The Art, Culture & Technology (ACT) major provides undergraduate students with an understanding of the multiple cultural practices emerging at the intersection of art and technology. While engaged with the fine arts and informed by art history, ACT appeals to students who are more broadly defined creative types.
Fueled by a deep interest in speculation, extrapolation, and science fictioning, ACT brings together art, design, media, culture, and technology studies in a hands-on, collaborative environment. Shaped by an investment in participatory forms of creative expression and critical engagement, ACT faculty and students will strive to create new forms of art, media, experiences, and ways of knowing in the 21st century.
A Convergence of Cultural Action
The ACT major is a convergence of cultural action (interaction, collaboration, engagement, and performance) with bodies of knowledge and practices drawn from across the arts, humanities, and sciences. Our skills and studies are rooted in the various cultures, subcultures, and countercultures shaped by their participants’ practice as makers (for instance, fan communities, gaming cultures, indie electronic scenes, DIY publishing, and experience creators).
ACT asks students to work together to develop strategies and processes for addressing the complex issues posed from the local to the global scales of our communities, mobilizing art and technology in the service of interdisciplinary problem-solving beyond the realm of industry standards and proven application.
Beyond Defined & Familiar
ACT prepares students to work in spaces beyond what is already defined and familiar. To help students acquire a broad spectrum of practical artistic skills and emerging media literacies, the ACT major combines cutting-edge classrooms with new learning spaces that are equal parts studio, laboratory, think-tank, and stage. Integrating powerful desktop computer stations and highly mobile technologies within a variety of interactive, modular smart-spaces, ACT supports new kinds of student-to-peer and student-to-faculty interactions and collaborations.
Degree Requirements
This major requires 48 total credits.
FOUNDATIONS (12 credits):
- ARTT 2000 Introduction to Art, Cultures & Technology
- ARTS 1XXX Foundations Course
- ARTH 1XXX or 2XXX
CULTURES (12 credits)
(2) ARTT Cultures
- ARTT 3700 Topics in Cultures
- ARTT 3790 Spiritual Technologies
- ARTT 37XX Generative Art & The Occult
- ARTT 3720 Cultures of Typographic Design
- ARTT 3750 Sound Cultures
- ARTT 3780 Science Fiction: Digital Culture (redux: Speculative Cultures)
- ARTT 3710 Critical Game Cultures
(1) ARTH 3XXX
ELECTIVES (20 credits)
(3-4) ARTT Studio
- ARTT 3100 Programming for Play
- ARTT 3110 Tabletop Game Design & Prototyping
- ARTT 3112 Big Games: Human-scale game design
- ARTT 3120 Making Critical Games
- ARTT 3210 Typographic Landscapes
- ARTT 3490 Expanded Cinema
- ARTT 3500 Sonic Arts
- ARTT 3600 3D Modeling
- ARTT 3800 Topics in Digital Making
- ARTT 3980 Internship (1-8 Credits)
- ARTT 3991 Independent Study (1-8 Credits)
(1-2) ARTS Digital/Emergent
- ARTS 2822 Digital Printmaking
- ARTS 2823 Risograph Printmaking
- ARTS 2825 Digital Clay
- ARTS 2826 Spatial Video
- ARTS 2827 Radical Matter
- ARTS 2821 Expanded Drawing
- ARTS 2445 Digital Photography and Experimentation
What Can You Do With an ACT Degree?
Indie Video Game Developer
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Digital or Sound Artist
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Visual Projectionist
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Multimedia Producer
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Digital Arts & Humanities Scholar
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Museum Technician
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Creative Technologist
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3D Print Specialist
ACT is for critical thinkers who want to expand the potential of technology in art, design and culture.
Are you ready to learn more about Art, Culture & Technology at DU?
