Check out the Thompson Writing Program's Fall 2021 Featured Writing Course! Writing 270S Fall 2021 Tuesday/Thursday 3:30-4:45 Instructor: Joseph Ren Cyber Connections: Writing in a Time of Climate Crisis ALP, W The opening decades of the 21st century have witnessed ever intensifying climate catastrophes-- record numbers of hurricanes, record wildfires, continental drought. These catastrophes have in turn compounded staggering social inequality and apparent governmental dysfunction/ Consequently, the apparent… read more about TWP's Fall 2021 Featured Writing Course »
DURHAM, N.C. -- Plagiarism – reprinting another person’s work word-for-word without credit -- is a firing offense in most workplaces and can easily get a college student suspended or even expelled from school. But what about so-called ‘self-plagiarism,’ reusing your own words? It depends, says a group of scholars who have spent years studying text recycling in STEM fields and developing clear guidelines specifically for researchers. “There’s nothing clear and authoritative out there,” said Duke professor of the practice… read more about Text Recycling Project Provides Guidance on 'Self-Plagiarism' »
A March 24 panel discussion in response to the increase of violence against people of Asian descent, including the mass shootings in Atlanta earlier this month, attracted more than 670 Duke faculty, staff and students. Moderated by Nayoung Aimee Kwon, the online event featured presentations on the historical context of anti-Asian violence from Susan Thananopavarn, Eileen Chow and Esther Kim Lee. Syllabus on Asian-American History and Culture In response to recent acts of violence against Asian Americans stemming from a… read more about The History of Violence Against Asian Americans »
The Office for Faculty Advancement has awarded seed grants to 14 faculty-led projects exploring new ideas and expanding existing initiatives to promote an equitable and inclusive academic environment at Duke. The theme for this cycle was "Confronting Racism and Bias: Fostering an Inclusive Community." Faculty Advancement Seed Grants provide a financial head start for novel faculty development initiatives within academic units. 2021-22 Faculty Advancement Seed Grants Art, Art History and Visual Studies Anti-Racist Pedagogy… read more about Seed Grants Help Faculty Lead the Way in Confronting Racism and Bias »
Congratulations to H. Bondurant for being Awarded the 2021 SWCA (Southeastern Writing Center Association) Graduate Tutor Award for their Writing Center Work and Service. In H.’s time as a consultant at the TWP Writing Studio at Duke University, they have exemplified the spirit of writing center work in their commitment to equity, inclusion, and collaboration. To drop into one of H.’s Graduate Writing Lab sessions is to enter a warm community of writers, with H. providing guidance in goal setting and self-assessment, all… read more about Bondurant Awarded 2021 SWCA Graduate Tutor Award »
As educational institutions seek ways to enhance opportunities for students during the pandemic, the College Board has tapped five Duke University professors to provide recorded lectures to millions of advanced high school students around the world. The new lecture series, called “AP Daily,” offers free, online videos across a variety of college-level topics to students who are learning in person, remotely or in blended learning environments. Students can view the videos independently or Advanced Placement (AP)… read more about Comer Featured in Faculty Lecture Series for Advanced Placement High School Students »
Dr. Monique Dufour is Collegiate Assistant Professor of History and Director of Graduate Student Professional Development at Virginia Tech. She co-leads the Faculty Write annual summer Scholarly Writing Retreat and the Turn to Teaching Series. Read full article on "The Professor is In" site. read more about Teachers are not inexhaustible resources »
Remote learning has been a challenge for many instructors this year. Assessing how best to engage students in a virtual space has involved a lot of experimentation, as well as patience. Instructors can find themselves feeling unsettled when they get blank stares from students on a Zoom meeting. Are they paying attention? Are they doing other tasks on their computer while in class? Without body language to help instructors gauge response from students, knowing when students are… read more about Zoom “Drop-Ins” Engage Students in Writing 101 »
As the colder months draw closer at Duke, sweatshirts emerge from hibernation, and students are awash in the bustle of the semester. All the while, something seems absent. A familiar hum that both annoyed and intrigued students from the moment they arrived on campus: the cicadas. Just weeks ago, their cries filled the treetops, providing an impromptu soundtrack for the start of the semester. Now the familiar sound has faded, replaced by the scuffling of shoes on their way to one of the rare in-person classes. Yes, this year… read more about Writing 101 student gets a class assignment opinion article published in the Chronicle »
