Readings Digital Heritage
Leiden University, 2025-2026, semester 2
BA Kunstgeschiedenis; BA Arts Media and Society; Pre-master MA Arts and
Culture’ Minor Museums, Heritage and Collections
Contains readings for lectures 1-11 (all lectures):
- Thwaites, Harold. “Digital Heritage: What Happens When We Digitize
Everything?” In Visual Heritage in the Digital Age, 327–348. London:
Springer London
- Albuquerque, Beatriz. “Artistic Concerns in Preservation: How to
Preserve a Digitally-Born Artwork.” Studies in Digital Heritage 3, no.
1 (2019): 1–15.
- Azzaari, Ali. “Visual Communication and User Experience Design in
Shaping the Digital Museum Environment: Theoretical and Practical
Aspects.” Art and Design 4, no. 8 (2025): 39–49.
- Lee, Jin Woo, Yikyung Kim, and Soo Hee Lee. “Digital Museum and
User Experience: The Case of Google Art & Culture.” Paper presented
at International Symposium on Electronic Art. International
Symposium on Electronic Art, 2019
- Bachi, Valentina, Antonella Fresa, Claudia Pierotti, and Claudio
Prandoni. “The Digitization Age: Mass Culture Is Quality Culture.
Challenges for Cultural Heritage and Society.” Springer, 2014, 786–
801
- Politopoulos and Mol, 2021. “Video Games as Concepts and
Experiences of the Past”, In Champion, E (ed.), Virtual Heritage: A
Guide, London: Ubiquity Press
- Choe, Yunseon, Jiyoon Lee, and Gyehee Lee. “Exploring Values via
the Innovative Application of Social Media with Parks amid COVID-19:
A Qualitative Content Analysis of Text and Images Using ATLAS. Ti.”
Sustainability 14, no. 20 (2022): 13026.
- Münster, S., Apollonio, F. I., Bluemel, I., Fallavollita, F., Foschi, R.,
Grellert, M., ... & Schelbert, G. (2024). Handbook of digital 3D
reconstruction of historical architecture. In (Synthesis Lectures on
Engineers, Technology, & Society; 28). Springer. Chapter 2.
- Walter Benjamin. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical
Reproduction.” In Hannah Arendt (ed.) Illuminations. United States:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1968. pp. 214-28.
- Di Franco, P, Fabrizio Galeazzi, and Valentina Vassallo. “Why
Authenticity Still Matters Today.” In Authenticity and Cultural
Heritage in the Age of 3D Digital Reproductions. McDonald Institute.
McDonald Institute, 2018. 1-9.
, - Asiedu, Richard, Michelle Stewart, and Sfundo Cele. “Investigating
the Role of Digital Arts in Decolonizing Knowledge and Promoting
Indigenous Standpoints.” Journal of the Digital Humanities
Association of Southern Africa 5, no. 1 (2024). 1-12.
- Number Analytics: decolonizing the archive.
- Ghaith, Kholoud, and James Hutson. “A Qualitative Study on the
Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Cultural Heritage
Conservation.” Metaverse 5, no. 2 (2024)
- Lammes, Sybille, and Angus Mol. “As a Matter of Play: Playful
Methods.” New Materialist Affirmations: Creative Research
Interventions in Methods and Practice, Edinburgh University Press,
2025, 89-110.
- Zia, Samavia. “Digital Colonialism: Reimagining Power, Identity, and
Resistance by Decolonizing AI.” Yayasan Drestanta Pelita Indonesia,
2025, 129–47.
-
Lecture 1
Thwaites, Harold. “Digital Heritage: What Happens When We Digitize
Everything?” In Visual Heritage in the Digital Age, 327–348. London:
Springer London
Thwaites is a scholar of digital media. This article is published in a
publication about digital humanities and heritage.
Introduces the idea that authenticity would become the buzzword of the
21st century. The presence of constant entertainment has driven people to
seek authenticity. What is authenticity? Anything that exists for its own
sake and is not controlled by corporations or big media companies. What is
most authentic of all, is the past.
There is a difference between the past and heritage:
- The past: the whole of history
- Heritage: a constantly changing collection of objects, symbols,
cultural artefacts and immaterial things such as customs from the
past that are of a significant meaning to us in the present.
