Continuing Studies Overview

Frequently Asked Questions

Certificate in Documentary Studies

Courses Offered for the Upcoming Term

Current and Past Term Courses

Workshops and Institutes





Past Term Courses

REQUIRED COURSES

Introductory Seminar in Documentary Studies
Joy Salyers

This course is designed for students in the Certificate in Documentary Studies program or those who plan to enroll. Photography, video, oral history, writing, ethnography, and community partnerships- Documentary Studies is interdisciplinary and multifaceted in nature, encompassing many genres and numerous means of interacting with the world and its peoples. Through short readings, close examination of several documentary projects, and guest speakers who will present their projects and perspectives on the documentary experience, you will gain a broad introduction to the diverse fields that comprise Documentary Studies. We emphasize not only methodologies but also philosophies and ethics of fieldwork in different settings. Throughout the term, students will explore examples of fieldwork and, at the final meeting, will present preliminary projects of their own. These projects may be the beginning of long-term documentary initiatives or simply a means for helping to decide directions for future projects. (Limit 18)

Saturdays, January 12–March 1
10 a.m.–12:30 p.m. (20 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $235 • Enroll by 12/28: $215
Course ID: 11415

Joy M. G. Salyers is a folklorist, writer, and anti-racism educator. She consults with individuals and groups on a variety of topics—her specialties include using oral history, experiential learning, and creativity to bridge community divisions, develop identity, and combat prejudice. She is trained to use stories and writing to connect and to heal. Her personal fieldwork includes documenting personal life histories, writing poetry from family stories, and collaborating with members of a modern performance community.



Final Project Seminar In Documentary Studies
Nancy Kalow

Note: This class is availabe to Certificate students and by approval only.

The seminar will consist of group discussions about each student’s project and progress toward completion, along with guided planning on taking projects to their intended audiences.

Participants who successfully complete their project during this course will be awarded the Certificate in Documentary Studies.

Students who have met all other requirements and who have done substantial work toward their intended final projects are encouraged to request admission to this seminar by an e-mail to awalton@duke.edu (subject line “CDS Final Seminar”). Prior to approval, CDS will be in contact with students to discuss their final project. Approved participants will be notified and given registration instructions.

Note: The deadline to request admission into the course is March 17. The eighth class session is the graduation presentation on Friday, May 30.

Mondays, April 7–May 19
10 a.m.–12 p.m. (12 hours)
Certificate graduation presentations on Friday, May 30
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $265

Nancy Kalow is a folklorist, filmmaker, and documentarian of communities and cultural expression. Some of her video work can be viewed for free at Folkstreams, the Web site for films on American vernacular and folk culture.






ADVANCED PROJECTS SEMINARS IN AUDIO, PHOTOGRAPHY, AND VIDEO

The Advanced Audio, Photography, and Video Projects courses provide documentary artists with the opportunity to work with award-winning professionals in small group settings. Each term, CDS invites three established artists to teach the Advanced Projects Seminars, designed for individuals who are working on projects and are seeking creative guidance to move forward. This is an opportunity for students in the Certificate program to refine their work before applying for the Final Seminar. Participants are required to share excerpts from their works-in-progress, and the courses are designed around the specific needs of participants. Different artists will teach the seminars each term, giving students the opportunity to hear multiple perspectives on their work. Students may take the course for credit more than once. This is also an ideal course for students who have completed the Certificate in Documentary Studies and are looking for professional advice to move forward in their careers, including information on finding resources (grants, artist residencies) to support their work.


Advanced Projects Seminar: Audio
Amy Nelson

Mondays, March 3–April 7
6:30–8:30 p.m. (12 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $315 • Enroll by 2/18: $295
Course ID: 11429

Amy Nelson is a Durham-based independent radio producer and educator. She spent eight years anchoring and reporting for NPR-affiliate station WUNC. While at WUNC, she collected sounds of the world and wove them into personal audio narratives, features, postcards, and interviews. Through her work, listeners became acquainted with underground midwives, maritime archeologists, unemployed computer programmers, historians, ferry boat men, and refugees. Her work has been recognized by the Radio Television News Directors Association, American Women in Radio & Television, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press, and Columbia University.



Advanced Projects Seminar: Photography
Larry Siegel

Mondays, March 10–April 14
7–9 p.m. (12 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $315 • Enroll by 2/25: $295
Class ID: 11430

For most of Larry Siegel’s life he has been involved with still photography, as a photographer, teacher, and gallery director. His work has been shown in the United States and abroad, in Canada, Mexico (he worked as photographer for the 1968 Olympic Games), and Italy; and his photographs have appeared in many publications. His work is held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, among others. He has also received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York and New Jersey State Arts Councils. Siegel taught at the School of Visual Arts in New York City for eleven years as well as in Mexico, Italy, and Spain. He founded the Midtown “Y” Gallery in New York City, which he directed for ten years, and in 1959 he founded and directed the Image Gallery, the only photography gallery in New York City at the time.



Advanced Project Seminar: Video
Randolph Benson

Tuesdays, April 1–May 6
7–9 p.m. (12 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $315 • Enroll by 3/18: $295
Class ID: 11431

Randolph Benson is a graduate of Wake Forest University and of the North Carolina School of the Arts School of Filmmaking. His film Man and Dog has appeared in eighteen film festivals in seven countries and has garnered numerous awards, most notably a Gold Medal in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Student Academy Awards. His work has been featured on the Bravo Network, the Independent Film Channel (Split Screen), WTTW-Chicago, UNC-TV (NC Visions), and Telewizja Polska S.A.- Poland, and received an Eastman Kodak Excellence in Filmmaking Award at the Cannes Film Festival.






