Digital Liberal Arts
The Transylvania Digital Liberal Arts initiative launched in 2017 as an effort to teach students how digital technologies affect the world of today and tomorrow. You’ll learn to use technology to enhance your learning, your research and your art to give you a leg up in job markets that are constantly evolving to keep up with new innovations.
The goal of this initiative is to support your academic experience with tools and spaces dedicated to cutting-edge digital technologies. You’ll work with faculty who will encourage you to play and experiment—using your creativity to develop new ways of expressing yourself.
We got experience with the technical aspects of audio editing. That played a large role in the video I put together; learning how nuanced that work is was a big benefit. It really helped give me a foundation and see areas where I could grow.
Lesley Goodaker
Facilities
MORLAN GALLERY
The Morlan Gallery, Transylvania’s art gallery, has been home to several recent digital art exhibitions, including “Lavish,” a sensory experience portraying biodiversity in the Pine Mountain region of Kentucky.
CARPENTER ACADEMIC CENTER
The new Carpenter Academic Center, opened in 2018, is outfitted with cutting-edge technologies that allow for group interaction with all the latest tools necessary for collaboration in a digital age.
COMPUTER SCIENCE LAB
Students have a variety of technological tools at their fingertips in the computer science lab, including 3D printers and coding software for programming robots.
DART DIGITAL ARTS TECHNOLOGY LAB
The DArt Lab allows students to produce digital art and music projects with professional tools and programs used throughout the industry.
LIBRARY
The basement of the library has rooms for group work that offer collaborative technology for students to work together on projects and study.
TURING Lab
This Computer Science space includes mixed structure of Ubuntu 16.04 clients and Mac OS X. Equipment includes four 3d Printers, a small object 3d digitizer, and a large object digitizer.
Courses
Take a look at some of the courses and internships that incorporate digital tools:
COURSES
- Integrated Media: Photography
- Integrated Media: Video and Design
- Interactive Music and Multimedia
- Business Writing
- Writing for/with Nonprofits
- Introduction to Music Technology
- Digital Rhetoric
- Foundations of Computer Science
- Interface Programming
- Business Technologies
- Robotics
- Machine Intelligence
- Biologists’ Toolkit
PROGRAMS OF STUDY
INTERNSHIPS
- Radio Eye radio reading service
- Shangri-La Studio
- Kentucky Educational Television
- Woodsongs Old Time Radio Hour
- Spring & Sprout Dental Partners
Student Work
These are just a few examples of digital projects students have recently created.
Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital Adaptive Recreation Program Video
In winter 2015, students in Dr. Kerri Hauman’s Digital Rhetoric class created a video for Cardinal Hill Rehabilitation Hospital’s Adaptive Recreation Program.
Community Action Council Foster Grandparents Recruitment Video
In May term 2015, students in Dr. Kerri Hauman’s and Dr. Scott Whiddon’s Writing for/with Nonprofits class partnered with the Community Action Council for Lexington-Fayette, Bourbon, Harrison and Nicholas Counties, Inc. (CAC) to produce a video to recruit volunteers for their Foster Grandparents Program.
Studio 300 Digital Art and Music Festival
Transylvania hosts this festival every other year to showcase creative manifestations of technology through concerts and exhibitions of digital art and music. Learn more at the Studio 300 Website.
Hexapod: An Entomology Podcast
These short podcast episodes were created during May term 2016 by Transylvania University students enrolled in BIO 1164: Biology and Human Concerns with Dr. Josh Adkins. Listen to more episodes here.
Contacts
Professor Timothy Polashek & Professor Emily Goodman — DLA Co-Directors
Julie Perino — Digital Content and Technology Integration Specialist
dla@transy.edu