the efforts of those who are trying to get food to those who need it and will be coordinated with the county food security task force fund raising campaign.
Join Rhonda and the Durham County Library this Thursday, February 18, at 1 PM for an online discussion of her project Reaching Out to Durham's Hungry, exploring Durham's response to hunger during COVID and the economic crisis. Invited panelists will discuss the current situation in our community and what is being done. Q&A to follow.
For more on Rhonda's work, check out her website.
New GLS Courses Lined Up for Summer
GLS is pleased to offer two new seminars for summer. Both courses will be online only. Be sure to check out the course descriptions on our website and stay tuned for a video preview, coming up next week. Summer registration begins on March 1. (Please note that the Registrar has moved the opening date from February 15 to March 1.)
Who Can Recall? Writing (and Drawing) Time
Instructor: Amy Laura Hall
Wednesdays, 5-8 PM
Two comedic themes during the Pandemic of 2020 have been time and memory, and the discombobulation of both. In this seminar, we will read words and images recalling time, told in different forms. For publishing purposes, an item needs a “genre.” The items for this class may be convened under the genre “memoir,” in the form of essays, poems, drawings, and more conventional storytelling. Read more.
See a video preview below of Dr. Hall's course below.
Reckoning with Inequality via Critical Family History
Instructor: Susan Thorne
Tuesdays, 6-9 PM
Recent reckonings with race remind us that as Faulkner famously put it, “The past is never dead. It’s not even past.”[1] This course engages the history of inequality from the vantage point of the family, one of the most influential sites at which the past is imprinted on the future. The family plays a key role in the intergenerational transfer of wealth as well as the transmission of identities and values from which difference is culturally constructed. The study of family history is itself an important site at which historic inequalities are reproduced as well as contested. Genealogy as embraced in the United States during the second half of the 19th century advanced deeply racialized claims to national belonging and respectability that have had enduring consequences. Read more.
Duke Human Rights Center to Host Panel on Fascism
Tuesday, February 16
12–1:15 PM
As soon as the Republican Party nominated Donald Trump, commentators began to sound the FASCIST alarm. How has a movement that originated 100 years ago in Italy traveled to contemporary settings from India to Brazil and Turkey to Hungary? As it traveled, did “fascism” become too vague to be useful? Does the history of Brown Shirts help us understand Proud Boys? Can support for the Nazi Party in the Great Depression help us to diagnose the Trumpist faction of the GOP? Against the background of impeachment proceedings in the US Senate, we’ll have a lively discussion about the nature of the danger we face.
For speaker bios and registration, visit the Franklin Humanities Institute website.
GLS Accepting Applications for Oxford Summer Schools
Oxford International Summer Schools are on for 2021, but please be advised that the ongoing pandemic and related travel restrictions could change that at any time. That said, GLS is taking applications for the following courses: English Literature, History, Politics & Society, Creative Writing--three weeks each--and International Politics, a two-week program. Each Oxford course counts as a three-unit course at Duke, but does not count toward the three LS courses required of all GLS students. Please note that all application materials must be emailed to GLS, not Oxford, by March 1. Anne Whisnant will provide the required letter of recommendation. Tuition and fees will be billed by the Duke Bursar in May. Be sure to read the GLS website carefully for detailed information on each course.
We strongly advise that you do not make travel arrangements until you have received notification of admission directly from Oxford. Questions? Email Lisa.
CDVS Offering Data Management and Visualization Workshops
Duke Libraries’ Center for Data and Visualization Sciences (CDVS) is hosting a great lineup of workshops this semester. If you haven’t, do check out the workshop offerings at the CDVS website.
RCR Training Requirements for Master's Students
All new master’s students in The Graduate School are required to attend the Responsible Conduct in Research (RCR) orientation during Orientation Week, plus one additional RCR training. As of fall 2020, new or continuing master’s students who have not completed RCR during fall orientation should sign up for one RCR forum with a GS714 designation and one with GS715; together, these two forums will address the same areas of content as the fall orientation. Students will still need to complete one additional RCR training. Click here to view the list of spring RCR forums.
See the Graduate School's RCR requirements here. E-mail The Graduate School at grad-rcr@duke.edu with any questions about RCR training.
TGS Professional Development Events - February 2021
Click here to see all professional development resources offered by The Graduate School.