GENERAL INTEREST

Whose Story Is It Anyway?
Alison Jones, Erica Rothman

Your project is progressing, your planning has paid off, and you are getting great footage, tape, or photos. Then in the middle of the project, an issue comes up that throws you for a loop. Perhaps a "subject" to whom you’ve become close asks to borrow money. Or you are torn between the desire to be honest and the wish to protect your subjects. You may find yourself getting lost in feelings about your topic and wonder if you are losing your ethical center.

This six-week course will give students an opportunity to explore the ethical dilemmas that inevitably arise in documentary projects, with a particular focus on relationships. How do you balance the different responsibilities to the "subject," to the audience, and to yourself? We’ll view and discuss selected readings, photos, and video and audio clips that exemplify different ethical challenges, and have the opportunity to explore these issues with a visiting filmmaker. Whether you’re an experienced documentarian or a beginner contemplating your first project, this workshop offers an unusual opportunity: the chance to hone your own ethical compass and to launch your next documentary expedition prepared with sharper, well-considered questions. (Limit 12)

Thursdays, February 21–March 27
7–9 p.m. (12 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $235 • Enroll by 2/7: $215
Class ID: 11432

Alison Jones is an independent radio and video producer with many years of experience in print journalism. Her work has appeared on WUNC-FM and National Public Radio and in a variety of publications, including the Washington Post and the Baltimore Sun. She has also directed videos for nonprofit organizations. Jones is a former staff writer with the New & Observer in Raleigh, North Carolina.

Erica Rothman, MSW, is a clinical social worker and owner of Nightlight Productions, LLC. After more than twenty years as a psychotherapist, Rothman changed careers and became a documentary filmmaker. She served as a community member on the UNC Hospitals Ethics Committee, where she was able to weave her interests in narrative, art, and bioethics into producing two award-winning teaching videos on ethical issues at the end of life. This video-producing experience led her to pursue a Certificate in Documentary Studies at CDS, which she completed in 2005. Nightlight Productions creates documentaries, medical and patient education, and collaborative videos with nonprofits for fundraising and community engagement.

AUDIO

Make That Audio Doc: Intro to Sound Recording and Digital Mixing
John Blythe

Documentary audio isn’t just about getting on the radio! Knowing how to record and edit audio creates multimedia opportunities for all kinds of documentary artists, and there are many new venues (such as podcasting) for sharing your work. In this class, you will make your own short audio documentary using your own recorded sound. Students will learn the basics of recording, interviewing, and editing using digital editing software. (Limit 12)

Tuesdays, January 29–March 18
7–9 p.m. (16 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $250 • Enroll by 1/15: $230
Course ID: 11433

John Blythe is a Chapel Hill-based journalist and independent producer. His radio career has included stints as a producer/director at North Carolina Public Radio (WUNC) and as a producer/reporter in New York (WFUV), where his work won a Golden Reel award, a regional Edward R. Murrow Award, and a PRNDI award. His reports also have aired on NPR’s Justice Talking and on several British radio networks. Blythe has worked as a newspaper reporter, Web editor, and magazine researcher.



Advanced Projects Seminar: Audio
Amy Nelson

The Advanced Audio, Photography, and Video Projects courses provide documentary artists with the opportunity to work with award-winning professionals in small group settings. Each term, CDS invites three established artists to teach the Advanced Projects Seminars, designed for individuals who are working on projects and are seeking creative guidance to move forward. This is an opportunity for students in the Certificate program to refine their work before applying for the Final Seminar. Participants are required to share excerpts from their works-in-progress, and the courses are designed around the specific needs of participants. Different artists will teach the seminars each term, giving students the opportunity to hear multiple perspectives on their work. Students may take the course for credit more than once. This is also an ideal course for students who have completed the Certificate in Documentary Studies and are looking for professional advice to move forward in their careers, including information on finding resources (grants, artist residencies) to support their work.

Mondays, March 3–April 7
6:30–8:30 p.m. (12 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $315 • Enroll by 2/18: $295
Course ID: 11429

Amy Nelson is a Durham-based independent radio producer and educator. She spent eight years anchoring and reporting for NPR-affiliate station WUNC. While at WUNC, she collected sounds of the world and wove them into personal audio narratives, features, postcards, and interviews. Through her work, listeners became acquainted with underground midwives, maritime archeologists, unemployed computer programmers, historians, ferry boat men, and refugees. Her work has been recognized by the Radio Television News Directors Association, American Women in Radio & Television, the Society of Professional Journalists, the Associated Press, and Columbia University.






VIDEO

Introduction to Documentary Video Production
Chris Potter

This introductory course will give you the basic skills to go out and shoot good quality video. The footage you bring to the edit session will be what your audience sees and hears.

We will talk about planning and organizing your project, and learn some basic camera, lighting, and audio techniques that don't require expensive equipment. (Limit 18)

NOTE: While any video camera will work for this introductory course, you will be well served by a camera that has an external microphone jack, a headphone jack, and the capacity for manual control of exposure and white balance. If you buy a tripod, make sure it's a video tripod with as smooth a pan head as possible. Please contact instructor with any questions about purchasing equipment.

Tuesdays, January 15–February 26
6:30–9 p.m. (17.5 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $250 • Enroll by 1/1: $230
Course ID: 11446

Chris Potter studied documentary film and video techniques at the Rice University Media Center. He has produced and directed commercial, industrial, and public service videos for more than twenty-five years. He has recently completed a documentary video on the Tillery resettlement community in northeastern North Carolina.



