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Undergraduate Education Overview
Courses Offered
for the Upcoming Semester
Current and
Past Semester Courses
Instructors
Undergraduate Certificate
Documentary Studies Courses and
Cross-Listed Courses
Lehman Brady Visiting Joint Chair Professor
in Documentary Studies and American Studies
Student Opportunities at CDS
Past
Semester Courses
Spring 2007
DOCST
100S Children and the Experience of Illness
Instructor: Moses
W 3:05 p.m.–5:35 p.m. (Lyndhurst 201)
An exploration of how children cope with illness, incorporating
the tools of documentary photography and writing. Students will
work outside class with children who are ill and teach them how
to use a Polaroid camera, working toward an exhibit of photographs
at the end of the semester. Permission required. No prerequisites.
DOCST
112S Freedom Stories
Instructor: Tyson
W 3:00 p.m.–5:50 p.m. (Lyndhurst 007 and UNC–Chapel
Hill, alternating Wednesdays.)
Documentary writing course focusing on race and “storytelling”
in the South, using fiction, autobiography, and traditional history
books. Producing narratives using documentary research, interviews,
and personal memories. Focus on twentieth-century racial politics.
Consent of instructor required.
DOCST
113S Digital Documentary Photo: Capturing Transience
Instructor: Pecchio
TTh 10:05 a.m.–11:20 a.m. (Multimedia Lab-Smith WRHS)
Digital photography and documentary approach. Investigates subjects
in transition, with focus on changing and somewhat transient physical
and social landscapes of North Carolina. Digital darkroom techniques
include digital capture, film scanning, Photoshop, ink-jet printing
as well as other methods of dissemination offered in digital age.
Digital photographic impermanence as well as social transience discussed
in unison.
DOCST
118S Alternative Photographic Process
Instructor: Hunter
T 11:55 a.m.–2:25 p.m. (Lyndhurst 201)
Survey of historic photographic processes, including Gun Bichromate,
Cyanotype, Kalotype, and Platinum/Palladium printing. Consent of
instructor required.
DOCST
120S.01 Documentary Research Methods
Instructor: Avots
Th 3:05 p.m.–5:35 p.m. (Lyndhurst 001)
A how-to course in doing research for documentaries, including film,
photography, audio, and narrative projects. Students collaborate
on a class project, using fieldwork in the community, local archives,
and other resources to document a chapter of Durham history. Students
find and analyze documents, oral histories, photographs, and artifacts,
as well as examine intersections between documentary and history,
analyzing key contributions to the documenting of American and European
history throughout the past century. Discussion topics include memory,
truth, objectivity, propaganda, narrative, audience, and authority.
As a final project, students have the opportunity to research a
documentary interest of their own. No experience in film, photography,
or audio documentary necessary.
DOCST
122S Visual Research and the American Dream
Instructor: Hyde
M 3:05 p.m.–5:35 p.m. (Lyndhurst 113)
A documentary and sociological approach to the American Dream, using
readings, photography, films, and visual sociological research.
Ideology of attainable prosperity by different groups of people;
cultural and material symbols of the dream. Field-based course.
Consent of instructor required.
DOCST 129 Contemporary Documentary Films
Instructor: Rankin
W 1:15 p.m.–5:00 p.m. (Nasher Auditorium)
Integrated with the films and filmmakers of the Full
Frame Documentary Film Festival. The art form and technology
of documentary films. Continuity and change in the style, issues,
and politics of contemporary documentary filmmaking. Analysis of
outstanding films from around the world. Presentations and discussions
by filmmakers.
DOCST
132 The South in Black and White
Instructor: Tyson
T 7 p.m.–9:30 p.m. (Hayti Heritage Center)
Documentary traditions in the American South, with focus on call
and response between black and white cultures in a region where
democracy has been envisioned and embattled with global consequences.
History and culture as documented in spirituals, gospel, blues,
and rock-and-roll; civil rights photography; Southern literature;
and historical and autobiographical writing. Will include work by
such historians as W.E.B. Du Bois, C. Vann Woodward, John Hope Franklin;
literary achievements of Richard Wright, Zora Neal Hurston, and
Ernest Gaines along with their white counterparts: William Faulkner,
Eudora Welty, Lillian Smith, and others. Includes lectures, music,
poetry, film clips, discussion, and visitors. Open to Duke, UNC,
and NCCU students and the general public.
