Duke University
The Gerst Program
In Political, Economic, and Humanistic
Studies
The undergraduate teaching program begins with a freshman Focus Program on Visions of Freedom. This program consists of four demanding courses in Political Economy, English, Philosophy, and History. The courses focus on readings from seminal works in the Western philosophical tradition, important texts in economic theory, European and third world literary works, and contemporary critics of modern liberalism. In any given year this focus program involves 30 students who live together, and take 2 of these 4 seminars in their first semester. In addition they all also take a required writing course that is part of this program. Students also meet once a week for dinner with faculty and a guest speaker.
The Gerst program also includes upper level undergraduate courses on selected topics taught in various fields. We provide course development grants to stimulate faculty to develop new undergraduate courses in this area. Advanced graduate students in the last year of their dissertation work compete for teaching fellowships in this program. A postdoctoral fellow is also funded under this program and teaches two courses per year in this area. At the advanced undergraduate and graduate level, the program supports one interdisciplinary team taught course per year. All of these courses place significant demands on students, not only in terms of daily assignments but also by instituting extensive writing requirements.
The program also tries to provide opportunities for intellectual discourse among faculty and graduate students whose work is concerned with questions of freedom and responsibility. The annual conference brings together nationally renowned scholars, public figures, and students to discuss a variety of topics. The colloquium is comprised of the program’s faculty members, visiting fellows, and advanced students involved in the program. It meets on a regular basis and includes lectures by eminent scholars and public figures. These lectures are open to the larger university community. Students and faculty in the program have the opportunity to meet with the speakers in more intimate settings after the lectures for continued conversation and intellectual intercourse.