Integrated Methodologies to Historical Landscapes Recording: Participatory Approaches Erasmus Project

Project Title

Integrated Methodologies to Historical Landscapes Recording: Participatory Approaches

Project Key Action

This project related with these key action: Cooperation for innovation and the exchange of good practices

Project Action Type

This project related with this action type : Strategic Partnerships for higher education

Project Call Year

This project’s Call Year is 2019

Project Topics

This project is related with these Project Topics: New innovative curricula/educational methods/development of training courses; ICT – new technologies – digital competences; Cultural heritage/European Year of Cultural Heritage

Project Summary

The study of historical landscapes is a relatively recent discipline which has been mainly developed after a series of international European conventions (Paris 1972 and Florence 2000). Landscapes are generally studied within university curricula in geography, and therefore do not tackle the cultural and mostly historical aspects of what these conventions understand by landscapes and do not deal with the importance they have for present economic, cultural and social development
The objective of this project is to create and apply an innovative, immersive and participatory teaching program on cultural heritage particularly on the recording, study and management of historical landscapes understood as a systemic and diachronic product of humanity. The project is also rooted in the European Union’s cultural policies on cultural democracy and participation as it will be carried out in collaboration with local experts, associations, museums and institutions being one of its scopes the promotion of activities which can help economic, social and cultural local development.
Between 5 and 7 students from each team will take part in 4 teaching-programs. As the subject is completely new, students from all degrees will be able to participate and share also among them their previous knowledge.
The teaching program – focused on a local territory in all participating programme countries- will comprise
1. methods and understanding of bibliography and sources published or preserved in archives (including cadastres, maps and photographs),
2. new tools able to document the environmental characteristics and historical landscapes through an overview provided by LiDAR, radar, aerial photographs and satellite scans. Combined with traditional methods, research on the names of the places, the network of infrastructure and settlement, architecture, in function or in ruin, the process will end in not only a diachronic evaluation of the potentiality of a territory, but will also become a first reconstruction of the history of the communities that have inhabited it
3. stratigraphic methods of sequence interpretation (applied to landscapes and architectures);
4. database development and analysis (GIS and recording platforms such as WIKICARE);
Of dramatic relevance in heritage today is the communication and continuous relationships between research and the wider public and mostly the local communities of the sampled territories. In this sense the contents of the program will also include:
5. sociological study of the public perception about their cultural heritage and our work, data recording (questionnaires and focus group) and statistical analysis of results.
This information will also be helpful for the:
6. Adaptation of scientific research into: educational resources for schools, digital resources for wider community access to final results (apps, web documentaries); guided tours, seminars and other activities for both the community and visitors.
Results will be mainly a diachronic evaluation of all the information related to the cultural heritage of a territory, but also a first reconstruction of the history of the communities that have inhabited it.

Teaching will be mostly practical and immersive combining:
a. fieldwork (generally in the morning) including archives, libraries but also territory survey and cataloguing of heritage done also with the collaboration of local professionals and associations;
b. laboratory-computer work (digitalization and re-elaboration of data) in the afternoon, and
c. evening daily class presentation (lectures) of different aspects of the territory by teaching team as well as local experts, members of local institutions and associations.
d. The last day of the course will be devoted to the summary and presentation of provisional results of the summer school in a final public presentation for all the team members and the wider community.

For the students, taking part in the project this kind of activity, has an important number of benefits linked to the improvement of knowledge and skills that rarely have been incorporated in university classrooms such as the development of soft and transferable skills mainly communication abilities, good and active listeners, flexible and adaptable, efficient record keepers, capacity of negotiation and solving problems.
All these abilities have long benefits for students to improve their jobs prospects (thanks to the multiple disciplines they will be working with by understanding the functioning of local institutions, organizations, museums and associations) and offer a route to gain funding by creating new networks and demonstrating wider social impact. Results will also be potentially useful to foster future experiences on economic (tourism but also agriculture), educational (giving new material on local heritage to elementary schools), and social projects for the local communities.

Project Website

https://hilar.ffzg.unizg.hr/

EU Grant (Eur)

Funding of the project from EU: 196782 Eur

Project Coordinator

SVEUCILISTE U ZAGREBU & Country: HR

Project Partners

• UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI PADOVA
• UNIVERSITE CLERMONT AUVERGNE
• THE CYPRUS INSTITUTE