Digital Data in Practice – Now and in the Future

PhD Workshop, York, December 9 - 11, 2019

Dialogues with the Past. The Nordic Graduate School in Archaeology.

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The digital turn in archaeology has meant a rapid development of methods of acquisition, analysis and dissemination, a change of interpretation processes and an opportunity to develop new perspectives and new knowledge. It has also resulted in vast amounts of data and is continuing to do so at a rapid pace. In this workshop we will explore both new digital tools for analysis and dissemination as well as infrastructures for long term repository and archiving.

This workshop aims at developing the digital skills of the students with a particular focus upon critical design of digital projects and their outputs. The workshop is conceived as a continuation of the September 2019 DialPast course “Digital pasts and futures of archaeology,” although it can be attended by any student with an interest in digital archaeology and in applied digital practice. However, the critical engagement with the methods that is stressed in that course will also be a focus for this workshop.

York is the home of the Archaeology Data Service (ADS), the Centre for Digital Heritage (CDH), and the Digital Creativity Labs (DC Labs), as well as a rich historical landscape that enables us to immediately apply our ideas and digital tools to local sites. Through engagement with these organisations and heritage partners in York and practical sessions, we will explore the state of the art as it relates to archiving, databases, access, sustainability, app development, web and social media development, digital curation, gaming, 3D recording and modelling, and other forms of interactive media. We will use the facilities of the CDH and ADS, as well as the local heritage landscape, to explore in hands-on fashion the future (and past) of digital archaeology. Students will develop proposals for independent digital projects, refined through design work and critical conversation with the instructors and the class. The aim is to leave the workshop with a realistic, critically-informed plan for a producing a digital resource that can be implemented by students in the future.

Course Work

The course will consist of practical design sessions and tours led by key digital institutions in York. Before the course starts, each PhD student will prepare a written proposal for pre-circulation concerning the development of a specific digital resource or output related to their research project. The 5-page proposal (Times New Roman 12, Spacing 1.5) should provide description of (1) the purpose of the digital resource and a critical rationale for its development; (2) the intended audiences or users of the resource and how their needs are to be served by it; (3) the digital technologies to be used in the project and critical reflection on their strengths and weaknesses in relation to audience and project needs; (4) the archaeological or heritage context (i.e., the site, landscape, time period or other geographical location, event, theme or any specific context within which your project is situated).

Students will refine their proposal in York through participation in the design sessions and tours, and then will present a brief summary and plan for implementation to the class. Students will be offered critical feedback on their plans from the instructors and cohort.

Lecturers:

 

    Åsa Berggren           Nicolo Dell’Unto           James Taylor              Sara Perry

   

Photo credit for the photo of Sara Perry: Rachel Saunders.

Dr. Åsa Berggren (Lund University)

Ass. Prof. Nicolo Dell’Unto (Lund University)

Dr. James Taylor (University of York)

Dr. Sara Perry (University of York)

Credits

3 ECTS

Location, Travel and Costs

The Graduate School will finance and arrange travel and accommodation, and supply a daily allowance during the seminar for all participating PhD students who are part of the Dialogues With the Past network.Two and two PhD students will share a room.

Registration

The Graduate school invites all registered PhD students to apply for participation. Please follow this link to apply for the course (in English only). From these applications, c. 10 PhD students will be admitted to the course.

For more information, please contact: dial-past@iakh.uio.no

Important Dates

Application for participation: September 9, 2019

Submission of written proposals (5 p., Times New Roman 12, Spacing 1,5): Nov 11, 2019.

Tags: Digital Archaeology, Dialogues with the Past, PhD workshop
Published June 26, 2019 9:20 AM - Last modified Dec. 11, 2020 12:32 PM