Program

Education Programs: Humanities Connections Planning Grants

Period of Performance

6/1/2021 - 5/31/2022

Funding Totals

$35,000.00 (approved)
$28,036.64 (awarded)


Digital Innovation Program

FAIN: AKA-279503-21

Johnson C. Smith University (Charlotte, NC 28216-5398)
Matthew DeForrest (Project Director: September 2020 to March 2024)

Planning a new academic program in digital innovation, integrating computer science, digital communication, philosophy, and ethics.

Johnson C. Smith University (JCSU) will plan, research, and develop the Digital Innovation (DI) Program. The goal of this new program is to integrate the technical knowledge of Computer Science and Digital Communications with habits of mind fostered by the Humanities, and especially those found in Philosophy and Ethics. The desired outcomes for our planning process are straightforward: Within 12 months, we will plan, design, and prepare to propose a new major degree program in DI with an accompanying minor in Digital Ethics. The program will be for those students who desire an interdisciplinary, humanities-based program that tightly integrates digital skills within a humanities framework. The minor program will be for those students in the Communication Arts and STEM areas who wish to focus more on technical skills while still engaging with the humanities in a manner that will both better frame their understanding of the technology and better prepare them to advance in their careers.





Associated Products

Proposed Digital Innovation Program (Course or Curricular Material)
Title: Proposed Digital Innovation Program
Author: Matthew M. DeForrest
Abstract: Digital Innovation is an interdisciplinary field will prepare graduates for careers in the shifting digital landscape. This program combine the skills and knowledge for a rapidly transforming landscape by focusing on conceptual underpinnings, which provide adaptability, rather than the technical needs of the current, which focuses on skills that are certain to change – perhaps before students even graduate. Although there are some technical needs associated with conceptualizing this area, revolutionary change in areas like Voice Interface require a constellation of skills – skills not found in any one discipline.
Year: 2022
Audience: Undergraduate