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The CMDC of the Department of DTC

The Creative Media & Digital Culture (CMDC) of the Department of Digital Technology & Culture (DTC) teaches students to conceptualize, in both research and practice, applications of digital technologies and to think critically about digital media and the ways humans interact and engage with them. The CMDC focuses on six areas of study within the field of digital media: 1) web & mobile design & development, 2) 2 & 3D animation for simulation and visualization, 3) digital publishing, 4) physical computing, 5) social media / SEO for digital marketing, and 6) game studies & design.

The brainchild of Vancouver campus administrators––Hal Dengerink, Leslie Wykoff, and Tim Hunt––The CMDC was founded in 1997 as the Electronic Communications and Culture program on the Vancouver campus and envisioned as an interdisciplinary program that looks critically and responded creatively to issues relating to digital media. The name was changed to Digital Technology & Culture in 2003 when the program was approved to offer the B.A. degree. That same year it was adopted by both the Pullman and TriCities campuses. In 2006 the program extended its offerings to emphasize hands-on practice to accompany and enhance its theoretical focus. When it was approved to become an independent academic program on the Vancouver campus in 2010, the name was changed to the Creative Media & Digital Culture program. In fall 2022 it joined the Pullman and TriCities campuses into a department but continues to maintain its special flavor––and name. With over 200 majors, The CMDC is recognized as one of five Signature Programs at WSUV.

The CMDC logo

About the Electronic Literature Lab

Founded and directed by Dr. Dene Grigar, the Electronic Literature Lab (ELL) contains 61 vintage Macintosh & PC computers, dating back from 1977, vintage software, peripherals, and a library of over 300 works of electronic literature and other media. It is used for the advanced inquiry into the curation, documentation, preservation, conservation, and production of born-digital art, literature, and video games. The lab also sponsors the CMDC Studios, a group of alums and students from The CMDC who experiment with game design & development and create games.

In 2013 the lab was the site for developing the methodology for documenting interactive media, a NEH-funded project called Pathfinders. Recognizing the need to save the local files of interactive media for long-term preservation, Grigar led the lab in 2018 in creating a repository of born-digital literature, art, and games for the Electronic Literature Organization (ELO), funded by a seed grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. The site was later rebranded and re-created as ELO’s The NEXT, a virtual museum/library/preservation space. It was awarded the 2022 Open Scholarship Award by the Canadian Social Knowledge Institute.

In 2019 the lab moved beyond documentation activities to the conservation of works that had become inaccessible to the public. Richard Holeton’s 2001 hypertext novel Figurski at Findhorn on Acid, Thomas M. Disch’s 1986 text adventure Amnesia, Sarah Smith’s 1991 King of Space, Stuart Moulthrop’s 1991 hypertext novel Victory Garden, and Annie Grosshans’ 2013 hypertext essay “The World Was Not Done Yet,” along with over 700 works of Flash, figure as reconstruction or restoration projects ELL has undertaken over the last four years.