The term virtual heritage was coined for the first time in 1999 to denote
the use of technology for interpreting, conserving and preserving heritage.
Digital heritage started developing in the 1990s, during a time when
computer technology became more accessible. Many of the excellent and
pioneering digital heritage works have been lost to time and technology
, shifts. Early products focused on the faithful representation of realism.
They were quite static, with little audience involvement.
Digital heritage environments are information complexes.
A global sense of community and the decreasing access to heritage
venues due to deterioration caused by over-visiting, has raised an alarm to
protect them via digital technologies.
Our interaction with reality is increasingly mediated by digital technology.
The fantasy and fiction elements of digital technology are often what
appeals most to audiences. Unlike in real life, events can be manipulated,
replayed, played backwards etc.
Every society has its values and the art it produces is often tied to them.
Presently, artworks are often viewed globally and by people from different
cultural backgrounds, however. Some universal human values travel quite
easily across cultures, such as love and hate. But values specific to certain
cultures can be viewed by other groups as strange or exotic. How do we
deal with this?
Digital heritage seems to be vanishing more quickly than physical heritage
(ephemerality). This is the case because technology changes so quickly
and there is often a lack of appropriate standards. This is why there are,
for instance, devised minimal sets of metadata for digital heritage. There
is a difference between digitized and born-different content. The latter has
more risk of vanishing.
Smart heritage / cultural futures = applications that combine imagery and
sound captured at locations of high cultural significance with digital
technologies to create hybrid virtual-reality worlds rich in detail,
interpretation and aesthetic impact.
Mobilized digital heritage = digital heritage designed to be experienced
across cultures in different environments and by different audiences.
As a result of digital heritage there has been increased interest in cultural
heritage all over the world. Digital heritage makes heritage much more
accessible to wider audiences. It also creates an increased awareness of
global community. On the other hand, digital technologies can be difficult
and expensive, and they can often provide only a limited perception of the
overall cultural value of a real site. It has also raised public awareness of
heritage sites, which has resulted in over-visiting. In addition, digital
heritage requires good custodial care and maintenance.
Leiden University, 2025-2026, semester 2
BA Kunstgeschiedenis; BA Arts Media and Society; Pre-master MA Arts and
Culture’ Minor Museums, Heritage and Collections
Contains readings for lectures 1-11 (all lectures):
- Thwaites, Harold. “Digital Heritage: What Happens When We Digitize
Everything?” In Visual Heritage in the Digital Age, 327–348. London:
Springer London
- Albuquerque, Beatriz. “Artistic Concerns in Preservation: How to
Preserve a Digitally-Born Artwork.” Studies in Digital Heritage 3, no.
1 (2019): 1–15.
- Azzaari, Ali. “Visual Communication and User Experience Design in
Shaping the Digital Museum Environment: Theoretical and Practical
Aspects.” Art and Design 4, no. 8 (2025): 39–49.
- Lee, Jin Woo, Yikyung Kim, and Soo Hee Lee. “Digital Museum and
User Experience: The Case of Google Art & Culture.” Paper presented
at International Symposium on Electronic Art. International
Symposium on Electronic Art, 2019
- Bachi, Valentina, Antonella Fresa, Claudia Pierotti, and Claudio
Prandoni. “The Digitization Age: Mass Culture Is Quality Culture.
Challenges for Cultural Heritage and Society.” Springer, 2014, 786–
801
- Politopoulos and Mol, 2021. “Video Games as Concepts and
Experiences of the Past”, In Champion, E (ed.), Virtual Heritage: A
Guide, London: Ubiquity Press
- Choe, Yunseon, Jiyoon Lee, and Gyehee Lee. “Exploring Values via
the Innovative Application of Social Media with Parks amid COVID-19:
A Qualitative Content Analysis of Text and Images Using ATLAS. Ti.”
Sustainability 14, no. 20 (2022): 13026.
- Münster, S., Apollonio, F. I., Bluemel, I., Fallavollita, F., Foschi, R.,
Grellert, M., ... & Schelbert, G. (2024). Handbook of digital 3D
reconstruction of historical architecture. In (Synthesis Lectures on
Engineers, Technology, & Society; 28). Springer. Chapter 2.
