Digital Studies engages students in the discovery, analysis, and creation of digital information and media. As an interdisciplinary minor, students will gain the academic and technological skills necessary to analyze information and communicate in an increasingly digital world. The Digital Studies Minor requires an introductory course, a capstone course, and elective courses across disciplines of study that explore the creation and use of digital information and the related social, legal, cultural, epistemological, and historical issues. Students will gain technological skills necessary to critically research, evaluate, and produce digital information and new media. Through collaborative work with digital tools, students will produce new information resources and will apply digital technologies in meaningful ways across various disciplines of study. The capstone experience requires independent research, interdisciplinary analysis, technological skills, and the production of a publicly accessible digital studies or new media project.
The minor incorporates (among others) the disciplines of American studies, anthropology, art and art history, communication, computer science, English, historic preservation, history, Spanish, and political science from which students may select elective courses. The minor is open to students from any discipline in the arts and sciences, education, or business colleges at UMW.
Students interested in enrolling in the minor should contact the Coordinator of the Digital Studies Minor for additional details.
Minor Requirements
| Code | Title | Credits |
|---|---|---|
| DGST 101 | Introduction to Digital Studies | 3 |
| Select 12 credits of the following such that at least two disciplines are included and at least 6 credits are 300-level or higher : | 12 | |
| American Foodways | ||
| Digital Approaches to Fine Art | ||
| Digital Video Production | ||
| Animation | ||
| Photography I | ||
| Experimental Documentary | ||
| Multiple Imaging | ||
| Approaches to Video Art | ||
| Visual Rhetoric | ||
| Social Media | ||
| Seminar in Digital Rhetoric | ||
| Digital Storytelling | ||
| Applications of Databases | ||
| Game Programming | ||
| 3D Computer Graphics | ||
| Advanced Web Application Development | ||
| Human-Computer Interaction | ||
| Tinkering, Hacking, and Making | ||
| Special Topics in Digital Studies | ||
| Creative Coding | ||
| Digital Media Studio | ||
| Applied Digital Studies | ||
| Individual Study | ||
| Individual Study | ||
| Writing with Digital Media | ||
| Introduction to Cinema Studies | ||
| Games and Culture | ||
| The Literary Journal: Professional Practice in Publishing and Editing | ||
| Film, Text, and Culture | ||
| Electronic Literature | ||
| The Graphic Novel | ||
| Seminar in New Media | ||
| Introduction to Geographic Information Systems and Cartography | ||
| Archives and Society | ||
| Technology and Culture | ||
| History of the Information Age | ||
| Digital History | ||
| Investigative Journalism | ||
| Magazine Journalism | ||
| Technology for Musicians | ||
| MIDI Composition | ||
| Audio Recording | ||
| Audio Production | ||
| Electroacoustic Techniques | ||
| Mass Media Politics | ||
| US Political Film | ||
| Resource Strategies in Arts Administration | ||
Other courses as approved by the director | ||
| Select a capstone course from the following: | 3 | |
| Approaches to Video Art | ||
| Seminar in Digital Rhetoric | ||
| Digital Studies Seminar | ||
| Individual Study | ||
| Seminar in New Media | ||
| History of the Information Age | ||
| Digital History | ||
Individual studies (491/492) in a related discipline if completed for 3 credits and approved by the director | ||
Other appropriate 400-level course, with approval from program director. | ||
| Total Credits | 18 | |
Communication and Digital Studies Department
P. Anand Rao, Chair and Career Advisor (Communication)
Zachary N. Whalen, Career Advisor (Digital Studies)
Faculty
Professor
P. Anand Rao
Associate Professor
Adria Y. Goldman
Zachary N. Whalen
Elizabeth A. Johnson-Young
Sushma Subramanian
Assistant Professors
Emily D. Crosby
James [J.D.] D. Swerzenski