On October 9th, 25 faculty members – from eight universities and two community organizations – attended the 3rd Annual Engaged Scholar Writing Retreat. This event is designed for NC faculty and administrators who are involved in community-engaged research and writing. During the six-hour virtual gathering, participants engaged in writing as well as discussions on writing strategies read more about Engaged Scholars across NC Connect at Retreat »
When Dean Valerie Ashby shows up as a guest in your class, sometimes she brings props. Zooming in from her dining room table one morning this October, she hoisted a roll of Kevlar threads toward the camera, questioning whether students were familiar with the material used to create bullet-proof vests. A similarly-sized sample of Nomex came into view next, as she described its flame-retardant properties. “It is the same chemical compound,” said the Trinity College of Arts & Sciences leader, who is a chemist by training… read more about Classroom Drop-ins Build Connections with Students, Tackle Challenging Topics »
In normal times the Duke Reader Project pairs approximately 60 students with outside readers, Duke alums or employees, to help improve students’ writing and reasoning skills. This semester the numbers have almost doubled and the Duke Reader Project is looking for more reader volunteers read more about Duke Reader Project Sees Increase in Student Participation and is Looking for Volunteers »
Duke employees and alumni have a chance to share their expertise and help students with their writing through the Duke Reader Project. The Duke Reader Project is seeking Duke alumni, staff and faculty – called “readers” – to assist undergraduate students with assignments in writing courses for the fall and spring semesters. By participating, Duke alumni and employees use their knowledge to help students improve their communication and reasoning skills. “There is a tremendous amount of knowledge that employees… read more about Help Students One Word at a Time »
Aaron Colton's article “Who (According to Students) Uses the Writing Center: Acknowledging Impressions and Misimpressions of Writing Center Services and User Demographics” will be featured in the new issue of Praxis. This article analyzes the results of a spring 2019 survey of Georgia Tech undergraduates on their understandings and impressions of the services that the Georgia Tech Communication Center provides and the students the center sees most frequently. By comparing such understandings across participants’ self-… read more about Aaron Colton's Article To Be Featured in Praxis »
A small red timer in the shape of a tomato is the key to Sabrina Thomas’ focus. She sets the timer for 25-minutes and gets started on single task such as responding to email, writing a transition paragraph in her book about Black doll production in the 20th century or preparing for an upcoming meeting. When the timer beeps, Thomas takes a 5-minute break. Her practice is known as the Pomodoro Technique, suggests you work on a big or small task in increments of 25 minutes, taking short breaks after each session to do… read more about Pomodoro Technique for Writers »
It's a pleasure to introduce myself and to join the Thompson Writing Program! My affinity for writing centers and composition pedagogy began at Vassar College, where I first found a space for thinking about what it means to be a writer and how to relate to other writers as a peer. I was fortunate in my PhD studies at the University of Virginia and postdoc at Georgia Tech to further my commitment to writing centers, first as a graduate consultant at the UVA Writing Center and then as an assistant director of the Georgia… read more about Introducing Dr. Aaron Colton, Thompson Writing Program Lecturer »
Sarah Parsons is an entomologist with a special love for the interaction between plants and insects. Her research is focused in the area of urban ecology. She studies how urban environments affect insects, as well as plant-insect dynamics. Dr. Parsons received her doctorate in Entomology at NC State University. She also has a Master in Environmental Management from the Nicholas School of the Environment at Duke University, and a B.A. in Environmental Studies from Emory University. Dr. Parsons is… read more about Introducing Dr. Sarah Parsons, Thompson Writing Program Lecturing Fellow »
When writing about their latest discoveries, scientists often have reason to reuse some material from their prior publications. This practice, known as text recycling or “self-plagiarism,” has become the subject of widespread debate. Moskovitz’s Text Recycling Research Project aims to help scientists and editors deal with the ethical and legal complications. read more about TWP faculty member Cary Moskovitz featured in NIEHS magazine story »
The Thompson Writing Program is teaming up with the rest of the Duke community to commemorate the Class of 2020 on May 10th at 10:00am. Marking the Moment is a digital experience Duke has created to celebrate the graduating students. Download the Thompson Writing Program's Marking the Moment's slideshow! To read President Vince Price Marking the Moment announcement, you can find the information here. read more about Marking The Moment: Duke Class of 2020 »