Introduction to the Art of Documentary Video Editing
Erika Simon

How do you craft footage into a story—and better yet, your story? We’ll analyze documentaries to learn basic editing conventions and study the effects of stylistic choices. Through weekly homework assignments, students will learn to use Final Cut Pro and share their work in class. Students will edit supplied footage to create their own take on the “same” story, burn a sample DVD, and output their edited work onto mini-DV tape. NOTE: Must bring a camcorder to class on two specified dates. Must bring a USB-2 or FireWire hard drive to every class. No experience necessary, but basic computer skills are required. Expect a lot of homework between classes. (Limit 12)

Thursdays, February 7–April 3
No class March 14
7–9 p.m. (16 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $250 • Enroll by 1/24: $230
Class ID: 11444

Erika Simon has been teaching Final Cut to beginners at CDS since 2003. She was an editor for Gatewood: Facing the White Canvas and directed and edited SAF’s Levante: Theater for Social Change and a PSA that aired on Univisión. She recently edited Green Jobs Revolution to appear as an extra on the Everything's Cool DVD. Her final project for the CDS Certificate in Documentary Studies program won the 2006 Carrboro Film Festival Audience Award. She is a recipient of the Martha Nell Hardy Award for Outstanding Teaching, UNC–Chapel Hill.



Intermediate Documentary Video Editing with Final Cut Pro
Simone Keith

Learn and discuss video editing techniques using the advanced features in Final Cut Pro. Find out what makes a smooth cut, understand the proper use of effects and transitions, and explore sound mixing while editing your next documentary project. Basic Final Cut Pro skills are required, and access to a portable FireWire hard drive is desirable. Required Text: In the Blink of an Eye by Walter Murch; Recommended: Final Cut Pro HD for Dummies. (Limit 12)

Mondays, February 4–March 31
No class on February 18
6:30–9 p.m. (20 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $265 • Enroll by 1/21: $270
Class ID: 11449

Simone Keith’s short documentary Heavier Than Air has screened at numerous festivals and aired on UNC-TV. A native of Brazil, she has been making documentaries and video essays since arriving in North Carolina ten years ago. Keith has earned two Telly Awards and has collaborated on The Wonder of It All, a UNC-TV documentary about the life of George Beverly Shea, which was nominated for a regional Emmy. She currently works at North Carolina State University, where she is the videographer and editor for In the Garden with Bryce Lane.



Directing Your Documentary Film: Making Choices
Randolph Benson

Making documentary films is more than pointing your camera at a subject, recording an event, or conveying interesting information. Your film will be a historical document that not only will tell the story of your subject, but will reflect you as an artist. Directing your film means making difficult choices: from initial story concept to your first screening. These choices, similar to those made by narrative fiction filmmakers, involve the range of available tools and techniques. Use this course to prepare for the choices you will make about how best to tell your story, design your production, develop your aesthetic, and capture your story on film. Through viewing selected film clips, reading, in-class production instruction, and weekly assignments, you will gain an understanding of the art of directing a documentary film while developing the skills you’ll need to fulfill your vision. By the end of the term, you will be expected to complete a "mini-documentary" of approximately two to three minutes in length, combining all of the methods and techniques learned in the course. You will need access to a video camera and a tripod. (Limit 12)

Wednesdays, February 6–March 26
7–9 p.m. (16 hours)
Materials fees: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $250 • Enroll by 1/23: $230
Class ID: 11450

Randolph Benson is a graduate of Wake Forest University and of the North Carolina School of the Arts School of Filmmaking. His film Man and Dog has appeared in eighteen film festivals in seven countries and has garnered numerous awards, most notably a Gold Medal in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Student Academy Awards. His work has been featured on the Bravo Network, the Independent Film Channel (Split Screen), WTTW-Chicago, UNC-TV (NC Visions) and Telewizja Polska S.A.- Poland, and received an Eastman Kodak Excellence in Filmmaking Award at the Cannes Film Festival.



Advanced Project Seminar: Video
Randolph Benson

The Advanced Audio, Photography, and Video Projects courses provide documentary artists with the opportunity to work with award-winning professionals in small group settings. Each term, CDS invites three established artists to teach the Advanced Projects Seminars, designed for individuals who are working on projects and are seeking creative guidance to move forward. This is an opportunity for students in the Certificate program to refine their work before applying for the Final Seminar. Participants are required to share excerpts from their works-in-progress, and the courses are designed around the specific needs of participants. Different artists will teach the seminars each term, giving students the opportunity to hear multiple perspectives on their work. Students may take the course for credit more than once. This is also an ideal course for students who have completed the Certificate in Documentary Studies and are looking for professional advice to move forward in their careers, including information on finding resources (grants, artist residencies) to support their work.

Tuesdays, April 1–May 6
7–9 p.m. (12 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $315 • Enroll by 3/18: $295
Class ID: 11431

Randolph Benson is a graduate of Wake Forest University and of the North Carolina School of the Arts School of Filmmaking. His film Man and Dog has appeared in eighteen film festivals in seven countries and has garnered numerous awards, most notably a Gold Medal in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Student Academy Awards. His work has been featured on the Bravo Network, the Independent Film Channel (Split Screen), WTTW-Chicago, UNC-TV (NC Visions), and Telewizja Polska S.A.- Poland, and received an Eastman Kodak Excellence in Filmmaking Award at the Cannes Film Festival.



