Memory in the Digital Age. Bergen-Belsen International Summer School 2014

Today, visual and digital media and technologies have gained in importance to such an extent that curators and educational staff at historical museums and exhibitions on Europe's Nazi past can hardly develop them without interdisciplinary approaches and making use of digital resources. This raises several questions:

How do we use visual and digital media without distracting visitors from the core information that we want to convey?

How can these media serve the purpose of facilitating access to historical information in the same way that pictures, exhibits, captions and panels have done over decades? And what exactly are the additional benefits of visual and digital media?

How do we approach digital and visual media as educational resources within exhibitions?

To what extent is it necessary for historians to build interdisciplinary networks for the production and use of such media? What other disciplines and perspectives might facilitate access to specific historical knowledge?

In what ways can digital media help us preserve the memory of Nazi crimes?  

As a starting point we will analyse the use of digital and visual media at the Bergen-Belsen memorial. First, we will try out and discuss the recently developed iPad-based app which allows visitors to access information on the grounds of the former camp and explore them with the help of a 3D-model. This technological innovation will serve as the basis for broader discussions on the topic of memory in the digital world. We will then try to develop visions of what practical innovations for a museum of the future might be.

Over the course of the International Summer School (ISS), we will also examine technological advances in historical research in general and take a closer look at individual tools from different angles. Presentations and seminars by historians specializing in the educational use of digital media in historical exhibitions will provide the necessary insights.

The BBISS is aimed at students in the humanities from Poland, the Netherlands and Germany interested in the challenges of commemorative culture in a global, digital and media context. The summer school offers presentations, discussions and workshops which will be held in English. Food and board will be provided.

For the Bergen-Belsen International Summer School, taking place between the 14th and 19th/20th of September, we are looking for students in the humanities from Poland, the Netherlands and Germany interested in the
challenges of commemorative culture in a global, digital and media
context. The Bergen-Belsen International Summer School offers
presentations, discussions and workshops which will be held in English.
Food and board will be provided.

Terms of application

1. Name
2. Date of birth
3. Course of studies // Subjects // Term
4. City, State
5. What is your interest in the seminar? (maximum half a page)

Application Deadline

1st of September 2014

Program

Sunday, 14th of September 
Arrival, get together

Monday, 15th of September
Get to know/ concern oneself with the Bergen-Belsen Memorial; Memory from a psychological point of view

Tuesday, 16th of September
Advantages and Disadvantages of the didactical use of media to raise historical awareness

Wednesday, 17th of September
Interdisciplinarity. Technical and artistic present and future of
commemoration in the digital age.

Thursday, 18th of September
Thinking about ethics and morality and the consequences of digital
transparency.

Friday, 19th of September
Summary of the results of the seminar. Outlook: Creating a vision of the ideal memorial?
Facultative: Trip to Ahlem Memorial

Friday/Saturday, 19th/20th of September
Departure

Lecturers (i.a.):

SPECS - Sytse, Wierenga - University Pompeu Fabra, Barcelona
Jan Mazur - Lecturer at the Warsaw University of Technology -
Architecture
Werkstatt bpb - Digital education in practice
Denk.art - Memory from a psychological point of view

Venue

Date

14.09.2014 - 20.09.2014

Contact