Digital Cultural Heritage Studies

In this seminar, students will become familiar with preserving cultural heritage artefacts through digitalization, focussing on the use of linked open data. Through discussions and case studies, students will critically examine important aspects of digital preservation, such as authenticity, accuracy, accessibility, data provenance, chain of custody, data sovereignty, ISO standards, and best practices. In addition, students will analyse how linked open data can enhance access to cultural heritage resources, including art, architecture, manuscripts, heritage sites, and artefacts, and how this technology can benefit research, cultural memory, and dissemination.

The course will also provide opportunities for students to delve into the technical aspects of digital preservation, including metadata standards, data modelling, and data conversion techniques. By the end of the course, students will gain a deep understanding of the complexities involved in preserving cultural heritage in the digital age and will develop the skills to address these challenges through the use of linked open data.

The course will be held in person at the C016 room  (Geschw.-Scholl-Pl. 1 (C) - C 016
Geschossplan).

The course will be taught completely in English, and all the materials and slides will be provided in English.

Duration of the course: 30h

Assessment Method: Presentation (oral) (25%) + Paper (5000 words) (75%)

Heritage  professionals  and  archaeologists  have  long  utilized  digital  imaging  techniques  to document,  analyze,  and  digitize  artifacts,  historic  buildings,  and  archaeological  sites.  In  this course,  students  will  develop  competencies  in  digital  imaging  applications  in  cultural  heritage and  archaeology  through  field  and  computer  lab  activities,  which  will  introduce  basic  principles and  toolsets.  Exercises  will  encompass  an  entire  workflow  from  image  acquisition,  processing  of derived  products  (i.e.,  digital  drawings,  3D  models,  and  digital  elevation  models),  and  data visualization  for  analysis  and  dissemination  purposes.  Covered  techniques  may  include  digital photography,  drone  photography,  digital  photogrammetry  (Image-based  Modeling,  or  IBM), Reflectance  Transformation  Imaging  (RTI),  and  multi-spectral  imaging  among  others.  Students will produce a final project (assessed) and will present their work to the class at the Institute for Digital  Cultural  Heritage  XR  Lab.    An  excursion  will  complement  the  laboratory  activities  and expose students to a real case study.

In this course, students will examine essential concepts in Cultural Heritage Studies, such as heritage preservation and digital heritage, by analyzing the ‘Digital Turn’ in this field and its history. The course covers how digital methods can capture, analyze, manage, curate, and disseminate cultural heritage data and related knowledge to solve critical issues affecting the world’s cultural heritage. For instance, how is the concept of heritage changing in the Digital Age? How can digital techniques aid in conserving tangible and intangible cultural resources or ensure sustainability in a changing climate or geopolitical scenario characterized by increasing anthropic threats? Students will also explore issues related to the cost, accessibility, representation, and sustainability of digital heritage technologies through classroom learning and readings.

Culture and heritage establish strong and long-lasting connections between people, their societies, and the world. These links are necessary to understand our sense of belonging, identity, and traditions. In this introductory course, students will examine the concept of heritage as a multifaceted site of local and global discourses and as a transnational asset we all are responsible for in the present and future. Embracing interdisciplinary theories and knowledge from Archaeology, Critical Heritage Studies, Cultural Resource Management, Ethnology, and Heritage Preservation, students will probe into the various components that define and conceptualize heritage as a cultural and political concept. For instance, what is heritage? What are its values and roles in the present and the past? Why is it worth preserving certain objects, sites, and practices while others disappear? How can we do so in ways that are effective and sustainable but also engage with local, indigenous, and descendant communities? How is the concept of heritage changing in the Digital Age?

Heritage  professionals  and  archaeologists  have  long  utilized  digital  imaging  techniques  to document,  analyze,  and  digitize  artifacts,  historic  buildings,  and  archaeological  sites.  In  this course,  students  will  develop  competencies  in  digital  imaging  applications  in  cultural  heritage and  archaeology  through  field  and  computer  lab  activities,  which  will  introduce  basic  principles and  toolsets.  Exercises  will  encompass  an  entire  workflow  from  image  acquisition,  processing  of derived  products  (i.e.,  digital  drawings,  3D  models,  and  digital  elevation  models),  and  data visualization  for  analysis  and  dissemination  purposes.  Covered  techniques  may  include  digital photography,  drone  photography,  digital  photogrammetry  (Image-based  Modeling,  or  IBM), Reflectance  Transformation  Imaging  (RTI),  and  multi-spectral  imaging  among  others.  Students will produce a final project (assessed) and will present their work to the class at the Institute for Digital  Cultural  Heritage  XR  Lab.    An  excursion  will  complement  the  laboratory  activities  and expose students to a real case study.