Please sign the petition to support Duke faculty whose jobs are threatened
Read more about the situation in this Duke Chronicle article from 2/11/22
On December 2, the director of the Thompson Writing Program (TWP) informed our faculty of a dramatic overhaul of the program that would change how Writing 101 is taught at Duke. The TWP has taught writing from a multidisciplinary perspective for 20 years, allowing students to choose from a diverse selection of Writing 101 courses and learn how to think, write, and research from a variety of different perspectives. The current TWP faculty represent a wide range of disciplines, including anthropology, neuroscience, sociology, and music, and they have years of experience teaching first-year writing.
This multidisciplinary approach is at the heart of the writing program’s success. In 2020 and 2021, the program was among the top 3 in U.S. News and World Report’s ranking of “Colleges with Great Writing Programs,” most recently finishing above Ivy League institutions like Harvard and Princeton. Students have also voted Writing 101 the top “Must-Take Class” at Duke.
The shift away from a multidisciplinary writing program is not related to the quality of our teaching or Duke’s financial situation. Instead, it is an attack on the Duke Faculty Union. The current multidisciplinary unionized faculty members are being replaced permanently by non-union positions.
𝗜𝗳 𝘆𝗼𝘂 𝘀𝘂𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗿𝘁 𝗮 𝗺𝘂𝗹𝘁𝗶𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗽𝗹𝗶𝗻𝗮𝗿𝘆 𝗪𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝟭𝟬𝟭 𝗳𝗮𝗰𝘂𝗹𝘁𝘆 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗿𝗲𝗻𝗲𝘄𝗮𝗯𝗹𝗲 𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗼𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘀, 𝗽𝗹𝗲𝗮𝘀𝗲 𝘀𝗶𝗴𝗻 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝘀𝗵𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗶𝘀 𝗽𝗲𝘁𝗶𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗹𝗶𝗸𝗲-𝗺𝗶𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗱 𝗳𝗿𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗱𝘀, 𝗰𝗼𝗹𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗴𝘂𝗲𝘀, 𝗳𝗮𝗺𝗶𝗹𝘆 𝗺𝗲𝗺𝗯𝗲𝗿𝘀, 𝗲𝘁𝗰.
Thank you for your support and solidarity!