In Spring 2013, the University of Iowa Digital Studio for the Public Humanities (DSPH) will collaborate on a new undergraduate student seminar that presents a unique form of curriculum: a passport to culture. DSPH researchers are developing an ambitious website for the project.

The new seminar, “Passport Project: Exploring Knowledge,” will engage students in campus- and city-wide active research. Participating first year students will attend 12 or more cultural events over the course of the semester. Students can choose from a broad range of events including art workshops, dance recitals, political forums, science demonstrations, literary readings, and theater productions.

The Passport Project has the goal of enriching the lives of Iowa students and raising cultural awareness. Patrick Reed, academic coordinator for the seminar, says students will be exposed to different cultures, themes, and events that they may not have experienced while at the university.

“[The project] aims to introduce them to the wide variety of high quality cultural and scholarly activity happening at the university and in Iowa City,” Reed says. “It also aims to assist students in exploring other areas of potential or even unexpected interest that are outside their given realms of study.”

DSPH director Jon Winet, co-supervisor with Pentacrest Museums Director John Logsdon, emphasized the importance of students to the project’s development in the inaugural edition of the class.

“We’re going to deputize students to be researchers. We want them to help shape the class,” Winet says. “When we’re able to fully implement the class, we’re hoping to have as many as 650 students in the course.”

Though the class will be limited to honors students in the spring, Reed, Winet, and Logsdon plan future editions of the class to be available to all first year students.

For more information, visit isis2.uiowa.edu/isis2/courses/details.page?id=712286&ci=162523.