Displaced Heritage and Digital Technologies: Politics and Society in Catalonia’s Practices of Digital Heritage

Abstract

This thesis focuses on processes of displaced heritage and the role of digital technologies in their resolution. The aim of the research is to understand how the use of digital tools in such processes within a single cultural and/or national setting is subject to the political and social context. To do so, I answer the following research question: How is the use of digital tools in Catalonia’s practices of displaced heritage subject to the socio-political context?

I analyse three cases of displaced heritage within the context of Catalonia: the frescoes of Sant Climent de Taüll, those of Santa Maria de Mur, and those from the chapter house of Santa Maria de Xixena. They all consist of the same kind of object (Romanesque frescoes). Likewise, they are all connected to the Romanesque art collection of the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya. However, in the cases of Taüll and Mur, various digital tools have been used instead of a physical restitution, whereas in the case of Xixena, physical restitution has been privileged over the use of digital tools.

Therefore, despite their shared characteristics, each case presents significant differences. This work aims to analyze and compare them to understand how the local and national social and political contexts influence the use of digital tools in processes to deal with displaced heritage. I argue that different identity and neoliberal dynamics combined with different perceptions of digital heritage have influenced the uses of digital technologies in each displaced heritage case. This thesis is important to highlight the sociopolitical complexities of digital heritage and the necessity to further study displaced heritage within national contexts.