By 山姆麦当劳
它体积小巧, but there’s nothing small about the ambitions behind a new, humanities-focused makerspace at 最靠谱的网赌软件.
Called mpark, it opened late 2023 in Room 2027 of the university’s Batten 艺术 和 信 Building. 配备了3D打印机, Arduino electronics learning kits, 缝纫机, 录像机, 相机, printers 和 other tools 和 software, it functions as a miniature makerspace “that nurtures nonhierarchical collaborations across disciplines,玛格丽特Kilcline /科恩科尔写道, an assistant professor of American literature 和 digital humanities 和 director of the new workshop.
“我们邀请各个层次的教师, undergraduate 和 graduate students, 和 staff to find opportunities for collaboration,Kilcline/Konkol写道. “In the spirit 和 ethos of the Digital Humanities, 哪一个是大帐篷场地, we welcome practitioners from all 文学院 和 信 disciplines.”
Below, Kilcline/Konkol answers questions about the new endeavor 和 her hopes for its future.
Where did you get the idea for mpark?
I got my first taste of the magic of makerspaces at University of Victoria’s Digital Humanities Summer Institute. Jentery Sayers 和 Matt Huculak 和 others were at the center of an exciting makerspace movement in the UVic English Department 和 over the course of a one-week intensive workshop (I call it nerd camp at its finest), they introduced me 和 about 15 other souls to modeling 和 prototyping using SketchUp, AutoCAD, arduino, 还有激光切割机. The lab itself was a bright orange 和 yellow sunny space filled with people making things 和 helping others invent 和 create … I've since had wonderful help from Beau Turner at 757 makerspace right here in Hampton Roads 和 met up with the maker folks at Norfolk State as well.
What were your previous experiences as a maker at ODU?
In 2018, when I was in search of access to a 3D printer to print my alphabet project … A generous former ODU professor of painting 和 sculpture, Allison斯坦, printed my SketchUp files for me on her printer. 这挽救了我的项目!
But I really wanted to be able to tinker with the shapes myself, 和, 当然, to teach students 和 分享 the joy of making. Until now 文学院 和 信 faculty 和 students have had no makerspace.
How would you respond to someone who doubts that humanities students need to learn technologies like 3D printers?
Writing is perhaps the oldest human technology — so it makes SO much sense to study text technologies from textiles to early forms of printing 和 onward to digital typesetting 和 3D printing.
What piece of technology would you most like to acquire for mpark?
我将 爱 to acquire a Glowforge laser cutter as well as a budget letterpress printing press 比如阿达纳. If we hit the jackpot for vintage printing presses, I'd jump a mile for a V和ercook printing press. I worked on a V和ercook in graduate school, making small press posters 和 many people in the media studies, poetics 和 art programs use them for typesetting 和 printing chapbooks. 与此同时, we are actively soliciting donations for people’s cast-off typewriters 和 silk screen machines.
What do you want mpark to look like in five years?
I imagine mpark as a hub of activity. I'd have the graduate assistant staff to keep the space open 9-5 p.m. Perhaps we could also have a postdoc [a person conducting research after the completion of their doctoral studies] on staff for running special projects Monday through Friday 和 we'd be hosting faculty-student collaborations as well as offering collabs with semester-long courses. We'd have 3D printers churning out newly designed objects to house Arduino projects that could help us better underst和 和 improve our environmental 和 social conditions, 缝纫机运转, teaching people how to reuse 和 repair textiles, 和 countless other wonderful things.
嘿, 如果我们超级忙的话, perhaps in five years we could relocate to a bigger space or even collaborate with the library or 斯特罗姆商学院 or Engineering — just as long as mpark continues to welcome 和 support 艺术 和 信 faculty 和 staff.