Special Web site for The South
in Black and White
DOCST
145S The Photographic Portrait: The Practice of Representation
Instructor: Ewald
M 3:05 p.m.–5:35 p.m. (Lyndhurst 201)
Exploration of the history of photographic portraiture as well as
work of contemporary portrait artists working in a post-modern age
where representation and identity are deconstructed. Studio course
in which students learn technical skills as well as conceptual strategies.
Open to students from Duke and UNC and conducted on both campuses,
alternating each week. Three visiting lecturers who are practicing
artists also visit both campuses for publicized lectures, providing
a contemporary context for the class discussion. The pervasiveness
of the photographic portrait has not only described but helped to
define our notions of identity, race, and gender. Consent of instructor
required.
DOCST
147S Collaborative Art: The Practice and Theory of Working with
a Community
Instructor: Ewald
T 3:05 p.m.–5:35 p.m. (Lyndhurst 201)
Examines the approaches of various contemporary artists to creating
collaborative work, a mode of working that is radically different
from the common modernist model. Results in artworks that express
a variety of social and aesthetic positions. In general, the work
is intertwined with progressive educational philosophies and radical
democratic theory. Students will work with a community institution
or small group in Durham to produce collaborative work in a medium
of their own choosing. Ethics of community work a central topic
of discussion. Consent of instructor required.
DOCST
150S Intermediate Documentary Filmmaking
Instructor: Hawkins
W 1:15 p.m.–3:45 p.m./W 6:15 p.m.–8:45 p.m.(Lyndhurst
104/Lyndhurst 007)
Intermediate to advanced filmmaking techniques. Presumes a working
knowledge of Final Cut Pro, mini-DV camera, and some fieldwork experience
with a camcorder. Topics include fieldwork in a variety of communities
and work on pertinent social and cultural issues. Prerequisite:
Documentary Studies 105S or equivalent experience and knowledge.
Consent of instructor required.
DOCST
155S Hearing Is Believing: Intermediate Audio Documentary
Instructor: Biewen
T 3:05 p.m.–5:35 p.m. (Lyndhurst 104)
Intermediate to advanced audio documentary techniques. Includes
instructor-supervised fieldwork with an audio recorder in variety
of cultural settings on a particular issue, as well as independent
work on students’ own audio productions resulting in broadcast-quality
piece suitable for radio or podcasting. Prerequisite: Documentary
Studies 135S or equivalent. Consent of instructor required.
DOCST
164S Who Cares and Why: Social Activism and its Motivations
Instructor: Thompson
MW 1:15 p.m.–2:30 p.m.(Lyndhurst 201)
Documentary fieldwork based research on the lives of people who
have committed themselves to changing society. Life history interviews
exploring personal and societal transformations with special attention
to the antecedents to personal change leading to examined lives
of commitment. Attention to various areas of social change, including
human rights, civil rights, international activism, labor rights,
and environmental activism. Focus on societal and personal questions
regarding motivations for, and the effectiveness of, good works
in several cultural settings. This spring the focus will be on immigration
and Latino labor.
DOCST
190S.01 Small Town USA
Instructor: Post-Rust
Th 3:05–5:35 (Multimedia Lab-Smith WRHS)
Theory and practice of documentary photography in a small-town context.
Class works in collaboration with one nearby small town; each student
completes a documentary photographic study of one individual or
group within that town. Course of study includes an analysis of
the documentary tradition particularly as it relates to locally
situated work and to selected individual projects. The course addresses
issues inherent in the documentary process, including building visual
narrative, developing honest relationships with subjects, responsibility
to subjects and their communities, and engaging with and portraying
a community as an outsider. Students learn photo elicitation and
editing techniques and use them to inform their projects during
the semester. As part of coursework, students produce exhibition
quality work for presentation to the public within the town. Students
must have access to transportation (including shared rides) during
the semester. Consent of instructor required.
DOCST
190S.02 Multimedia Documentary Production
Instructor: Sims
Th 10:20 a.m.–12:50 p.m. (Lyndhurst 104)
Fieldwork and production course focused on the publication of interactive
Web-based multimedia presentations. Utilizing digital audio and
photography, students will work as a team to create a series of
narrated slide shows around a common theme in a documentary style.
Class learns current technologies and techniques for multimedia
publications; basic field recording and digital audio editing techniques;
digital photography and editing in Adobe Photoshop; and graphic
design principles. Fieldwork and production ethics will also be
examined as a critical part of the course. Students must have access
to transportation (including shared rides) during the semester.
