The research group “Digital Cultures and Digital Humanities” focuses on the potential, risks and impact of the digital transformation on culture, society and education. In particular, it has a focus on digitisation and data-driven research in cultural heritage, including collaboration with Lower Austria cultural and memory organisations in areas such as open cultural data, innovative presentation forms and digital participatory methods.
The research interests of the professorship revolve around questions of digitisation, data standardisation, the concept of “collection as data”, and AI applications in cultural heritage institutions. Furthermore, it works on digital audience research, including the investigation of the potential and the ethical implications of museum visitors’ digital data and interactions. In addition, the broader field of ‘born digital’ data and cultures, their understanding, and their preservation in memory institutions is addressed, taking into account the challenges arising from the inclusion in curation processes of a rapidly growing amount of data from various technologies. Another specific research interest is the exploration and presentation of collection histories using digital methods, taking into account both collection and archive data and considering the potential of 3D and immersive representations of historical exhibition spaces.
The overall aim of the research group is therefore to apply digital methods to understand cultures and cultural heritage collections, their reception and the formation of knowledge in the public sphere. It collaborates with memory and cultural institutions to support the development of digital strategies and the digital transformation of the cultural and cultural heritage sector in Lower Austria.