Story+, Data+ Offer Paid Summer Interdisciplinary Research Opportunities
The Story+ Student Application Portal is now open. The priority deadline for all students is February 19, 2021.
Story+ is a 6-week paid summer research experience for enrolled Duke University students – undergraduate and graduate – interested in bringing interdisciplinary humanities research to life through dynamic storytelling. For Summer 2021, Story+ will be a remote research program so that all who choose are able to participate no matter their location or health situation. Program dates are May 12 to June 25, 2021.
Data+ is a full-time ten week summer research experience that welcomes Duke undergraduate and masters students interested in exploring new data-driven approaches to interdisciplinary challenges. It is suitable for students from all class years and from all majors.
Students join small project teams (at most 3 undergrads and 1 masters per team), working alongside other teams in a communal environment. They learn how to marshal, analyze, and visualize data, while gaining broad exposure to the modern world of data science.
Participants will receive a $5,000 stipend. The program runs from Monday, June 1st until Friday, August 6th 2021. Students must be in the program, with no exceptions. The application deadline is Feb. 26, 2021, but applications will be evaluated on a rolling basis, so please get your applications in as soon as you can.
Click here for application details.
Calls for Submission
The Graduate School and the Society of Duke Fellows are hosting the ninth annual Duke GRADx talks, an event showcasing graduate research. Students are invited to share their research in a fast-paced and engaging format inspired by TED and TEDx talks. Rather than showcasing finished projects, we ask presenters to share a defining question that they are driven to investigate or explore further. Presenters are challenged to communicate their ideas in a clear, visually appealing way that is understandable to a broad audience in the short time frame of 5-6 minutes. GRADx will be held virtually on Friday, March 26th 2021 from 4:00-6:00pm. Breakout rooms will immediately follow the event.
The deadline to submit an abstract for GRADx is March 1 by 5 PM. Click here for more information.
The annual Richard Merritt Jr. Memorial Award for Excellence in Science Communications recognizes a Duke graduate or undergraduate student who has produced an outstanding article, video or other media focused on explaining a scientific topic or research finding during the previous calendar year. The deadline to submit is March 1.
A cash award of $750 will be awarded to the winner each spring. Click here for submission guidelines.
GLS Weekly Virtual Info Sessions
Spread the word! Each Friday at 10 AM, through May 14, GLS will hold weekly virtual information sessions via Zoom. Word of mouth continues to be one our best recruitment tools, so if you know of someone you think might be interested in the program, please send them our way.
Info sessions are a great way for prospective students to learn more about GLS and to see whether it's a good fit for them. We'll talk about the application process, curriculum, faculty, students, cost, and how Duke employees can use their tuition benefit to help finance their degree. We will make time for your questions as well. Advanced registration is required. See our website for dates and registration details.
Important Dates for GLS Students
Registration Deadlines:
February 2 - Drop/Add ends
March 1 - Summer registration begins
March 22 - Fall bookbagging begins
April 1-8 - Fall registration
April 21 - Graduate classes end
April 22-25 - Graduate reading period
May 1 - Last day of semester
Master's Project Deadlines:
MP Seminars (LS 850) -- via Zoom
- January 25, Noon-2 PM - Session I
- February 15, Noon-2 PM - Session II
- March 15, Noon-2 PM - Session III
February 1 - Apply to graduate deadline (for May graduation) - extended from January 25
March 12 - Proposal meeting deadline (for Summer projects; contact GLS early in semester with supervisor availability)
March 22, 2:00-3:30 PM - Proposal Workshop (voluntary)
March 26 - Proposal submission deadline (for Summer projects)
April 14 - Last day master’s exams can be held (for May graduation)
Online Resources for Graduate Students
- COVID-19 updates for students are available on Duke's Coronavirus Response website.
- Graduate School-specific COVID-19 updates are posted here. TGS has also created a FAQ for continuing and incoming international students.
- The Duke Student Assistance Fund was established better support master's students who may be experiencing difficulty providing for their basic needs during this extraordinary time.
- Blue Devils Care is a new mental telehealth service that can provide support wherever you may be located currently. You can access the service by using the key DUKE2020.
- The Career Center now offers online drop-in advising for graduate students on Mondays, Wednesdays and Fridays. View the schedule here.