Central European University A Program for University Teachers, Advanced Ph.D. Students, Researchers and Professionals in the Social Sciences and Humanities Summer University

Resource Persons: 

Mick Aston (Bristol University)
Robert Bevley (Royal Commission of Historical Monuments)
Karl Brunner (Institut für Realienkunde, Krems)
Günther Dembski (Museum Security Adviser, Vienna)
Thomas Durdik (Archaeological Institute, Prague)
Martin Gojda (Archaeological Institute, Prague)
Jeanne Hagenboom (ICOM Documentation Committee)
Gerhard Jaritz (CEU and Inst. of Medieval and Posmedieval Material Culture, Krems)
József Laszlovszky (CEU)
Pál Lõvei (National Board of Historical Monuments)
Edit Madas (Fragmenta codicum Project)
Christoph Mahat (Institute of Historical Monuments, Pulheim)
Predrag Matejic (Ohio State University)
Christopher Newbury (Museum Training Institute, Bradford)
Corina Popa (Academy of Fine Arts, Bucharest)
Ödön Ráday (Hungarian Ministry of Environmental Protection)
Beatrix Romhányi (Eötvös Loránd University, Budapest)
M. Marco Tonon (ICOM Audiovisual an New Technologies Committee)
Zsuzsanna Urbach (Museum of Fine Arts, Budapest)
Nina Vutova (National Library, Sofia)
Katalin Wollák (Hungarian National Museum)

Introduction

The cultural heritage of Europe faces a continuous and ever growing danger. In spite of a number of national and international organisations as well as projects and conferences dedicated to the preservation and maintenance of the monuments from the past, it seems that a more intensive information exchange is still necessary in order to assure a wider awareness of the problem. A truly international consensus and cooperation at all levels is needed in order to effectively promote the idea of the cultural heritage as one of the most precious and at the same time very precarious treasures of humanity. The summer university we propose is intended to contribute to the solution of this problem by educating young professionals who in course of their work are directly involved in the process of preserving and maintaining the cultural heritage (archivists, librarians, museum staff, conservators of monuments etc.).

We shall focus foremost on presenting problems confronted by East-Central European countries. The cultural treasures of this region were heavily demolished already in the past due to wars, negligence and other factors. The situation still worsened in the last decades because of the centrally controlled cultural policy of the communist governments. Unfortunately, the recent political changes and the economic transformation of these countries did not stop the process of destruction. Indeed, the war in Yugoslavia, Croatia and Bosnia produced the most significant, deliberate demolition of cultural monuments. In discussing these problems our Department would rely upon a cooperation with the South East European Studies program, which has already been discussed with professors Ivo Banac and Neven Budak.

The cultural heritage, however, is also exposed to various dangers during periods of peace. Climatic and environmental factors can be equally harmful. Pollution and the disruption of the biological equilibrium due to the growth of industry affect the condition of the monuments no less than natural disasters and changes in the biosphere. Here we should like to invite the Environmental Studies Department to contribute to the presentation of these aspects.

Many more phenomena determine the fate of our cultural heritage. Illegal trade of archeological finds and pieces of art, thefts of museum and church collections are seriously damaging its integrity. Very often simply the shortage of financial resources, lack of information and negligence causes further destruction. Therefore, adequate management of the cultural heritage is one of the crucial issues in these transforming countries.
To sum up, the aim of the summer university we are proposing is to show the full scale of dangers menacing the integrity of the cultural heritage in the region, and to provide up-to-date methods, techniques and overall policy of their preservation and maintenance, for the participants in the related fields. The courses are intended to call the attention of the scholars and institutions to these problems. We would make all efforts to involve most interested institutions into the row of presentations, and invite them to present here their documentation and relevant projects, share and exchange ideas with other similar organisations. In addition to regular lectures, seminars and common debates for the participants, we are planning to organize a teleconference that would enable us to bring the issue into focus for a wider international audience. As a conclusion of the project we should like to present the results of the common discussions in an exhibition displaying databases, documentations, multimedia programs and other tools that are essential in the endeavours to save the cultural heritage of the region. We hope that eventually a new alliance and network could come out of these workshops with perhaps a large common database of joint documentation.

Program of the Summer University
The curriculum of the summer courses on "Cultural Heritage in Danger" is planned to concentrate on four main themes: presentation of the dangers to cultural heritage, documentation of the existing damages, conservation and methods aimed at stopping the destruction, and introduction to cultural heritage management policy.

All participants will follow a basic four-week course introducing these main issues and in addition will have a choice of optional classes in four strands according to their particular interests and professional needs. They will also participate in the teleconference and possibly to contribute to the exhibition (detailed information will be circulated in advance in order to enable those interested to collect necessary materials)

A) COURSES

1. Dangers to the cultural heritage

· War damages in former Yugoslavia
· Environmental factors
· International trade of cultural treasures (thefts and illegal transactions)
· Destruction of medieval source collections (manuscripts, codices)
· Privatisation of cultural heritage: advantages and disadvantages
· Investment, urban development, new transport network and the destruction of
medieval sites

· Databases recording the destroyed cultural heritage
·Databases listing the cultural heritage in danger
· Documentation techniques and methods (manuscript collections - digital processing
and photo projects, historical monuments - archaeological and architectural survey
techniques)
· Rescue archaeology and digital data processing in archaeological documentation
· Remote sensing and aerial photography in the documentation of historical
monuments

· Restoration techniques and methods to save the cultural heritage in danger
· Traditional restoration techniques in a critical perspective
· New methods (virtual reality in the recreation of historical monuments, three-
dimensional reconstruction of destroyed monuments, multimedia programs).

· The role of museum collections, historical monuments in the new political and
economic system of the countries in East-Central Europe
· Historical anniversaries "lieux de mémoire"
· Presentation and publication: computer networks
· Computer databases and digital networks in the political and economic decision
making

Favourable scholarly contacts that the Medieval Studies Department of the CEU has developed with the Institut für Realienkunde des Mittelallers und der frühen Neuzeit in Krems (Austria), the International Medieval Congress in Leeds (UK) and the Center for Medieval and Renaissance Studies at the UCLA result in a joint planning of a teleconference that would link Budapest, Vienna, Leeds and Los Angeles with Dubrovnik (Interuniversity Center) and hopefully also with Sarajevo. Important figures of the public and academic life (politicians, economists, sociologists, historians etc.) would be asked to share their views on the role, condition and future perspectives of the European cultural heritage.

C) EXHIBITION

A display of databases, documentation, multimedia programs will show the results of the course and illustrate with concrete examples what tools can be used in the process of preserving and maintaining cultural heritage.
Topics of the exhibition:
- Project documentation and visual material
- Multimedia programs and digital reconstructions
- Virtual collections of cultural heritage
List of institutions and organisations we would like to involve in the summer
university, if funded: