In Dr. Kusum Knapczyk’s elementary Hindi class, we had a theater workshop where a guest entered the classroom. The first thing I noticed was her black sari—glittering and dramatic yet reserved. Accustomed to vibrant purple, green, red, and gold tones of my mother’s saris, I remember thinking, ‘I’ve never seen a black sari’. Surely, it signaled something unique about its wearer. As Mayuri Raman began to speak, the second thing I noticed was her animated style of speech. As she described her career in Indian drama spaces… read more about Broadening the Canon: Encountering Indian Theater »
On Monday April 6th, our Hindi 102 class took a field trip to the kitchen inside the Duke chapel for a cooking class. We were joined by Priya Amaresh Ji, the Hindu Chaplain here at Duke to teach us about Ayurveda and cooking. Professor Kusum Knapczyk continues to find meaningful and fun ways to bring cultural understanding into our experience learning Hindi. During the session, we prepared mango rice, chana salad, and chai. Additionally, we had ripe mangoes and barfi for dessert. Alongside cooking, we were introduced to the… read more about Exploring Food, Culture, and Ayurveda Through Cooking »
Last week, the Asian & Middle Eastern Studies (AMES) department gathered to celebrate the career of Professor Carolyn Kun Shan Lee as she concludes her final semester at Duke this spring. During the reception, students, colleagues, family, and friends reminisced over fond memories and shared the positive impact Professor Lee has had on the Duke community and beyond. Professor Lee has been instrumental in constructing Duke’s robust Chinese language program, which includes a dual-track curriculum… read more about Celebrating the Career of Professor Carolyn Kun Shan Lee »
Mariam Gulamhusein is a senior from Dubai, UAE double majoring in Asian & Middle Eastern Studies and Economics. In addition to serving as a Trinity Ambassador, she is also a Climate & Sustainability Green Devil with Duke Athletics, and a member of the Climate Commitment Advisory Council leadership team. Gulamhusein is the chief of staff for Duke Student Government, lead editor of Research Africa Reviews and she studied abroad through the Duke in the Arab World program. In her spare time, she enjoys running, visiting… read more about Mariam Gulamhusein '26: Leadership, Curiosity and Global Perspectives »
Before this lesson, my understanding of fasting was fairly narrow. I associated it primarily with intermittent fasting, or with religious observances such as Ramadan or Lent. I had not considered it as a practice with a long, cross-cultural intellectual history, one that extends back to ancient Greece, nor did I expect it to complicate my understanding of something as fundamental as “freedom.”Our Hindi 204 class taught by Anshul ji recently explored Fasting: History, Tradition, and Practice, and it became one… read more about Discipline is Freedom: What Hindi 204 Taught Me About Fasting »
Growing up in the South Asian diaspora often involves hearing so much about a culture you can never fully grasp—having half-baked ideas of games, traditions and customs that you put together through stories from your parents or from Bollywood films. Through an interactive and immersive curriculum, Dr. Kusum Knapczyk’s Hindi class offers South-Asian-American Dukies the opportunity to reconnect with their ancestral culture which they’ve long given up hope of fully understanding.Coming into Kusum Ji’s Hindi class I had a loose… read more about Kabaddi Kabaddi Kabaddi: Connecting with Indian Culture through Sport »
Every day in Dr. Kusum Knapczyk’s Hindi class feels like stepping into a new world, where learning goes far beyond textbooks and vocabulary lists. Instead of limiting ourselves to reading and writing, we are constantly encouraged to engage with the language in real, meaningful ways. One of the most memorable experiences that truly captured this approach was our interaction with Adhitya Dhanapal, Duke’s Resident Librarian for South and Southeast Asian Studies. His visits to our class transformed the learning environment into… read more about Bridging Language and Culture: A Conversation with Adhitya Dhanapal »
Last month, the Asian & Middle Eastern Studies (AMES) department at Duke University hosted a gathering to say farewell to Professor Satendra (Satti) Khanna as he sets to retire at the end of the 2025-26 academic year. This celebration gathered students, faculty, staff, friends, and family to recognize Professor Khanna’s impact on the Duke community and beyond. In addition to his academic contributions in the fields of Indian cinema, Hindi literature, and translation, Professor Khanna has demonstrated his… read more about Celebrating the Career of Satendra Khanna, Ph.D. »
DURHAM, N.C. (RNS) — Mohsen Kadivar follows the war in Iran with a growing sense of déjà vu.A research professor of Islamic studies at Duke University, he has been living in exile from his native Iran for 18 years. A staunch critic of the regime in Tehran and an advocate for democratic reforms, Kadivar now believes the United States is undergoing a similar descent into authoritarian rule.Kadivar supported the 1979 revolution that ushered in the Islamic Republic, hoping it would bring about a more just society. Things didn’t… read more about Iranian Duke Scholar: War Will Increase Religious Fundamentalism Around the World »
2025 has been an eventful year for the Hebrew program! We started off in February with a bilingual poetry workshop in conjunction with the Arabic program, inviting poet Almog Behar to share his work as an artist whose heritage is both Jewish Israeli and Arab Mizrachi. Reading his poetry in both languages inspired thoughtful conversations about the role of language in shaping a person’s sense of identity.In April we kicked off our new end-of-semester “Portfolio Showcase,” in which students from all levels of Hebrew gather to… read more about Hebrew Language Program: 2025 In Review »
Dr. Kusum Knapczyk’s Hindi class went on a library visit, and I had a great experience there. Our Hindi class met with Dr. Adhitya Dhanapal, the South Asian Studies librarian, who introduced himself and talked about Duke’s extensive collection of South Asian texts and materials. I had no idea Duke had such a vast collection, spanning multiple languages, regions, and historical periods. After his talk, we participated in several activities and practiced all four skills—reading, writing, listening, and speaking. We began… read more about Exploring South Asian Resources at Perkins Library »
Three Duke scholars were honored with prizes from the Southeast Regional Conference of the Association for Asian Studies (SEC-AAS). The SEC-AAS is a non-political, non-profit scholarly organization dedicated to promoting the study of Asian in the southeastern region of the United States. The 2026 graduate paper prize went to second-year East Asian Studies MA student Daniel Zhang, whose article "Shaping Minds Through Play" uses a curated museum exhibition framework to demonstrate how the traditional Japanese… read more about Three Duke Scholars Win Awards From Southeast Regional Conference of the Association for Asian Studies »
Are cell phones to blame for the youth loneliness epidemic? AMES Professor Kimberly Hassel argues the negative (no) in her debate piece recently published in the January 2026 issue of The Nation Magazine while Professor David Landes (Thompson Writing Program at Duke) argues the affirmative (yes). In her response, Professor Hassel argues that the youth loneliness epidemic in the United States is a symptom of late-stage capitalism, decline of third places, and a society unable to support or protect its… read more about Kimberly Hassel published in The Nation Magazine »
Nil Nyah, a Japanese major in the Class of 2027, presented her research, “The Interpretation of English Bare Plurals by Native Japanese Speakers,” as a talk with her advisor, Dr. Yunchuan Chen, at the 2026 Linguistic Society of America Annual Meeting in New Orleans on January 11, 2026. read more about Japanese Program Student Presents Research at National Linguistics Conference »
Mid-print in the Co-Lab, where students transformed their names into 3D forms using Hindi/Sanskrit scripts. (Photo courtesy of Kusum Knapczyk) Typically, a visit to the Innovation Co-Lab isn’t on the syllabus for most language classes, but in Kusum Knapczyk’s elementary Hindi classes, technology is definitely part of the lesson plan. The senior lecturer in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies has long embraced technology as a tool to help students connect language to… read more about When Technology Imprints on Language Learning »
Navya writes: Working on the “My Name, My Story” project in Dr. Kusum Knapczyk’s class was a meaningful experience that allowed me to reflect deeply on the personal and cultural significance of my name. Living in New York my whole life, I’ve gotten so used to hearing the Americanized version of my name that I almost forgot how it’s actually supposed to sound. Through this project, I reconnected with my name’s real pronunciation and meaning, and I learned how much love and care my parents put into… read more about My Name, My Story: Connecting Identity and Language Through Hindi »
Yan Liu, Associate Professor of the Practice in Asian and Middle Eastern Studies (AMES) and Director of the Chinese Language Program has received the 2025 Klett Award for Sustainable Development Education in the World Language Classroom from the American Council on the Teaching of Foreign Languages (ACTFL). The award honors Liu’s innovative work embedding themes of global sustainability, intercultural understanding, and social responsibility into language education. Through courses such as China and the… read more about Yan Liu Receives Award for Sustainable Development Education in the World Language Classroom »
Duke’s Trinity College of Arts & Sciences has invited its faculty to submit proposals for the creation of new research initiatives on campus.Following the successful launches of the SPACE Initiative and the Society-Centered AI Initiative, the Trinity Research Initiative will support new directions for interdisciplinary research through seed funding for nascent research collaborations, community-building, and complementary educational and outreach activities.Open to all areas of research and… read more about Trinity College of Arts & Sciences Invites Proposals for New Research Initiatives »
What do cooking dumplings and meeting a former Chair of the Joint Chiefs of Staff have in common?Both are memorable experiences first-year students had this fall, thanks to Trinity College’s Arts & Sciences Curriculum.Finding your footing in a new place can be challenging, but the Arts & Sciences Curriculum’s First-Year Experience helps students make meaningful connections from the moment they arrive on campus.All first-year students in Trinity College participate in the First-Year Experience through… read more about Building Connections Through the First-Year Experience »