- Walter Benjamin. “The Work of Art in the Age of Mechanical
Reproduction.” In Hannah Arendt (ed.) Illuminations. United States:
Houghton Mifflin Harcourt, 1968. pp. 214-28.
- Di Franco, P, Fabrizio Galeazzi, and Valentina Vassallo. “Why
Authenticity Still Matters Today.” In Authenticity and Cultural
Heritage in the Age of 3D Digital Reproductions. McDonald Institute.
McDonald Institute, 2018. 1-9.
, - Asiedu, Richard, Michelle Stewart, and Sfundo Cele. “Investigating
the Role of Digital Arts in Decolonizing Knowledge and Promoting
Indigenous Standpoints.” Journal of the Digital Humanities
Association of Southern Africa 5, no. 1 (2024). 1-12.
- Number Analytics: decolonizing the archive.
- Ghaith, Kholoud, and James Hutson. “A Qualitative Study on the
Integration of Artificial Intelligence in Cultural Heritage
Conservation.” Metaverse 5, no. 2 (2024)
- Lammes, Sybille, and Angus Mol. “As a Matter of Play: Playful
Methods.” New Materialist Affirmations: Creative Research
Interventions in Methods and Practice, Edinburgh University Press,
2025, 89-110.
- Zia, Samavia. “Digital Colonialism: Reimagining Power, Identity, and
Resistance by Decolonizing AI.” Yayasan Drestanta Pelita Indonesia,
2025, 129–47.
-
Lecture 1
Thwaites, Harold. “Digital Heritage: What Happens When We Digitize
Everything?” In Visual Heritage in the Digital Age, 327–348. London:
Springer London
Thwaites is a scholar of digital media. This article is published in a
publication about digital humanities and heritage.
Introduces the idea that authenticity would become the buzzword of the
21st century. The presence of constant entertainment has driven people to
seek authenticity. What is authenticity? Anything that exists for its own
sake and is not controlled by corporations or big media companies. What is
most authentic of all, is the past.
There is a difference between the past and heritage:
- The past: the whole of history
- Heritage: a constantly changing collection of objects, symbols,
cultural artefacts and immaterial things such as customs from the
past that are of a significant meaning to us in the present.
The term virtual heritage was coined for the first time in 1999 to denote
the use of technology for interpreting, conserving and preserving heritage.
Digital heritage started developing in the 1990s, during a time when
computer technology became more accessible. Many of the excellent and
pioneering digital heritage works have been lost to time and technology
, shifts. Early products focused on the faithful representation of realism.
They were quite static, with little audience involvement.
Digital heritage environments are information complexes.
A global sense of community and the decreasing access to heritage
venues due to deterioration caused by over-visiting, has raised an alarm to
protect them via digital technologies.
Our interaction with reality is increasingly mediated by digital technology.
The fantasy and fiction elements of digital technology are often what
appeals most to audiences. Unlike in real life, events can be manipulated,
replayed, played backwards etc.
Every society has its values and the art it produces is often tied to them.
Presently, artworks are often viewed globally and by people from different
cultural backgrounds, however. Some universal human values travel quite
easily across cultures, such as love and hate. But values specific to certain
cultures can be viewed by other groups as strange or exotic. How do we
deal with this?
Digital heritage seems to be vanishing more quickly than physical heritage
(ephemerality). This is the case because technology changes so quickly
and there is often a lack of appropriate standards. This is why there are,
for instance, devised minimal sets of metadata for digital heritage. There
is a difference between digitized and born-different content. The latter has
more risk of vanishing.
Smart heritage / cultural futures = applications that combine imagery and
sound captured at locations of high cultural significance with digital
technologies to create hybrid virtual-reality worlds rich in detail,
interpretation and aesthetic impact.
Mobilized digital heritage = digital heritage designed to be experienced
across cultures in different environments and by different audiences.
As a result of digital heritage there has been increased interest in cultural
heritage all over the world. Digital heritage makes heritage much more
accessible to wider audiences. It also creates an increased awareness of
global community. On the other hand, digital technologies can be difficult
and expensive, and they can often provide only a limited perception of the
overall cultural value of a real site. It has also raised public awareness of
heritage sites, which has resulted in over-visiting. In addition, digital
heritage requires good custodial care and maintenance.
