Center for Documentary Studies at Duke University

📣 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! 

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. 🎥 

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.

📣 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

🎬 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.🎥

📣 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

Step inside the world of Doc+ 🎬📸🎧

From the darkroom to the archives to the editing suite, Duke undergrads can spend six immersive weeks this summer exploring documentary storytelling. Swipe through to see moments from last year’s cohort in action.

Applications for Doc+ 2026 are due by this Friday!
⏰ Apply by February 27, 2026
💰 Receive a $3,500 stipend or on‑campus room & board
📍 Full-time, in-person during Summer Session 1

Doc+ is an intensive, hands‑on documentary experience for Duke undergraduates (except graduating seniors). Working in small teams alongside award‑winning creative partners, students dive into photography, film, audio, oral history, research, production, editing, darkroom techniques, and more.

This year’s projects span feature film, podcasting, live documentary performance and large‑scale production planning. Each one offers a chance to contribute to meaningful work already underway.

🔗 Learn more about the 2026 projects and start your application at the link in our bio. Questions? Email [email protected].

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✨GIVEAWAY✨

Enroll in any remaining Spring Continuing Education course at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies between February 12–19 and receive a curated set of CDS First Book Prize photobooks valued at $150. Supplies are limited‼️

📣 Several Spring courses still have space and haven’t yet begun. Courses still open this spring include:

• Introduction to Tintype Photography with Harlan Campbell ()
• The Art of the Impactful Story with Jheri Hardaway ()
• Anytown, USA with Randolph Benson ()
• Embodying Social Justice Values in Documentary Filmmaking with Natalie Bullock Brown ()
• Documentary Film Producing with Rebekah Fergusson ()
• Gelatin Dry Plate Workshop with Harlan Campbell
• Digital Documentary Photography: Essentials of Visual Storytelling with Susie Post-Rust ()

Scroll to see posters for each course and find full details through the link in our bio.

🔗 Click the link in our bio to explore and register

📚 Enroll Feb 12–19 to receive the First Book Prize photobook bundle