How do we tell compelling stories about complex historical, cultural and social realities? What goes into creating great stories that stay with the audience, and even change minds? Story+ is a six-week summer research experience for undergraduate and graduate students interested in bringing academic research to life through dynamic storytelling.
Undergraduates work in small teams with graduate student mentors, in a collaborative and creative research environment. Each project has a sponsor. Students learn to conduct qualitative, humanities-based research (e.g., archival research, narrative analysis, visual analysis, ethnography) and to communicate their research through effective storytelling techniques. Final projects may take the form of writing, websites, exhibits, short films or other genres, depending on the project’s goals.
Story+ is offered through the Franklin Humanities Institute and Bass Connections, with support from Duke Libraries. It is open to:
- All undergraduates, except graduating seniors
- All graduate students, with preference given to doctoral students in the humanities and interpretive social sciences.
Story+ takes place during Summer Session 1 (May 12 to June 25, 2021). The program will be conducted online in 2021 due to the pandemic. Undergraduate students will receive a competitive stipend for participation. Graduate students can receive a stipend or travel support up to $2,500. The priority deadline to apply for 2021 is February 19, 2021. Please see details and application information.
Story+ 2021 Projects
- A Just and Equal Durham Audio Documentary Project
- Camera Digita: Portraits of AI’s Role in the Futures of All
- Choose Your Words Carefully: Storytelling, Duke Magazine and the University’s Black Community
- Geer Cemetery: Labor, Dignity and Practices of Freedom in an African American Burial Ground
- Hardship and Resilience: Experiences of International Students during COVID-19
- Mapping Roots with Migrant Roots Media
- Public Art as Public Health: Moving Messages of Dementia Inclusion
- The Seat of Fascism: Narratives of Repression and Resistance in North Carolina
- What This Land Has Seen: The Past and Future of the Duke Campus Farm
- What’s Past Is Prologue: Exploring the Intersectionality between Race, Justice and Disability in North Carolina
Past Projects and Participants