ONE- OR TWO-DAY COURSES IN VIDEO

Beginning Motion Graphics for Documentary Filmmakers
John Vanaman

Perhaps your film is missing an opening title sequence, or perhaps you simply want to learn what it takes to create one. In this one-day workshop, you will dive right into the process of using the latest industry software and techniques to create an opening incorporating the effect of moving through a still photo in 3-D space. All files will be provided. Whether you are currently working on a film or have a clean slate, you will leave with a finished piece and skills you can apply to any project in the future. One-hour lunch break, please bring a bag lunch. Recommended Text: Creating Motion Graphics with After Effects (3rd Ed, v.6.5), by Trish & Chris Meyer. (Limit 12)

Saturday, February 23
9 a.m.–5 p.m. (7 hours)
Materials fee: $5 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $135 • Enroll by 2/8: $120
Class ID: 11452

John Vananman is an animator and motion graphics designer with eight years’ experience in the industry. He currently works at North Carolina State University on a variety of projects, from video production with the College of Agriculture and Life Sciences to creating graphics for UNC-TV's In the Garden with Bryce Lane. He also works as a freelancer with several leading advertising agencies in the area and has produced award-winning work for documentary film, television, and corporate video.



Documenting in the Digital Age Part I: Publishing Your Video Documentary on the Web
Carol Thomson

You have your short video doc or trailer finished and you want it to be seen. The Internet is one way to reach an unlimited audience, but you are not a Webmaster and you don’t know where to start. Learn the basics of preparing video for the Web, loading video on a Web page, and establishing a low-cost and easy Web presence by creating your own Blog. In this one day workshop, we will discuss video compression techniques and pitfalls and walk through the steps of creating a Blog. Video formats discussed include QuickTime and Flash video. You will bring in a short video clip on an external drive (three minutes or less, ready to import in Final Cut). In the workshop, you will compress your video and publish it on your newly created Blog. Experience with Final Cut required. Instructions will be emailed to you prior to the workshop with the steps to create your source video clip and load it on your hard drive. A clip will be provided for you if you do not have one yourself. One-hour lunch break, please bring a bag lunch. (Limit 12)

Saturday, May 10
10 a.m.–5 p.m. (6 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $135 • Enroll by 4/25: $120
Class ID: 11451

Carol Thomson has been creating Web sites and multimedia works since 2000 when she began her documentary studies in Australia. She completed her Certificate in Documentary Studies at the Center for Documentary Studies in 2005. She is working on a multimedia documentary, Bridging Rails to Trails: Stories of the American Tobacco Trail, which will be published on the Web and as a CD-ROM. A work-in-progress version can be seen at http://bridgingrailstotrails.com. Thomson’s Web and multimedia company, FireStream Media, LLC, is located in downtown Durham.

PHOTOGRAPHY

Street Photography
Sharon Lee Hart

A special form of documentary photography, referred to as "street photography," captures an intensely intimate depiction of people, places, and moments. Chance, time, place, and each individual’s unique point of view all play vital roles in this very personal photographic genre. This class will explore its basic elements, discuss legal and ethical issues that arise when making photographs in public, and look at work by historical and contemporary street photographers. In addition to readings, discussions, and assignments, students will have the opportunity to present their work for constructive group critiques and an individual critique with the instructor. By the end of the course, students will have completed a themed set of photographs for the final project. (Limit 12)

Thursdays, February 28–April 17
6:30–8:30 p.m. (16 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $255 • Enroll by 2/7: $235
Class ID: 11438

Sharon Lee Hart is a photographer, mixed media artist, and adjunct assistant professor of art at Wake Forest University. She received her M.F.A. from UNC–Chapel Hill and her B.F.A. from the Maine College of Art in Portland. She is an experienced teacher who enjoys working with students and has an open-minded approach to art making. Her work has been shown in exhibits throughout the country, and she’s known for deep tones, velvety blacks, and a wry commentary on contemporary social issues and inequities in her work.



Introduction to Darkroom Photography
Lisa Satterwhite

Anyone, from beginning photographers to those who have been working exclusively in digital media, will benefit from this exploration of darkroom techniques. Participants will review camera basics and learn about film developing, darkroom printing, and how to select a series of prints. The goal is to begin a documentary project and complete five finished prints by the end of the course. Bring your camera to the first class—we’ll supply your first roll of film, and you’ll jump right into making images. The spirit of the class is to take risks, explore, and have fun!

Access to darkroom and photo chemicals is included in the cost of the course; you must buy your own fiber-based black-and-white photographic paper and rolls of films. Required Text: Black-and-White Photography: A Basic Manual by Henry Hornstein. (Limit 12)

Mondays, March 31–May 19
7–9 p.m. (16 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $235 • Enroll by 3/17: $215
Class ID: 11435

Lisa Satterwhite is a photographer, teacher, and scientist at Duke University Medical Center whose current research focuses on the molecular genetics of heart disease. Born and raised in the mountains of western North Carolina, she earned a B.A. in fine art and art history from the University of Tennessee and a Ph.D. in cell biology from Johns Hopkins University. At Princeton, she studied advanced photography in the Program for Visual Arts, focusing on medium and large format, alternative process, and the history of photography. For more than twenty years, she has taught numerous art and biology courses at the high school and university levels. She is interested in the links between environmental philosophy, conservation biology, and the spiritual aspects of creating art, and between environmental policy and human health. Satterwhite’s current photographic work examines family, intimacy, and ties to the land.



