We are excited to share our Fall 2026 Continuing Education offerings, featuring a wide range of courses and workshops in documentary film, photography, oral history and audio. Designed for adult learners at every stage of their creative or professional journey, this season offers both hands-on, in-person experiences and flexible online options.
Open to the broader community, our Continuing Education offerings are not limited to Duke students. Courses and workshops are designed for adult learners (18+) from a wide range of backgrounds, including artists, writers, filmmakers, journalists, educators, and anyone interested in documentary practice.
From sharpening your eye for composition to preserving your family history, these courses are built to spark new creative momentum. Throughout the fall, we’ll also host free public talks and community events — stay tuned for details. We look forward to learning alongside you
Self/Archive
This course examines the history, politics, and poetics of self-portraiture through photography, performance, and self-documentation. Through critical discussion, image-making, and a culminating self-portrait project, students will explore the camera as a tool for identity, memory, embodiment, and personal storytelling.
6 Weeks — September 8–October 13, 2026, 6–8 p.m. ET (IN-PERSON)
Registration is closed. Join the waitlist here.
Intro to Darkroom Photography
Discover the magic of film photography by learning to shoot, develop, and print your own black-and-white images in the darkroom.
6 Weeks — September 10–October 15, 2026, 6–8:30 p.m. ET (IN-PERSON)
Registration is closed. Join the waitlist here.
Not Quite CMYK: Full-Color Risograph Printing & Publication
Your photographs, four inks, one publication: master full-color Risograph printing and leave with an edition you made — and a press process you actually understand.
6 Weeks — September 30–November 4, 2026, 6–8 p.m. ET (IN-PERSON)
Learn more and register here.
Intro to Tintype Photography
Discover the 19th-century art of tintype photography—where light, metal, and chemistry converge to create luminous, one-of-a-kind portraits on metal plates.
2 Days — October 24–25, 2026, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. ET (IN-PERSON)
Learn more and register here.
Making It Click: A Beginner's Course on Composition
Composition is the bridge between a fleeting moment and a photo that makes us stop and stare. In Making It Click, we'll build, stretch, challenge, and flex your composition muscles until creating photos with intention becomes second nature.
6 Weeks — October 28–December 9, 2026, 6–8 p.m. ET (IN-PERSON)
Learn more and register here.
From Idea to Release: Navigating the Contemporary Film Ecosystem
A practical, holistic guide to how contemporary films move from concept to audience. The workshop breaks down the real mechanics of development, funding, festivals, project positioning, pitching, and distribution.
6 Weeks — September 3–October 8, 2026, 6–8 p.m. ET (ONLINE)
Registration is closed. Join the waitlist here.
Intro to Cinematic Investigative Documentary
Led by a Peabody-winning investigative documentary filmmaker, this deep-dive course takes students inside “cinematic investigative documentary.” Films like The Thin Blue Line, Capturing the Friedmans, Paradise Lost, Murder on Sunday Morning, and Southwest of Salem, or TV’s Making a Murder and The Jinx are included in this genre. The class spans from the first spark of an idea to the shaping of a rigorous, emotionally compelling nonfiction films. Students may approach the class as either an introduction to the professional tools, ethics, and creative process of “prestige” documentary filmmaking, or as a workshop for developing their own nonfiction film or series project. Featuring guest speakers with significant industry experience, assigned documentaries and readings, and active in-class discussion, the course offers a real-world view of how ambitious documentary work is developed, produced, and brought to audiences. Weekly office hours to develop student ideas will be offered.
10 Weeks — September 15–November 17, 2026, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m. ET (ONLINE)
Registration is closed. Join the waitlist here.
Intro to Video Editing Workshop
A beginner-friendly two-day workshop on video editing in Adobe Premiere Pro, using documentary interview footage to introduce core editing tools, workflow, and storytelling techniques.
2 Days — December 5–6, 2026, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. ET (IN-PERSON)
Learn more and register here.
Audio Scene-Making: A Two-Day Bootcamp
In this two-day, hands-on intensive you will learn basic ways to use audio editing software (Adobe Audition) and produce our own 2-3-minute stories from scratch.
2 Days — November 7–8, 2026, 10 a.m.– 4 p.m. ET (IN-PERSON)
Learn more and register here.
The Living Archive: Story, Land, and Relationship in Documentary Practice
Reimagine your documentary practice through a relational approach rooted in land while developing or refining a creative project that honors place, memory, and ecological relationship.
