Cathy N. Davidson

Cathy N. Davidson is a scholar of literature, technology, and education, and DeVarney Distinguished Professor Emerita of Interdisciplinary Studies at Duke University. She served as Duke’s first vice provost for interdisciplinary studies from 1999 to 2006 and co-founded the John Hope Franklin Humanities Institute and HASTAC, a collaborative network focused on the humanities, arts, science, and technology.

Davidson has published more than 20 books, including Revolution and the Word: The Rise of the Novel in America, Closing: The Life and Death of an American Factory with photographer Bill Bamberger, The Future of Thinking: Learning Institutions in a Digital Age with David Theo Goldberg, and Now You See It: How the Brain Science of Attention Will Transform the Way We Live, Work, and Learn. She was appointed by President Barack Obama to the National Council on the Humanities, serving from 2011 to 2017.