Advanced Projects Seminar: Photography
Larry Siegel

The Advanced Audio, Photography, and Video Projects courses provide documentary artists with the opportunity to work with award-winning professionals in small group settings. Each term, CDS invites three established artists to teach the Advanced Projects Seminars, designed for individuals who are working on projects and are seeking creative guidance to move forward. This is an opportunity for students in the Certificate program to refine their work before applying for the Final Seminar. Participants are required to share excerpts from their works-in-progress, and the courses are designed around the specific needs of participants. Different artists will teach the seminars each term, giving students the opportunity to hear multiple perspectives on their work. Students may take the course for credit more than once. This is also an ideal course for students who have completed the Certificate in Documentary Studies and are looking for professional advice to move forward in their careers, including information on finding resources (grants, artist residencies) to support their work.

Mondays, March 10–April 14
7–9 p.m. (12 hours)
Materials fee: $10 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $315 • Enroll by 2/25: $295
Class ID: 11430

For most of Larry Siegel’s life he has been involved with still photography, as a photographer, teacher, and gallery director. His work has been shown in the United States and abroad, in Canada, Mexico (he worked as photographer for the 1968 Olympic Games), and Italy; and his photographs have appeared in many publications. His work is held in the collections of the Museum of Modern Art, New York, and the Bibliothèque Nationale, Paris, among others. He has also received grants from the National Endowment for the Arts and the New York and New Jersey State Arts Councils. Siegel taught at the School of Visual Arts in New York City for eleven years as well as in Mexico, Italy, and Spain. He founded the Midtown “Y” Gallery in New York City, which he directed for ten years, and in 1959 he founded and directed the Image Gallery, the only photography gallery in New York City at the time.



ONE- OR TWO-DAY COURSES IN PHOTOGRAPHY

Portraits and Dreams: Literacy Through Photography Workshop
Katie Hyde, Elena Rue

Discover the program created by photographer and teacher Wendy Ewald that encourages students to explore their world through photography. This workshop demonstrates ways to use photography and writing as a tool for increasing students’ critical thinking, self-expression, and personal involvement in school. By linking picture making, writing, and critical thinking, this workshop will help teachers make connections across the curriculum. Teachers will use photography to investigate self-portraiture and dreams, learn about LTP’s collaboration with Durham schools, and plan a project to implement in their own classrooms.

If you are a professional interested in taking this class for CEUs, please contact Garry Crites at gjc3@duke.edu or (919) 684-3178. (Limit 20)

Thursday & Friday, February 28 & 29
9 a.m.–4 p.m. (12 hours)
Course fee: $285 • Enroll by 2/14: $265
Course ID: 11440

Katie Hyde has been involved with the Literacy Through Photography program since she studied with Wendy Ewald in 1998. She currently directs the LTP program at the Center for Documentary Studies and travels nationally to teach LTP workshops at major museums, schools, and community organizations. She earned her doctorate in sociology at North Carolina State University and teaches visual sociology at Duke University.

Elena Rue is Literacy Through Photography’s program coordinator. She oversees the LTP program in the Durham Public Schools and helps lead LTP workshops. Before joining LTP, Rue worked as a documentary photographer for five years and has worked for several projects and programs at the Center for Documentary Studies. In 2006 she was a CDS Lewis Hine Documentary Fellow in Ethiopia.



Understanding Flash in a Flash
MJ Sharp

This course is aimed at getting students up and running with their particular flash units. The first session will introduce students to what's possible with portable flash photography. We'll cover the many uses of flash; to rescue a scene, to enhance a scene, to accomplish a visual effect no possible with continuous light sources, ect. In this first session we'll also cover the basic types of flashes available to students needing to purchase a flash before the second session will have a sense of what they might want to buy.

During the second session we'll shoot around the building (indoors and outdoors) with our flash units. Each student will do a set of shots with their particular flash and camera to generate a test roll (or set of digital files) of their equipment. The film will need to be processed and printed (or the digital files printed out) before the third class session. Black and white film, color film, and digital formats are all acceptable.

During the third class session, everyone will bring in their test results and we'll draw our conclusions. (Limit 10)

Wednesdays, April 2–16
6–8 p.m. (6 hours)
Course fee: $135 • Enroll by 3/19: $120
Class ID: 11582

MJ Sharp was the staff photographer at the Independent Weekly for most of the 1990s and has also freelanced both nationally and locally. In recent years, she's been working on a long-term project of night landscapes, which she shoots almost exclusively on 4x5 and 8x10 cameras. Currently, her idea of a "short" exposure is one that lasts six minutes. Samples of her work are on-line at www.mjsharp.com.



Alternative Printing
Leah Sobsey

This course will explore a variety of historical and contemporary photographic processes. Step outside of the traditional silver gelatin print and explore the endless possibilities of platinum palladium printing, Vandyke printing, albumen printing, and other methods. There will also be printing with your own negatives; hands-on printing techniques will include cyanotype printing (blueprint), Polaroid transfers and lifts, as well as liquid emulsion printing, which can be painted on to any surface, including paper, canvas, tile, and stone. You will need to bring your black-and-white negatives and color slides to the first class. (Limit 8)

Saturdays, April 19 & April 26
12–4 p.m. (8 hours)
Materials fee: $20 (exact amount due at first class)
Course fee: $150 • Enroll by 4/4: $135
Class ID: 11443

Leah Sobsey is an artist and educator. She received her M.F.A. from the San Francisco Art Institute in 2001 and completed the Resident Certificate Program at the Maine Photographic Workshops in 1997. Her work has been exhibited widely and is in private collections across the country. She has taught at the San Francisco Art Institute, Duke University, and the Maine Photographic Workshops. She currently teaches at UNC-Greensboro.