Consent of instructor required.
DOCST
190S.05 Finding the Voice
Instructor: Karen Michel is the Lehman
Brady Visiting Joint Chair Professor in Documentary Studies and
American Studies at Duke and UNC-Chapel Hill for Fall 2006-Spring
2007.
W 3:05 p.m.–5:35 p.m. (Lyndhurst 001 and UNC–Chapel
Hill, alternating Wednesdays)
Explores the spoken, heard, and written voice, both literally and
conceptually. Examines the connection between psychology and physiology
and the production of the spoken word. Studies audio-recording techniques
for recording the voice; examines texts by writers known for their
singular voice, and surveys work by audio and visual image-makers
that reflect an identifiable “voice.” Exploring how
the voice reveals the soul of humans is the essence of the course.
Vocalizing to find one’s own natural style of narration, narrating
other people’s work to find how that changes the tone, writing,
and generally exploring the varied meanings and applications of
“voice” in an effort to find one’s own. Focuses
on applications of voice in documentary work, in all of its manifestations.
Production of audio documentaries is central part of the class.
DOCST
190S.06 Civil Rights and Labor Struggles
Instructor: Rubio
TTh 1:15 p.m.–2:30 p.m.(Lyndhurst 001)
Oral history fieldwork and “writing in the discipline”
seminar. Encourages students through readings and practical activity
to think critically about connections between civil rights and labor
history in the U.S. Emphasis on creating an independent oral history
research project based on an interview with someone whose life story
relates to civil rights and labor struggles at Duke or in the Durham
area; the finished product should be ready for archiving. Course
develops an understanding of the methodological as well as technical
components of oral history interviewing, different kinds of writing
on history and culture, and discovering an original writing style.
DOCST
190S.07 Documentary Fieldwork Practicum: Durham’s Black Wall
Street
Instructor: Lau
M 6:15 p.m.–8:45 p.m. (Lyndhurst 113)
Fieldwork course offering direct involvement in a community development
effort in Durham. Students work with the Parrish Street Advocacy
Group as they assist instructors and Center for Documentary Studies
staff in completing documentary projects that highlight and explore
the unique historical and cultural legacy of Durham’s “Black
Wall Street” through photography, oral history, video, the
Web, and other mediums. Readings relate to the history of African
American economic and cultural development, community documentary
fieldwork, ethics of documentary work, along with the special challenges
of community development work and heritage tourism. Taught in collaboration
with Professor Brett Chambers of the Mass Communications Department
at NCCU. Course meets alternating weeks on two campuses, Duke and
NCCU. Consent of instructor required.
DOCST
190S.08 Our Culinary Cultures
Instructor: Alexander
WF 11:40 a.m.–12: 55 p.m. (Lyndhurst 113)
Documentary approach to the world of food using fieldwork research.
Topics of food and its preparation examined through deep stories
of how food is raised, prepared, and presented in order to explore
how the myriad ways in which what we eat reveal key biographical,
economic, religious, and other truths about our cultures. Introduces
students to the history of food writing and the concept of food
in general as a nonverbal tool of communication. Photography, audio,
and documentary writing employed. Visits to restaurants, farmers
markets, and/or local farms.
DOCST 196S.01 Capstone Seminar
Instructor: Harris
M 3:05—5:35 (Multimedia Lab-Smith WRHS)
Immersion in fieldwork-based inquiry and in-depth projects that
serve as Certificate in Documentary Studies capstone experiences
for students. Methods of documentary fieldwork, including participant
observation, and modes of arts and humanities interpretation through
a variety of mediums (including papers, film, photography exhibits,
radio pieces, and performances). Consent of instructor required.
Prerequisite: Documentary Studies 101.
See also:
DOCST
133S Adapting Literature–Producing Film
DOCST
141S Editing the TV Documentary
DOCST
190S.09 Creative Nonfiction
See listing
of required and elective certificate courses
Fall 2006
Spring 2006
Fall 2005
Spring 2005
Fall 2004
Spring 2004
Fall
2003
banner image:
Untitled, from
the series Latino Pastimes—La
Vida y el Fútbol. Photograph by William L. Plaxico, from
the course "Documentary Photography
and the Southern Cultural Landscape," taught by Professor Tom
Rankin.
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