“A Worthy Place”: Durham, Duke, and the World of the 1920s-1930s situates Duke spatially and temporally in 1920s and 30s in Durham, which saw great changes leading up to, during, and after the university’s construction. This exhibition explores the complex connections and conflicts between the university and the city as they reimagined their physical and cultural landscapes and as the project of building Duke intervened in the life of the city and its inhabitants. It examines the disconnects between the planning of the city and of the university and the lived experiences of both Durham residents and the Duke community, presents the complex diversity of life in the city in the 1920s and 30s, and provokes conversations about Duke’s role in the emergence of Durham on the regional, national, and world stages. This exhibit was curated by members of the 2023-2024 Bass Connections project team World Building at Duke in an Emerging Durham: 1924-1932.

This exhibit was curated by members of the 2023-2024 Bass Connections project team World Building at Duke in an Emerging Durham: 1924-1932, in partnership with the David M. Rubenstein Rare Book & Manuscript Library.

Co-Curators: Robert Buerglener, Hannah Jacobs, Paul Jaskot, Philip J. Stern, Victoria Szabo, Edward Triplett, in collaboration with Margaret (Meg) Brown.

Digital Feature Designers: Caitlin Childers, Emma Jo Donnelly, Brooke Hira, Hailey Kasney, Elif Ozturk, Celine Shay, and the Bass Connections team members.

Additional Contributors: Annapurna Bhattacharya, Susannah Braswell, Carmen Chavez, Nicholas Eichelberger, Savannah Fitzpatrick, Oliver Hess, Veda Kanduri, Seth Kessler, Nubia Khan, Elaijah Lapay, Yuliya Leberfarb, Disty Mahmud, Ruth Player, Kalei Porter, Isabel Shew, Wendy Vencel, Madison Wall, Jiayi Wang, Nathaniel Waxman, and Malynda Wollert.