TEXTUAL HERITAGE AND DIGITAL PRESERVATION

The Textual Heritage and Digital Preservation course is part of the Master’s Degree Programme in Digital and Public Humanities and is linked to the Venice Centre for Digital and Public Humanities (VeDPH) in the Department of Humanities. The course explores the principles of preservation and management of textual heritage, focusing on the methodologies and technologies used to ensure the long-term preservation of heritage, both for digitized printed materials and for digital documents.

By the end of the course, students will have acquired the fundamental principles and techniques for the management and preservation of textual heritage.
1. Knowledge and understanding:
- Understand the key concepts of digital preservation of textual heritage.
- Be familiar with the technologies and standards involved in the transmission and preservation of digital texts.

2. Ability to apply knowledge and understanding:
- Apply digital preservation methods to various types of textual heritage, including manuscripts, books, and digital documents.
- Apply methodologies for digitization, metadata creation, and document archiving.

3. Ability to elaborate autonomously what has been learned:
- Develop a critical understanding of the legal, technical, and ethical aspects related to the digital preservation of textual heritage.
- Reflect on the implications of digital preservation for the accessibility of heritage and its impact on scientific research and dissemination.

4. Communication skills:
- Effectively communicate the challenges and strategies in the preservation of textual heritage in the digital age.
- Present the results of a preservation project clearly.

There are no pre-requirements.

The course explores the theme of textual cultural heritage and its implications in terms of preservation. It focuses on the principles, methodologies, and techniques used for the management and preservation of such documents. The following topics will be specifically addressed:
- Introduction to textual heritage
- Principles of digital preservation, technical aspects, and legal and ethical implications
- Introduction to digitization tools
- Standards and metadata for textual heritage
- Archiving and management of textual heritage
- Formats, systems, and techniques for the preservation and management of texts
- Preservation of digital texts, including in web environments

All texts and learning materials will be made available on Moodle.

Evaluation will be based on the following components:
Final oral exam (mainly focused on the project and topics discussed in class)
Participation in discussions and activities
In-class presentation

oral

Below 18: exam failed – insufficient knowledge and understanding of course topics – insufficient performance in class and homework
18–21: sufficient knowledge and understanding – sufficient performance
22–24: satisfactory knowledge and understanding – satisfactory performance
25–27: good knowledge and understanding – good performance
28–30: very good to excellent knowledge and understanding – very good to excellent performance

Classes with activities and interaction between professor and students. When possible, also a guest lecture and/or a field-trip will be included. The students will work on a project work and some assignments, which they will discuss in the final exam.
The teaching material will be made available through the Moodle e-learning platform.

Accessibility, Disability and Inclusion.
Accommodation and support services for students with disabilities and students with specific learning impairments:
Ca’ Foscari abides by Italian Law (Law 17/1999; Law 170/2010) regarding support services and accommodation available to students with disabilities. This includes students with mobility, visual, hearing and other disabilities (Law 17/1999), and specific learning impairments (Law 170/2010). If you have a disability or impairment that requires accommodations (i.e., alternate testing, readers, note takers or interpreters) please contact the Disability and Accessibility Offices in Student Services: disabilita@unive.it.