ICT and Cultural Heritage in Greece and Cyprus: A critical overview of current postgraduate curricula


Despina Catapoti
Polina Nikolaou
Despina Andriopoulou
Abstract

One of the most fundamental shifts in the cultural heritage sector, is to be found at the intersection established over the past years, between heritage management and the rapidly growing field of digital technology. In the wake of these developments, the striking majority of professionals in the heritage sector are faced with the challenge of integrating ICT technologies in various workings, functions and purposes of their field (i.e. preservation, restoration, recording, analysis, interpretation, publication, exhibition). At the same time, digital technologies are becoming an integral part of cultural management (project management, event management, collection management etc) but also of cultural communication and public outreach. The analytical significance of this project stems mainly from the fact that it constitutes the first systematized attempt to chart (both quantitatively and qualitatively) all postgraduate programs of study on cultural heritage that are available at present across Departments and Universities in both Greece and Cyprus. The combination of qualitative and quantitative analysis of heritage studies curricula in both countriesalso provides us with an elaborated and refined picture of the professional skills promoted by different academic curricula as regards ICT skills and their implementation in heritage studies. As such, this mapping enterprise can be a useful tool for analytically appreciating the connection between curriculum content andjob requirements and by extension, act as a starting point for creating a sustainable model of synergy between heritage studies and ICT in Greece and Cyprus for the next decades.

Article Details
  • Section
  • Articles
References
Barnes, S.A.,Kispeter, E.,Eikhof, D., & Parry, R. (2018).Mapping the Museum Digital Skills Ecosystem. Phase One report, One by One. Leicester: University of Leicester.
Bonacchi, C. &Krzyzanska, M. (2019). Digital heritage research retheorised:
ontologies and epistemologies in a world of big data. International Journal of Heritage Studies 25 (12) 1235-1247
Bounia, A. (2018). Digital culture, cultural industries and museums. In Theodosiou, A. &Papadaki, E. (Eds.) Cultural Industries and Digital Culture, Practices and Challenges (in Greek, pp. 149-170). Athens: Nisos.
Bounia, A. and Stylianou_Lambert, T. (2011). National museums in Cyprus: a story of heritage and conflict. In Arronson, P. and G. Elgenius (Eds.) Building National Museums in Europe 1750-2010. Conference proceedings from EuNaMus, European National Museums: Identity Politics, the Uses of the Past and the European Citizen (pp. 201-244). Linköping University Electronic Press.
Carvalho, A., & Matos, A. (2018). Museum professionals in a digital world: insights from a case study in Portugal. Museum International, 70 (1-2), 34-47
Cook, K., & Hill, G. (2019). Digital heritage as collaborative process: fostering partnerships, engagement and inclusivity in museums. Studies in Digital Heritage, 3 (1) 83-99
Dubuc, É. (2011). Museum and university mutations: the relationship between museum practices and museum studies in the era of interdisciplinarity, professionalisation, globalisation and New Technologies. Museum Management and Curatorship 26 (5) 497-508
Economou, M., Souliotis, K., Peppou, L.E., Agapidaki, I., Tzavara, C. &Stefanis, C.N. (2017). Major depression in Cyprus amid financial crisis: prevalence and correlates. International Journal of Culture and Mental Health 11 (3) 255-267
Economou, M. , Ruthven, I., Galani, A., Dobreva, M. & de Niet, M. (2019). Editorial note for special issue on the Evaluation of Digital Cultural Resources. Journal on Computing and Cultural Heritage, 12 (1) 1e.
Galani, A., Mason, R., & Arrigoni, G. (2020). Introduction: locating heritage and dialogue in digital culture. In Galani, A., Mason, R., & Arrigoni, G. (Eds.) European Heritage, Dialogue and Digital Practices (pp. 1-8). London: Routledge.
Garezou, M.X. & S. Keramidas. (2017). Greek Museums at a Crossroads: Continuity and Change. Museum International 69 (3–4) 12–25
Gazi, A. (2011).National Museums in Greece: History, Ideology, Narratives. Building National Museums in Europe 1750–2010. Building National Museums in Europe 1750–2010. In Knell, S. and G. Elgenius (Eds.) Building National Museums in Europe 1750-2010. Conference proceedings from EuNaMus, European National Museums: Identity Politics, the Uses of the Past and the European Citizen (pp. 363-399). Linköping University Electronic Press.
Harrison, L.K. (2018). A roadmap to applied digital heritage: introduction to the special issue on Digital Heritage Technologies, Applications and Impacts. Studies in Digital Heritage 3 (1) 40-45
Jeonghyun, K., Warga, E., & Moen, W.E. (2013). Competencies required for digital curation: an analysis of job advertisements. The International Journal of Digital Curation, 8 (1) 66-83
Knell, S. (2005). Museum Studies: Past, Present, Future. Professional Orientations. ICOM News(4) 3
Kraemer, H. (2018). The Future of Media determines the Future of Museums: Some remarks on the current situation of the Post-NMC era. MW18: Museums and the Web. Retrieved from https://mw18.mwconf.org/paper/the-future-of-media-determines-the-future-of-museum-some-remarks-in-the-current-situation-of-the-post-nmc-era/
Kyprianos, K., Sifaki, E., &Bantimaroudis, P. (2019). Digital gatekeepers and website visitors of the Acropolis Museum: revisiting gatekeeping theory in the cultural domain.Museum Management and Curatorship 2-15
Papadimitriou, N., Plati, M., Markou, E. &Catapoti, D. (2016). Identifying Accessibility Barriers in Heritage Museums: Conceptual Challenges in a Period of Change. Museum International 68 (3–4) 33–47.
Parry, R. (2005). Digital heritage and the rise of theory in museum computing. Museum Management and Curatorship 20 (4) 333-348
Parry, R., Moseley, A., Gretton, N., Tunstall, R.& Mobbs, M. (2016). 'Why MOOCs matter: The consequence of massive open online courses for museums, universities, and their publics.' MW2016: Museums and the Web 2016. Published February 1, 2016
Parry, R.& Leonard, P. (2019). 'UK-US Collaboration for digital scholarship n cultural institutions', Workshop Report and Recommendations, 18-19th September 2019, Washington DC (UKRI AHRC: 2019)
Roscoe, E. (2016). Cultural Skills Research. Preliminary research for the museum sector in Greece. British Council. Retrieved from https://www.britishcouncil. gr/sites/default/files/ima-greece-preliminaryresearch.pdf
Royston, C.& Parry, R. (2019). Building a framework: The museum sector needs to rethink digital skills - from the ground up.Museum98 (1) 34-39
Silvaggi, A., &Pesce, P. (2019). The museum professionals in the digital era. Agents of change and innovation. ENCATC Journal of Cultural Management & Policy8 (1) 56-69
Theodosiou, A. &Papadaki, E. (2018). Introduction in Theodosiou, A. &Papadaki, E. (Eds.) Cultural Industries and Digital Culture, Practices and Challenges (pp. 13-58; in Greek). Athens: Nisos.
Uchiyama, K.P. &Radin, J.L. (2009). Curriculum Mapping in Higher Education: A Vehicle for Collaboration. Innov High Educ 33 271–280.
Wong, A.S. (2011). Ethical issues of social media in museums: a case study. Museum Management and Curatorship 26 (2) 97-112