Digital Documentation in Historic Preservation Education and Research: Prospects and Perils

Abstract:Digital technology is transformative for preservation documentation projects and has the potential to expand research and teaching in diverse areas of the discipline. As its use grows, it is critical to understand how the scholarly community is deploying the various aspects of this technology. This article provides a snapshot of the state of digital documentation in historic preservation research and education in the twenty-first century and unpacks the programmatic and philosophical implications of these techniques for the field. It outlines the various deployments of digital documentation in historic preservation curricula through an intensive survey of NCPE-registered programs and highlights key areas of applied research where digital technology enhances interpretations and deliverables. The conclusion calls for a critical discussion of the principles of digital documentation in historic preservation. This discussion begins a dialogue about dynamic and flexible best practices in digital documentation deployment in research and education, as these technologies become more accessible to academic programs and preservation practitioners in the years ahead.