Faculty Bookwatch
Jointly hosted by the Franklin Humanities Institute and Duke University Libraries since 2004, Faculty Bookwatch is an event series that promotes interdisciplinary conversations on notable recent books by Duke faculty in the humanities and interpretive social sciences. Each program brings together a panel of distinguished colleagues from Duke and other universities, giving brief comments on the significance and impact of the featured book. The author also participates in the panel and the following Q&A.
Scroll below to browse featured books and videos from our Bookwatch archives, and see a chronological listing of all past Faculty Bookwatch programs here.
Associated Department(s)
Featured Programs
Yale University Press, 2020
The Franklin Humanities Institute and Duke University Libraries hosted two virtual events on Richard J. Powell’s Going There: Black Visual Satire (Yale University Press, 2020) on March 22, 2021, and April 9, 2021. In this groundbreaking study, Richard J. Powell investigates the visual forms of satire produced by black artists in 20th- and 21st-century America. Underscoring the historical use of visual satire as antiracist dissent and introspective critique, Powell argues that it has a distinctly African American lineage. Taking on some of the most controversial works of the past century—in all their complexity, humor, and provocation—Powell raises important questions about the social power of art. Session One: Going There: Black Visual... read more about Going There: Black Visual Satire »
Cambridge University Press, 2017
The Franklin Humanities Institute and Duke University Libraries held a Bookwatch event in honor of Sumathi Ramaswamy's Terrestrial Lessons: The Conquest of the World as Globe (Chicago University Press, 2017) on March 3, 2020. Since the sixteenth century, the globe has circulated as a worldly symbol, a scientific instrument, and not least an educational tool for inculcating planetary consciousness. In Terrestrial Lessons, Ramaswamy provides the first in-depth analysis of the globe's history in and impact on the Indian subcontinent during the colonial era and its aftermath. Prof. Ramaswamy also serves as chair of Duke University's History Department and is the James B. Duke Distinguished Professor of History. She describes herself as a... read more about Terrestrial Lessons: The Conquest of the World as Globe »
Duke University Press, 2019
The Franklin Humanities Institute and Duke University Libraries hosted a Faculty Bookwatch panel on The Fixer: Visa Lottery Chronicles (Duke University Press, 2019) on November 19, 2019. In this book, Duke anthropologist Charles Piot follows Kodjo Nicolas Batema, a visa broker—known as a “fixer”—in the West African nation of Togo as he helps his clients apply for the U.S. Diversity Visa Lottery program. Through detailed and compelling stories, The Fixer illustrates the desire and savviness of migrants as they work to find what they hope will be a better life. Panelists included: Moderator: Ranjana Khanna, Director, Franklin Humanities Institute; Professor of English, Literature, & Gender, Sexuality, and Feminist Studies Ian Baucom,... read more about The Fixer: Visa Lottery Chronicles »
All Bookwatch Programs
The Franklin Humanities Institute and Duke University Libraries hosted a Faculty Bookwatch... read more about The Banjo: America's African Instrument »
The Franklin Humanities Institute and Duke University Libraries hosted a Faculty Bookwatch panel... read more about The Mafia: A Cultural History »
What lies "under the hood" of a scholarly book? In a special edition of Faculty Bookwatch on March... read more about Project Vox »
What lies "under the hood" of a scholarly book? In a special edition of Faculty Bookwatch on March... read more about French Travel Writing in the Ottoman Empire: Marseilles to Constantinople, 1650-1700 »
What lies "under the hood" of a scholarly book? In a special edition of Faculty Bookwatch on March... read more about #iranelection: Hashtag Solidarity and the Transformation of Online Life »
On Wednesday, March 20, 2013, the Franklin Humanities Institute and Duke University Libraries... read more about The Making of Romantic Love: Longing and Sexuality in Europe, South Asia, and Japan, 900-1200 CE »