Learning Hindi with Professor Kusum Knapczyk is never confined to the classroom or the textbook. Her teaching style encourages students to explore the language through its art, music, and traditions, allowing us to truly experience Indian culture. Earlier this semester, our Hindi 101 class had the wonderful opportunity to learn a Bollywood dance to the song Balam Pichkari under the guidance of upperclassman Shankul Lohakare. Before we began, Shankul explained how the song is closely associated with … read more about Bollywood Beats in Hindi Class: Dancing Our Way to Learning »
Hindi 101 is a very special language class. In addition to learning how to read, write and speak, Dr. Kusum Knapczyk emphasizes experiential learning and immersing ourselves in Indian culture. Recently, Hindi 101 students came together with friends and family on Family Weekend for a memorable cooking class. The class began by preparing ingredients for pav bhaji, mango lassi and pani puri. Students had read recipes beforehand and were ready to jump into the cooking process, with guidance from Kusum ji.One of my favorite… read more about A Taste of Culture: Hindi 101’s Cooking Class »
In Kusum Knapczyk’s Hindi class, learning is never confined to four walls—it blossoms in the open air. This week, students stepped outside the classroom with handouts full of intriguing clues and ventured into the lush beauty of Duke Gardens for an interactive scavenger hunt. Their mission? Decode clues in Hindi, find the objects, and capture them in photos.One clue read: “There is a flower in the garden that is also a vegetable, and we eat it with love.” After some lively discussion, students cracked the answer—… read more about Learning Beyond the Classroom: A Fun and Memorable Scavenger Hunt »
It must have been the late 2000s when I returned to Istanbul for winter break. My plane landed during the evening rush hour, so I stocked up on snacks, ready for the long ride home through the city’s notorious traffic. But to my surprise, the streets were empty — a sight I had never witnessed growing up in this restless metropolis.The taxi driver soon solved the mystery: Ezel, a new television drama, was airing that night, and everyone was glued to their screens. The show followed a young man betrayed by his… read more about What Is Your Favorite Turkish Drama? »
Four Japanese Program students — Mina Kim (Japanese major, Class of 2026), Nil Nyah (Japanese major, Class of 2027), Raymond Xiong (Japanese 305 student, Class of 2026), and Daniel Zhang (graduate student in East Asian Studies) — participated in the inaugural Duke & Ochanomizu Student Workshop held on October 14, 2025, at Ochanomizu University in Tokyo, Japan.During the morning session, each Duke student presented their individual research project on the Japanese language, followed by three presentations from Ochanomizu… read more about Japanese Program Students Visit Japan for Workshop at Ochanomizu University »
I walked into Penn Pavilion with the plan to stop by one or two tables for a quick chat. I left hours later with a bag full of free goodies and a newfound understanding of what being a student at Duke can look like.The seemingly endless aisles of tables featuring academic departments, certificate programs and student resources felt like a maze of different opportunities and possibilities. Each table was decorated to be its own vibrant universe. While I may have stopped by a few tables for their bowls full of treats or the… read more about A First-Year Student’s Perspective on the Majors Fair »
On September 26, a group of Duke faculty representing several disciplines gathered in person for the first meeting of the new “Teaching in the Age of AI” Faculty Learning Community (FLC), led by Jennifer Ahern-Dodson, Associate Professor of the Practice in the Thompson Writing Program, and supported by CARADITE. Attendees exchanged introductions and reflected on their attitudes toward generative AI — a mix of excitement and caution — and their motivations for joining this new venture. read more about Teaching in the Age of AI: A New Faculty Learning Community Takes Root at Duke »
Friday, November 14, 4:30 am - 6:30 amSpeaker(s): Mbaye LoMbaye Lo presents "Rediscovering Lost Archives: The Autobiography of Omar ibn Said, an Enslaved Muslim Scholar"SponsorAsian & Middle Eastern Studies (AMES)LocationJohn Hope Franklin Center, Ahmadieh Family Conference Hall, Room 240ContactCarlos Rojasc.rojas@duke.edu read more about Mbaye Lo, "Rediscovering Lost Archives: The Autobiography of Omar ibn Said, an Enslaved Muslim Scholar" »
Penn State students, scholars and community members joined together Tuesday to celebrate the centenary of civil rights activist Malcolm X’s birth. Held at the Hintz Family Alumni Center, the event was organized by a range of contributors including the Borough of State College, Penn State’s Department of African American Studies and Webster’s Bookstore Cafe. It featured panel discussions, poetry readings, refreshments and more. read more about Ellen McLearney Honors Malcolm X’s Legacy at Penn State Event »
Sung Eun Kim is an historian of modern Korea whose scholarship examines how race and gender shaped the experiences of colonial soldiering, particularly at the intersection of Korean militarism and U.S. imperialism in the Asia-Pacific region. His research centers on the Korean Augmentation to the United States Army Soldier, or KATUSA. The program was created in 1950 at the outbreak of the Korean War to embed South Korean soldiers into U.S. Army units in the region. Remarkably, this form of conscription continues in South… read more about Sung Eun Kim Explores the Military Ties Between Korea and the U.S. »