6 Weeks — September 1–October 6, 2026, 6–8 p.m. ET (ONLINE)
Registration is closed. Join the waitlist here.
The Power of Storytelling in Work & Life
The Power of Storytelling in Work & Life is a six-week course that equips professionals with the frameworks, presence, and practice to craft compelling stories that create inspiring outcomes—from pitching ideas and leading teams to navigating conflict and building a brand.
6 Weeks — September 15–October 20, 2026, 6–8 p.m. ET (ONLINE)
Registration is closed. Join the waitlist here.
Individual Project Review
Two individualized project reviews offering artists and filmmakers focused feedback, creative guidance, and dedicated time to move their work forward.
Two 75-minute sessions — Session 1: November 3-4, 2026 | Session 2: February 23-24, 2027 (IN-PERSON or ONLINE)
Learn more and register here.
Making and Moving: Tools for Sustaining Your Art Practice
Every creative practice lives in the body, yet most artists are never taught to listen to it. This workshop gives art makers across all art forms the tools to build a sustainable relationship with their craft through listening and attending to the body. (No dance or movement experience needed)
2 Days — November 7–8, 2026, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. ET (IN-PERSON)
Learn more and register here.
Writing Family: The Craft of Memoir
In this two-day memoir writing intensive, participants will learn how to transform family experiences into compelling memoir through close readings, generative writing exercises, and guided workshops. Taught by an uncle and his niece, both professional writers, this course will combine craft techniques with an exploration of the ethical and creative questions that arise when representing real people, especially family members, on the page.
2 Days — November 14–15, 2026, 10 a.m.–4 p.m. ET (IN-PERSON)
Learn more and register here.
The Living Archive: Story, Land, and Relationship in Documentary Practice
Reimagine your documentary practice through a relational approach rooted in land while developing or refining a creative project that honors place, memory, and ecological relationship.
6 Weeks — September 1–October 6, 2026, 6–8 p.m. ET (ONLINE)
Registration is closed. Join the waitlist here.
From Idea to Release: Navigating the Contemporary Film Ecosystem
A practical, holistic guide to how contemporary films move from concept to audience. The workshop breaks down the real mechanics of development, funding, festivals, project positioning, pitching, and distribution.
6 Weeks — September 3–October 8, 2026, 6–8 p.m. ET (ONLINE)
Registration is closed. Join the waitlist here.
Intro to Cinematic Investigative Documentary
Led by a Peabody-winning investigative documentary filmmaker, this deep-dive course takes students inside “cinematic investigative documentary.” Films like The Thin Blue Line, Capturing the Friedmans, Paradise Lost, Murder on Sunday Morning, and Southwest of Salem, or TV’s Making a Murder and The Jinx are included in this genre. The class spans from the first spark of an idea to the shaping of a rigorous, emotionally compelling nonfiction films. Students may approach the class as either an introduction to the professional tools, ethics, and creative process of “prestige” documentary filmmaking, or as a workshop for developing their own nonfiction film or series project. Featuring guest speakers with significant industry experience, assigned documentaries and readings, and active in-class discussion, the course offers a real-world view of how ambitious documentary work is developed, produced, and brought to audiences. Weekly office hours to develop student ideas will be offered.
10 Weeks — September 15–November 17, 2026, 11 a.m.–12:30 p.m. ET (ONLINE)
Registration is closed. Join the waitlist here.
The Power of Storytelling in Work & Life
The Power of Storytelling in Work & Life is a six-week course that equips professionals with the frameworks, presence, and practice to craft compelling stories that create inspiring outcomes—from pitching ideas and leading teams to navigating conflict and building a brand.
6 Weeks — September 15–October 20, 2026, 6–8 p.m. ET (ONLINE)
Registration is closed. Join the waitlist here.
Fluid Master: The Zen of Auto Mechanics
Join artist Kenya (Robinson) for a free artist talk exploring cars, documentary filmmaking, and the unexpected systems and stories beneath the surface.
October 1, 2026, 5 p.m–6:30 p.m. ET
Learn more and rsvp here.
Turbo Tarot
Using the first-edition TURBO TAROT, Kenya (Robinson) explores the integrated systems of a passenger vehicle through the symbolic framework of the tarot.
October 3, 2026, 10 a.m–12:00 p.m. ET
Learn more and rsvp here.
Cosmic Origins Family Event
Come experience Cassandra Klos’s exhibition, Cosmic Origins, and imagine what life might look like in space through art, science, and hands-on activities.
October 24, 2026, 11 a.m.–4 p.m. ET
Learn more and rsvp here.