Document Durham explores the changing home community of the Center for Documentary Studies through oral history, folklore, photography, and narrative writing.

Durham, along with the rest of the Sunbelt South, has experienced rapid growth and tremendous economic change since World War II. The population of Durham County has more than doubled since 1960, and the community has become more ethnically diverse. For example, the local Latino and Asian populations have doubled in size in the past decade. In addition, the demise of tobacco as Durham's defining agricultural and manufacturing industry, and the subsequent growth of the health care, technology, and service industries, has had a dramatic effect on the local landscape. These changes have brought new residents to Durham from many other parts of the United States and the world. Documenting individual and community experiences, history, culture, and art offers an opportunity for dialogue, especially as longtime residents and their new neighbors learn about their different pasts and explore their common future. Through Document Durham, CDS works with such community partners as nonprofit organizations, schools, neighborhood centers, and social activists to explore and understand the changing cultural, economic, and physical landscapes of the local community.

Document Durham projects involve young people, elders, and other community members from diverse backgrounds whose documentary work often reveals thought-provoking stories that prompt conversation about larger community issues. These projects also promote self-knowledge, build and strengthen relationships, and create new avenues for activism. The results, which are shared with the community, include writing, publications, exhibits, Web sites, visual arts projects, and public forums.

For more information contact Barbara Lau at 919-660-3676 or balau@duke.edu.