Digital Methods in Preservation of Medieval Cultural Heritage: New Approaches and Technologies, session at 57th International Congress on Medieval Studies, Western Michigan University Online, May 9–14, 2022
In many parts of the world, medieval monuments, sites, and artifacts are facing a threat of devastation, either due to political crises resulting in armed conflicts or acts of vandalism, or deteriorating climate effects, inadequate conservation practices, as well as other adverse natural or social circumstances. Access to some of them is restricted on account of these conditions- a problem that became worldwide during the ongoing pandemic. For all the above-mentioned reasons, digital preservation of material cultural heritage has become a matter of utmost necessity and urgency.
This session aims to present various methods in digital recording and presentation of medieval visual culture that has been recently developed and implemented, as well as to highlight the importance of digitization in certain groups of monuments or objects particularly vulnerable at the present moment.
Blago Fund, which is sponsoring the session, is an organization devoted to the preservation and promotion of Serbian cultural heritage, primarily through the creation of online digital collections that preserve detailed visual records of architectural elements, interior decoration, and the surroundings of churches and monasteries built on the territories of the Serbian medieval state. Owing to the efforts of volunteers and experts from the fields of photography, art history, and internet technologies, all the material created is readily available on the Blago Fund website under a CC license.
The session seeks proposals that will address some of the issues related to practices in digital humanities used in the preservation of the material heritage of the Middle Ages- technical advancements created or employed in digitization, innovative approaches taken, and particular obstacles faced in the process. The organisers also invite scholars and professionals to present their insights and experiences working with digital visual databases in studying and teaching the Middle Ages.
Session organizers
Ivana Lemcool, Blago Fund
Ida Sinkevic, Lafayette College
Session sponsor
Blago Fund