David Duncan traces his career as an oral historian to his experience as a first responder. “My eight years of medical experience with thousands of patients provided a strong foundation for oral history work,” he says.
Introducing David Duncan, Postdoctoral Fellow in Oral History and Social Justice
Joining Duke University on July 1, David Duncan is the second Bill and Lorna Chafe Postdoctoral Fellow in Oral History and Social Justice at the Duke Center for Documentary Studies (CDS) and the Department of History.
An oral historian, instructor, and podcaster, Duncan brings a practice that bridges academic inquiry with public engagement and policy. He earned his Ph.D. in history from University of California, Santa Cruz in June 2026.
Duncan’s approach to oral history is shaped by his earlier career as an EMT and reserve firefighter. “I worked in many different settings across the San Francisco Bay Area, from ambulances to large gatherings,” he says. “When I was introduced to oral history after leaving the field, I discovered many parallels between the social component of patient care and interviewing.”
“I discovered many parallels between the social component of patient care and interviewing.”
Oral history allows him to continue connecting with people and serving communities. At UC Santa Cruz, Duncan’s dissertation on school desegregation in the Bay area linked historical events with ongoing social justice and education issues, leading to historical consulting for a 2019 desegregation court order and a community dialogue series. He helped create The Empty Year: An Oral History of the Pandemic(s) at UC Santa Cruz for the UC Santa Cruz Library and led the university’s podcast, Slugcast, for four years. As an instructor, Duncan designed and taught History in Action: Oral History Practice, introducing students to oral history theory and methods while guiding them in developing their own projects.
During his two-year postdoctoral fellowship at Duke, Duncan will teach two courses per year: an introduction to oral history methodology and practice, and a project-based course potentially in partnership with a community organization, cultural institution, or history museum. He will participate in the intellectual life of CDS and the Department of History and assist in the development of collaborative projects that link these two units and draw on the talents of Duke students.
“I’m excited to continue engaging in oral history work that centralizes relationship-building.”
“My interest in this opportunity stems from my passion for oral history and the methodology's ability to create public-facing historical projects and to include the voices of those often left out of the historical record,” says Duncan. “I’m excited to continue engaging in oral history work that centralizes relationship-building and facilitates public engagement in oral history projects.”
CDS and History have a long tradition of engagement with major oral history projects, most notably Behind the Veil: Documenting African American Life in the Jim Crow South, and the Student Nonviolent Coordinating Committee (SNCC) Legacy Project.
The search committee for this postdoc was chaired by Dirk Bonker (History), and included Margaret (Lou) Brown (Forum for Scholars and Publics), and John French (History)."
About Bill and Lorna Chafe
In 2017, CDS was the primary beneficiary of a $1 million gift to Duke from CDS cofounder and renowned historian William H. Chafe and longtime educator and social activist Lorna Chafe.
The Lorna and William Chafe Fund supports scholars and documentarians at CDS who are using oral history to address issues of social justice. Such work is central to the organizational mission envisioned more than 30 years ago by Chafe and fellow founders Robert Coles, Alex Harris and Iris Tillman Hill.
From the time they first met at an American Baptist Youth Conference in the late 1950s, the Chafes have shared a commitment to the values of social justice.
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