Digital Approaches to Art History and Cultural Heritage, Merton College, University of Oxford, June 12–13, 2020
Digital technologies are transforming the ways in which scholars study visual sources and cultural heritage. Digitisation renders collections more accessible, while computer vision algorithms enable researchers to trace patterns across large datasets of images and chart new avenues of research. At the same time, 3D modelling techniques capture and digitally preserve cultural heritage structures and artefacts threatened by war, climate change or over-tourism, while virtual reality transports audiences to palaces, monuments, or places of worship, widening access to such sites.
This conference brings together researchers, students, and professionals from art history, museology, digital humanities, geography, history, archeology, classics and computer science, who are interested in exploring digital approaches to the study of visual and material culture. The conference explores how researchers are integrating digital tools into their research, introduces new audiences to cutting edge technologies and methodologies, and critically assesses the opportunities and challenges that such approaches present.
Day 1: Digital Approaches to Art History (Digital Visual Studies)
The first day is devoted to investigating new digital and computational approaches to the study of visual culture. Topics include: digital imaging, computer vision, network analysis, visual Distant Reading, digital research infrastructures, data standards, institutional projects, digitisation and digital publishing projects.
Day 2: Digital Approaches to Architectural and Cultural Heritage (Sites and Objects)
The second day focuses on digital approaches to capturing, displaying and studying three dimensional cultural sites and objects. This includes data capture, 3D and 4D modelling, and virtual anastylosis. It likewise treats the display, exploration and research of cultural heritage sites using new technologies, including but not limited to virtual and augmented reality.
We invite proposals for 20 minute presentations which engage with any of the above topics or which reflect critically on the integration of digital tools into the study of art history and cultural heritage.