INSTITUTES AND SPECIAL TOPICS

The South in Black and White: Southern History, Culture, and Politics in the 20th Century
Tim Tyson

This course will examine the history and culture of the American South, a region of the heart, the mind, and the United States where democracy has been envisioned and embattled with global consequences. It will bring together students from NCCU, UNC, and Duke, along with members of the larger community. This course will furnish a wide front porch on Southern history, where we will join those whom Zora Neale Hurston called “the big picture talkers” and hear their stories. Each week there will be a lecture, music, poetry, film clips, and opportunities for discussion. At least once, there will be barbecue. Visiting activists, scholars, and musicians, among others, will offer oral history presentations, musical and dramatic performances, and guest lectures. There will be live music, poetry, and stories every day. Readings will be drawn from literature, history, and social analysis.

The course will meet at the historical Hayti Heritage Center, the former St. Joseph’s AME Church at 804 Old Fayetteville Street, which was an important church base for the civil rights movement in Durham. We will never stop telling stories.

Special Web site for The South in Black and White

If you are a professional interested in taking this class for CEUs, please contact Garry Crites at gjc3@duke.edu or (919) 684-3178.

Tuesdays, January 15–April 22
No class on March 11 for Spring Break.
7–9:30 p.m. (35 hours)
Place: Hayti Heritage Center
Course fee: $150
Course ID: 11455

Directions to the Hayti Heritage Center

Timothy B. Tyson, author of the much-acclaimed Blood Done Sign My Name and other award-winning books, is a senior research scholar at the Center for Documentary Studies and Visiting Professor of American Christianity and Southern Culture in the Divinity School. Blood Done Sign My Name, a finalist for the National Book Critics Circle Award and winner of the Christopher Award and the North Caroliniana Book Award, was the 2005 selection of the Carolina Summer Reading Program at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, assigned to all new undergraduate students. Tyson’s previous book Radio Free Dixie: Robert F. Williams and the Roots of Black Power (UNC Press, 1999) won the James Rawley Prize and was co-winner of the Frederick Jackson Turner Prize, both from the Organization of American Historians. He also co-edited, with David S. Cecelski, Democracy Betrayed: The Wilmington Race Riot of 1898 and Its Legacy (UNC Press, 1998), which won the 1999 Outstanding Book Award from the Gustavus Myers Center for the Study of Human Rights in North America. Tyson was a John Hope Franklin Senior Fellow at the National Humanities Center in 2004-05.



Doc U Arts Institute—Engaging Documentary
Various Instructors

Personal Views / Community Goals + Relationships / Disconnection + Cultivation / Tension + Agendas / Self-reflection + Collaboration / Artistic Freedom + Public Impact / Singular Vision

Documentary artists—photographers, filmmakers, audio producers—work in the space where creative expression and community dynamics intersect. During this mini-institute we will focus on the documentary arts as active engagement and explore the inherent tensions and potentially transformative nature of the documentary arts.

Select one of three tracks—photo, audio, or video. Students are invited to bring current work. Our guest professionals will curate a small number of projects to present in public sessions. You'll have ample opportunity to receive focused feedback, both in individual and group settings. Participants will work primarily within their medium, but there will be plenty of cross-fertilization.

Institute instructors will include New York–based photographer, author, professor, and filmmaker Bruce Jackson; California-based filmmaker Christie Herring; Johanna Zorn and Julie Shapiro of the Third Coast International Audio Festival in Chicago; Karen Cirillo, curator of the short-doc traveling film festival Doxita, based in New York; Yale-educated photographer Pam Pecchio; and audio documentarian John Biewen and photographer and professor Alex Harris, both based at CDS.

More details about Institute instructors

Limit 20 in each track: photo, audio, video.

Date: Thursday to Sunday, February 7–10
Begins 5:30 p.m. on Thursday; 9 a.m.–5 p.m. Friday & Saturday, plus evening presentations; 10 a.m.–2 p.m. Sunday (16 hours)
Course fee: $325
Course ID: 11458 (photo); 11461 (audio); 11462 (video)

If you are a professional interested in taking this class for CEUs, please contact Garry Crites at gjc3@duke.edu or (919) 684-3178.


SUMMER 2008

Documentary Video Institute
Randolph Benson, Jim Haverkamp, Simone Keith, Erika Simon, Carol Thomson

In this eight-day intensive, you will be fully immersed in the process of documentary filmmaking. Working in small production teams (one instructor for every four students) led by experienced documentary filmmakers, you will be introduced to an array of tools and techniques as you collaborate with a partner to direct, shoot, edit, and screen a documentary short. By the time you arrive at the institute, we will have arranged for you to do fieldwork in the Durham community on a documentary subject; you will then work with your partner to decide the technical and creative approach you want to take with your project. We will also explore different documentary genres and discuss collaboration, ethics, and community outreach. Small group learning environments and personalized training will keep you involved and on track regardless of your previous experience level. In addition, nationally known guest instructors will teach classes and screen their work in evening sessions. Past visiting filmmakers have included Linda Goode Bryant (Flag Wars), Marco Williams (award-winning Two Towns of Jasper), Ross McElwee (Sherman’s March, Brightleaves), and Alice Elliott (Academy Award-nominated The Collector of Bedford Street).

