From antiquity to community: rethinking classical heritage through citizen humanities

What is the role of classical heritage in building modern, plural, diverse European identities? To answer this question the consortium From antiquity to community: rethinking classical heritage through citizen humanities (acronym AntCom) will train a new generation of 10 highly skilled cultural heritage researchers equipping them to harness the potential of the digital transition as well as to address the professional and societal challenges that it entails. AntCom prioritizes both open science (Citizen Humanities) and innovative curatorial techniques (Multi- and Hyperspectral Imaging) to create an empowering exchange between researchers and communities. Professionals trained by AntCom will have the skills to restitute heritage back to communities and build more complete, sustainable narratives and memory practices about Europe’s classical past. AntCom builds on a high-level, integrated cooperation between the humanities and STEM, inspired by the notion that both areas equally provide skills suitable to meet current needs of the job market and to create a better, more resilient society. AntCom offers the first structured training program in Citizen Science for the humanities (Citizen Humanities). AntCom will forge a cohort of early-stage researchers equipped to design, implement and manage open-science projects, building on advanced techniques of digitization and data collection. AntCom looks at both tangible and intangible classical heritage in Europe within three main areas: 1. Manuscript heritage; 2. Linguistic heritage; 3. Ritual and narrative heritage. A consortium of 4 universities – University of Southern Denmark, University of Verona, University of Salento, and University of Santiago de Compostela – and 8 associated partners, AntCom will provide fellows with the skills and training to lead heritage research in Europe and to be employable in curatorial institutions, science communication, industrial imaging and tourism.