
What does the Arts & Humanities DAE do?

The humanities disciplines use historical, philosophical, and artistic approaches to study the human condition. Humanistic knowledge plays a crucial part in the education of the individual and the betterment of society. Duke nests the Arts within the Humanities and at Duke you will find an array of practitioners, historians, theorists, and interdisciplinary scholars to provide you with a holistic view on creative, visual, and performing arts field and industries.
Arts/Humanities advising is available to all undergraduates, whether in Trinity College or Pratt School of Engineering, regardless of major or class year. Advising conversations with Dr. OJ will position you to dive deeper into your exploration of an arts or humanities discipline or pinpoint an area of humanities interest to accentuate your study of a different major or prehealth track.
Degree granting departments and programs: African & African American Studies; Art, Art History & Visual Studies including Cinematic Arts and Museum Theory and Practice; Asian & Middle Eastern Studies including Asian American Diaspora Studies; Classical Studies; Cultural Anthropology; Dance; Documentary Studies; English including Creative Writing; Gender, Sexuality and Feminist Studies; German Studies; Global Cultural Studies/Literature; History including Inequality Studies; Information Science+Studies; Jewish Studies; Latino Studies in the Global South; Latin American Studies; Medieval & Renaissance Studies; Music; Philosophy; Religious Studies; Romance Studies including French, Italian, Portuguese, and Spanish; Slavic & Eurasian Studies; Theater Studies.
Research and Creative Scholarship Programs of Note:
- Bass Connections (particularly teams under Information, Society & Culture; Race & Society; and the OPEN theme)
- Benenson Arts Award (competitive program available to all Duke students who are pursuing training, employment and projects in the arts)
- Digital Art History and Visual Culture Lab (provides projects and team-based research focused on visual and material culture through critical engagement with digital technologies housed with the Art, Art History, Visual Studies department; home of the Humanities Unbounded Visualizing Cities lab)
- Humanities Unbounded Labs (this grant will end with the 22-23 school year; there are 3 labs, embedded in academic departments, currently operating: Black Music and the Soul of America (Music & African&African American Studies); “Asia” and the Making of American Religiosity (Religious Studies); and Global Jewish Modernism (German Studies & Romance Studies).
- Interdisciplinary Humanities Labs (housed at the Franklin Humanities Institute in Smith Warehouse)
- Story+ (team-based, 6-week summer qualitative research opportunity with stipend)
- Studio Duke (project-based mentorship hosted in the Innovation & Entrepreneurship program from Duke Alums in the arts, media & entertainment industries)
Director of Academic Engagement

Jules Odendahl-James, Ph.D.
jao@duke.edu
(919) 681-8707