D0176 - LABORATORIO DIDATTICO: Oggetti, luoghi e monumenti del patrimonio culturale europeo tra conservazione digitale e Public History

Learning outcomes

The workshop is part of the European Jean Monnet Erasmus+ project Arts and Politics. European Cultural Heritage Policies between Old and New Values (HEURITAGE), coordinated by Professor Anna Pellegrino. It aims to provide students with theoretical and practical tools for understanding and enhancing European cultural heritage, with particular attention to tangible and intangible sources, objects, sites, and monuments as its principal forms of expression. Through an interdisciplinary approach, the workshop explores the role of digital preservation and Public History in the processes of safeguarding, interpreting, and communicating the past, including through the analysis of European digital platforms for accessing and promoting cultural heritage, such as Europeana. Its objective is to foster a critical awareness of the processes of digitisation, archiving, and dissemination of European cultural heritage, examining both their potential and their limitations. At the same time, the workshop seeks to demonstrate how Public History contributes to the construction of historical narratives that are inclusive, participatory, and accessible to non-specialist audiences. Through practical activities and the analysis of case studies, the workshop also aims to support the development of skills in designing strategies and initiatives for the interpretation, promotion, and communication of cultural heritage.

Course contents

The workshop will combine lectures with practical activities. An introductory section will be devoted to defining European cultural heritage and examining the processes through which sources, objects, places, and monuments are selected, interpreted, and recognised as part of a shared heritage. The following section will focus on the presentation and analysis of European digital archives and platforms, with particular attention to access to primary sources, research tools, and strategies for the communication and promotion of cultural heritage. The following platforms will be examined:

Europeana: for consulting digital collections from European museums, libraries, and archives;

Archives Portal Europe: for searching archival holdings and descriptions;

EUscreen: for accessing Europe’s audiovisual and television heritage;

European Film Gateway: for accessing film collections and documents relating to the history of European cinema;

Historiana: for the educational and narrative use of digital historical sources.

The practical component of the workshop will be devoted to the collaborative design and creation of a participatory virtual exhibition using the open-source software Omeka. Students will jointly identify a theme and collect sources from personal and family archives or other private collections, including photographs, letters, documents, and oral testimonies. These sources may be connected to objects, places, and monuments documented through photographs, maps, and descriptive records. The materials may also be supplemented with sources retrieved from the European digital platforms examined during the workshop.

The creation of the virtual exhibition will provide students with an opportunity to apply Public History methods and tools in practice and to reflect on the contribution of individual, family, and collective memories to the participatory construction of European cultural heritage.

Links to further information

https://site.unibo.it/heuritage/en

Office hours

See the website of Anna Pellegrino