The Center for Documentary Studies will provide computers, editing software (Final Cut Express), and sound equipment. Basic computer skills are required. Participants should bring their own digital video cameras and lavaliere microphones, headphones, and two DV tapes. If you have a tripod, please bring it to the institute with you.

This institute is full. To be added to the waiting list, please contact Duke Continuing Studies at (919) 684-6259 Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Information packets and schedules will be mailed to registered students at a later date. The enrollment fee includes lunches and one dinner.

Date: Saturday to Saturday, June 14–21
This 8-day intensive starts Saturday, 3 PM; Monday–Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. (plus evening presentations); concludes Saturday, 3 p.m. (48 hours)
Course fee: $1390
Course ID: 11483

Randolph Benson is a graduate of Wake Forest University and of the North Carolina School of the Arts School of Filmmaking. His film Man and Dog has appeared in eighteen film festivals in seven countries and has garnered numerous awards, most notably a Gold Medal in the Academy of Motion Picture Arts and Sciences’ Student Academy Awards. His work has been featured on the Bravo Network, the Independent Film Channel (Split Screen), WTTW-Chicago, UNC-TV (NC Visions), and Telewizja Polska S.A.–Poland. He received an Eastman Kodak Excellence in Filmmaking Award at the Cannes Film Festival.

Jim Haverkamp is an award-winning filmmaker and editor based in Durham whose short documentary and fiction films have screened in festivals across the country. He has been the recipient of a Filmmaking Fellowship from the North Carolina Arts Council and recently was chosen to tour with Southern Circuit. He is a former organizer of the Flicker Film Festival in Chapel Hill.

Simone Keith’s short documentary Heavier Than Air has screened at numerous festivals and aired on UNC-TV. A native of Brazil, she has been making documentaries and video essays since arriving in North Carolina ten years ago. Keith has earned two Telly Awards and has collaborated on The Wonder of It All, a UNC-TV documentary about the life of George Beverly Shea, which was nominated for a regional Emmy. She currently works at North Carolina State University, where she is the videographer and editor for In the Garden with Bryce Lane.

Erika Simon has been teaching Final Cut to beginners at CDS since 2003. She was an editor for Gatewood: Facing the White Canvas and directed and edited SAF’s Levante: Theater for Social Change and a PSA that aired on Univisión. Her short doc, Gemini World, recently won the Carrboro Film Festival Audience Award. She is a recipient of the Martha Nell Hardy Award for Outstanding Teaching, UNC–Chapel Hill.

Carol Thomson has been creating web sites and multimedia works since 2000 when she began her documentary studies in Australia. She completed her Certificate in Documentary Studies at the Center for Documentary Studies in 2005. She is working on a multimedia documentary, Bridging Rails to Trails: Stories of the American Tobacco Trail, which will be published on the Web and as a CD-ROM. A work-in-progress version can be seen at http://bridgingrailstotrails.com. Thomson’s web and multimedia company, FireStream Media, LLC, is located in downtown Durham.



Hearing is Believing I: An Audio Documentary Summer Institute
John Biewen

The Center for Documentary Studies presents a weeklong, morning-till-night immersion in audio documentary work. You’ll learn hands-on skills in recording and digital audio mixing; discuss issues such as the ethics of documentary work; explore varied uses for audio documentaries (it’s not just radio anymore); and hear accomplished producers play and talk about their work in evening presentations. During the week you’ll work with a fellow student to produce and edit a short audio documentary, from the first interview and sound-gathering to the final mix.

Computers and editing software will be provided for your use in completing your institute project. Students should bring field-recording equipment, including recorder, microphone, headphones, and tapes, minidisks, or flash cards. No experience in audio production is required. A basic comfort level with computers is desirable. The institute counts as 40 hours toward the Certificate in Documentary Studies.

The institute will be led by John Biewen along with other staff members of the Center for Documentary Studies. Visiting artists will also join the institute faculty; past instructors have included Chris Brookes, Neenah Ellis, Deb George, Karen Michel, Dmae Roberts, and Judith Sloan.

This institute (July 13–19) is full. To be added to the waiting list, please contact Duke Continuing Studies at (919) 684-6259 Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Financial support for summer 2008 audio institutes: Eric Estes Memorial Scholarship | Discount for AIR (Association of Independents in Radio) Members

Information packets and schedules will be mailed to registered students at a later date. The enrollment fee includes lunches and one dinner.

Date: Sunday to Saturday, July 13–19
This 7-day intensive starts Sunday, 3 p.m.; Monday-Friday, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. (plus evening presentations); concludes Saturday, 3 p.m. (40 hours)
Course fee: $775
Class ID: 11486

Financial support for summer 2008 audio institutes: Eric Estes Memorial Scholarship | Discount for AIR (Association of Independents in Radio) Members


The Durham News reports on the summer 2007 audio institute

Association of Independents in Radio profiles the CDS audio institute in the summer 2007 issue of AIRspace

Summer 2007 and 2008 audio institute documentaries on iTunes

John Biewen is the audio programs director at the Center for Documentary Studies; he was formerly a correspondent-producer for American RadioWorks, the national documentary unit of American Public Media. He has produced a large body of work on economic and social issues, as well as investigative reports and historical documentaries. His reporting has won numerous honors, including the Robert F. Kennedy (2000, 2001), Society of Professional Journalists (Sigma Delta Chi), Edward R. Murrow (RTNDA), and (American Bar Association) Silver Gavel Awards. A graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, with a degree in philosophy, he lived and taught in Osaka, Japan, from 1985 to 1987.



