Overview

Undergraduate Education

Continuing Studies

Workshops and Institutes





Overview

The Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) at Duke University offers courses through two main programs: undergraduate education and continuing studies, including workshops and institutes appropriate for students who live elsewhere and wish to engage in documentary educational opportunities of short duration at CDS. In its approach to education, CDS emphasizes documentary fieldwork, collaborative partnerships, and a balance between individual artistic expression and community goals. Courses include instruction in photography, audio, film/video, and narrative writing along with an examination of documentary traditions, practices, and ethics.

Undergraduate Education
CDS offers undergraduate courses in Documentary Studies to students enrolled at Duke University in a variety of disciplines. Students enrolled at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, at North Carolina Central University, and at North Carolina State University may also take these courses for credit through reciprocal arrangements among these schools. Undergraduate instructors at CDS include faculty members, visiting artists, and professional documentarians. Students at Duke have the option of completing requirements for an undergraduate Certificate in Documentary Studies, which involves a minimum of six approved courses and completion of a final project. As part of its undergraduate education program, CDS created and hosts the Lehman Brady Visiting Joint Chair Professorship in Documentary Studies and American Studies at Duke and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill, which brings a distinguished documentarian to teach on both campuses each year.

Continuing Studies
CDS also offers continuing studies courses to residents of the local community. Students may range from those who want to document their own family histories to artists and activists who want to use documentary skills in efforts to make a difference in their communities, and from experienced documentarians to those who want to get started on their first projects. Offered by CDS in conjunction with Duke Continuing Studies, this open-admissions adult education program includes the option of completing a Certificate in Documentary Studies, which requires a minimum of six sixteen-hour courses (or the equivalent) and the completion of a final documentary project. Most courses are offered during the evening or on weekends, to accommodate the schedules of working adults. Students who maintain full-time jobs should expect completion of the certificate to take about two years, though it is possible to complete the program more quickly.

Workshops and Institutes
During the summer, CDS offers weeklong documentary institutes in audio, video, and photography to the general public and to specialized audiences such as educators and artists. Workshops of shorter duration are offered occasionally throughout the year, including the Documentary Happening. Students may receive continuing studies credit toward the Certificate in Documentary Studies for some of these institutes and workshops.





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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.