I have been attending Faculty Write writing groups for years now, either as a participant or as a convener. I look forward to them every single time. Though I consider myself an introvert, I have come to realize that I need to feel that I am working in a community that will sustain me and my efforts. And that is what I have felt from the very beginning with the writing groups: unqualified support, a non-judgmental atmosphere, and marking off an occasion to focus on one task. It is one of the things I miss the most about… read more about A sense of a week, a sense of community: When our writing group moved online »
In collaboration with Learning Innovation & Bass Connections, Emily Parks offers a Writing 101 course to help students navigate scientific thinking and communication. Students will work in small teams to explore a research project at Duke, interviewing the scientific team leading the study. read more about Emily Parks joins Collaborative Project Courses Faculty Fellows Program »
Part of the role of a university press is to help authors identify the right publishing home for their work, even if that means “losing” the project to another press, Duke University Press Director Dean Smith told an audience of Duke faculty members, staff and students last week. Smith’s comments were part of a conversation that also featured Julia Reidhead, president of W. W. Norton & Company, that provided advice for both prospective authors and students considering careers in publishing. Moderator Ed Balleisen… read more about Advice for Would-be Book Authors »
A group of Duke faculty members received a new tool last week in the fight against writer’s block: dance. A Feb. 15 writing retreat taught scholars how to get their writing moving. The retreat, a collaboration between Duke Arts and the Duke Faculty Write program mixed traditional writing tricks with embodied movement tools. It was co-taught by Jennifer Ahern-Dodson from the Thompson Writing Program and Sarah Wilbur from the Duke Dance program. The retreat approached the act of… read more about Need to Get Past That Writer's Block? Get Up and Dance »
On Tuesday, October 30, 2018, historian Nicole Elizabeth Barnes joined the Faculty Write Program's First Book Faculty Writing Group to talk about her experience writing her first book, Intimate Communities: Wartime Healthcare and the Birth of Modern China 1937-1945 (University of CA Press, 2018). Barnes’ first book started as a dissertation that undertook a revisionist history of wartime healthcare in China from the perspective of women’s & gender history in the 1930s and 1940s. Barnes… read more about How I Wrote My First Book »
Authorship remains both a primary means for sharing scientific discovery and a primary currency for demonstrating an individual’s scientific contribution. Consequently, deciding authorship has the potential to impact careers, funding for future research, and intellectual credit for a body of work. The Duke Office of Scientific Integrity (DOSI) recently hosted a Research Town Hall “Whose Paper is it Anyway? A Discussion on Authorship." We used live audience polling to guide the session and bring… read more about Whose Paper is it Anyway? A Discussion on Authorship »
“As scholars, we often find ourselves being asked to separate teaching from scholarship from service,” says Dr. Jennifer Ahern-Dodson, Assistant Professor of the Practice in the Thompson Writing Program and founder of the Faculty Write Program. The reality, however, is that all of those components are inextricably linked, as experience in one sphere enhances perspective in another. Recognizing this, Ahern-Dodson seeks to provide a space for faculty doing community-engaged work to take the time to thoughtfully integrate… read more about Building and Sustaining Momentum as Engaged Scholars »
On November 9, 2018, Jennifer Ahern-Dodson spoke with Engaged Scholars Emily Janke and Rebecca Dumlao about their writing lives. Emily Janke is Associate Professor of the Peace and Conflict Studies department and Director of the Institute for Community and Economic Engagement at UNC Greensboro. Rebecca Dumlao is Professor in the School of Communication at East Carolina University. Together, Janke and Dumlao shared their experience as collaborators, researchers, and writers with the participants at the fall… read more about "How I Write": A Conversation with Engaged Scholars Emily Janke and Rebecca Dumlao »
This month two faculty members in the North Carolina Campus Compact network will begin one-year terms as Engaged Faculty Scholars. Dr. Jennifer Ahern-Dodson of Duke University and Dr. Rebecca Dumlao of East Carolina University (ECU) are the fourth pair of NC faculty members selected for the role, which was created in 2015. Ahern-Dodson and Dumlao will receive support from the Compact and from their respective institutions as they undertake a project designed to deepen the scholarship of campus-community… read more about Jennifer Ahern-Dodson named Engaged Faculty Scholar by NC Campus Compact »