Literacy Through Photography
Wendy Ewald, Katie Hyde, Elena Rue

The Literacy Through Photography (LTP) Basic Workshop is open to anyone with a desire to learn how to bring together photography and writing. The workshop is appropriate for anyone seeking a collaborative approach to documentary work, or wanting to explore new approaches to documentary photography. Educators, artists, community workers, and researchers have adapted LTP methodologies in communities and schools around the world. This workshop is a wonderful opportunity to engage photography as an art form and educational medium, a mode of self-exploration, a way to connect visual literacy to verbal and written communication, and as a tool to facilitate community dialogue.

Throughout the week, participants receive hands-on instruction as they carry out assignments based on LTP’s core themes: self-portrait, community, and dreams. Participants will learn to process film and to print photographs in the darkroom. Both inexperienced and advanced photographers will have an exciting opportunity to creatively explore and produce their own work.

Workshop participants will learn the methods that LTP uses to teach creative writing and photography. Sessions focus on learning technical skills, viewing photographs, completing writing and photography exercises, and developing curricula. Participants will have an opportunity to discuss their own ideas for future projects. Individuals who have designed and successfully implemented their own LTP-inspired projects will also present their work to the group.

NOTE: Participants will be provided with cameras for each of their projects. Digital formats will NOT be supported for this workshop. (Limit 20)

If you are a professional interested in taking this class for CEUs, please contact Garry Crites at gjc3@duke.edu or (919) 684-3178.

This institute is full. To be added to the waiting list, please contact Duke Continuing Studies at (919) 684-6259 Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Date: Monday to Friday, August 4–8
8:30 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (30 hours)
Course fee: $720
Course ID: 11487

Wendy Ewald, who has worked with children in many countries and in various communities within the United States, is the founder and creative director of the Literacy Through Photography program at the Center for Documentary Studies. She has received numerous awards for her work with children and photography, among them fellowships from the Fulbright Commission and the MacArthur Foundation. Ewald has published nine books, most recently American Alphabets.

Katie Hyde has been involved with the Literacy Through Photography program since she studied with Wendy Ewald in 1998, and is currently the program’s director. She has traveled nationally to teach LTP workshops at major museums (e.g., The High Museum of Art in Atlanta and The Queens Museum of Art in New York), at schools, and with community organizations. She has also taught at Penland School of Crafts in Western North Carolina. Hyde earned her doctorate in sociology at North Carolina State University; her fieldwork has focused on recent Latino/a immigration in North Carolina, women’s activism in Russia, and girl’s education in rural Nepal. At Duke, she teaches an undergraduate course called Sociology Through Photography, and she collaborates with Wendy Ewald to teach a course focusing on children’s self-expression and race and gender issues within education.

Elena Rue is Literacy Through Photography’s Program Coordinator. She oversees the LTP program in the Durham Public Schools and helps lead LTP workshops. Before joining LTP, Rue worked as a documentary photographer for five years and has worked for several projects and programs at the Center for Documentary Studies. In 2006 she was a CDS Lewis Hine Documentary Fellow in Ethiopia.



Hearing Is Believing II: Making It Sing
John Biewen

An intensive six-day workshop for students who’ve recorded interviews and gathered sound and are ready to construct a four- to ten-minute audio documentary. This course is designed for those who are ready to begin editing their project and have a basic grasp of audio editing software, or for individuals who have completed Make That Audio Doc and/or the one-week Hearing Is Believing summer institute and are ready to try a more ambitious project. This time you’ll bring your own recordings to the institute. You’ll get lessons and personal guidance from seasoned radio documentary producers as you structure and script your piece, record your narration tracks (if any), and mix your documentary on ProTools.

The institute will be led by John Biewen along with other staff members of the Center for Documentary Studies. Visiting artists will also join the institute faculty; past instructors have included Chris Brookes, Neenah Ellis, Deb George, Karen Michel, Dmae Roberts, and Judith Sloan.

This institute (August 11–16) is full. To be added to the waiting list, please contact Duke Continuing Studies at (919) 684-6259 Monday through Friday from 8:30 a.m. to 5 p.m.

Financial support for summer 2008 audio institutes: Discount for AIR (Association of Independents in Radio) Members

Information packets and schedules will be mailed to registered students at a later date. The enrollment fee includes lunches and one dinner.

Monday to Saturday, August 11–16
This 6-day intensive starts Monday, 6 p.m.; Tuesday-Friday, 9 a.m.–4:30 p.m. (plus evening presentations); concludes Saturday, 2 p.m. (35 hours)
Course fee: $775
Course ID: 11488

Registration will begin at 5:30 p.m. on Monday August 11.

Financial support for summer 2008 audio institutes: Discount for AIR (Association of Independents in Radio) Members

John Biewen is the audio programs director at the Center for Documentary Studies; he was formerly a correspondent-producer for American RadioWorks, the national documentary unit of American Public Media. He has produced a large body of work on economic and social issues, as well as investigative reports and historical documentaries. His reporting has won numerous honors, including the Robert F. Kennedy (2000, 2001), Society of Professional Journalists (Sigma Delta Chi), Edward R. Murrow (RTNDA), and (American Bar Association) Silver Gavel Awards. A graduate of Gustavus Adolphus College in St. Peter, Minnesota, with a degree in philosophy, he lived and taught in Osaka, Japan, from 1985 to 1987.

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Untitled, from the series Raising Helana. Photograph by Lissa Gotwals, from her project for the continuing studies course Final Project Seminar in Documentary Studies. Gotwals's work from this series was published in issue 03 of Blueeyes Magazine.