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LEXINGTON, Ky.—A seminar to foster national dialogue about the role of the liberal arts in the digital age kicked off today at Transylvania University. The Transylvania Seminar, Liberal Education: Approaching the Digital drew professors from schools across the country including Vassar, Rhodes and Bard colleges. It builds on Transylvania’s commitment to prepare students to face the challenges and opportunities of the 21st century with a grounding in liberal arts values.  “The seminar aims to contribute to a national conversation on the idea of liberal education and the mission of the liberal arts college amidst the extraordinary possibilities, as well as the potential challenges, created by digital technologies,” said Laura Bryan, Transylvania’s vice president for academic affairs and dean of the university. Tying into the seminar, Transylvania launched a Digital Liberal Arts initiative last year to teach students how digital technologies affect the world of today and tomorrow. The university also recently added a digital arts and media major and hired a digital content and technology integration specialist. The seminar, which runs through Saturday, features a plenary with Kathleen Fitzpatrick, director of digital humanities and professor of English at Michigan State University. She is the author of “Planned Obsolescence: Publishing, Technology and Future of the Academy” and “The Anxiety of Obsolescence: The American Novel in the Age of Television.” Along with her talk, the seminar is raising questions about how liberal education is changing—and what is its relevance—in the digital age.

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