Module Directory

This module will present digital heritage theories and explore how digital practices are changing the role of heritage institutions and museums as sites for the study, preservation and dissemination of cultural heritage. 

During this module, students will be expected to reflect on the following questions: How do we use the technology in cultural heritage studies?, What is the appropriate way of utilizing digital media in the service of preserving cultural heritage?, What is the impact of digital media themselves on the content they aim to preserve and to communicate?, How can the affordances provided by the new technology change [cultural heritage] itself?, Does digitally-mediated communication fundamentally change the interpretation of the represented culture

The aims of this module are:

• To develop essential knowledge and skills for involvement in research and work related to conceptualisation, development, curation, and/or management of digital resources in the fields of museums and heritage. 


• To familiarise with the purposes, scopes, and methods for digital preservation, and curatorship of heritage.


• To engage with the concepts of ‘digitised heritage’ and ‘born-digital materials’.


• To investigate how technologies are influencing heritage and museum practices.


• To consider the theoretical and critical aspects related to the use of digital technologies in the heritage and museum sector.


• To develop basic digital skills.


• To reflect on their learning experience by engaging critically and analytically with the module content.

By the end of this module, students will be expected to be able to:

1. Demonstrate mature engagement with the main themes that inform the module.


2. Compare and evaluate different arguments and assess the limitations of their own position or procedure.


3. Write and present verbally a a thorough analysis of positions, arguments, and their presuppositions and implications.


4. Critically engage with practice-based hands on activities related to digital curatorship.


5. Be sensitive to the positions of others and communicate their own views in ways that are accessible to them.


6. Think laterally and creatively, identifying interesting connections and possibilities and presenting these clearly.


7. Maintain intellectual flexibility and revise their own position if shown wrong.


8. Demonstrate a strong ability to think critically and constructively.

Digital technologies are re-defining contemporary heritage practices. Digital technologies and media are used for re-presenting, managing and disseminating information about cultural heritage as well as producing new cultural information on the web, which establishes digital heritage as a new field of study.

The main objective of this module is to provide students with a sound knowledge about reasons for and ways of using new technologies to manage the past. During the course, students will develop a broad understanding of the diverse issues involved in the use of new technologies for preservation and dissemination of heritage.

During the course, students will develop a broad understanding of the diverse issues involved in the use of new technologies for preservation and dissemination of heritage.

Indicative Syllabus

• Introduction to heritage and digital heritage.


• Digital Representation of endangered heritage.


• Digital Reconstruction of lost heritage.


• Virtual Museums.


• Use of new Technologies inside museums: access, authenticity, performance and the museum of the senses.


• Serious games, apps, and augmented reality inside museums.


• Digital collections and the digital archive: ontologies and metadata.


• Web 2.0 Museum: multi-vocality, reflexivity, and participatory culture.


• The use of new technologies for heritage management and inside museums: Strengths, challenges and future directions.

This module will be delivered via:

• One 1-hour lecture per week.
• One 1-hour seminar per week.

Seminars will consist of a combination of contributions from students and classroom discussion, as well as hands on activities taught by the module leader. Students will read weekly assignments and additional readings and will have tutorials available in case they would like to deepen their knowledge of practical skills related to 3D digital replication of artefacts and digital curation.

During the lectures, the candidates will learn to use the UK as a specific case study, with parallels with other countries (the specific topics may change from year to year). They will also learn about the range of new technologies and new media used to manage heritage and their broad applications in the heritage sector.