Kostas Arvanitis
Lecturer in Museology
School of Arts, Histories & Cultures
E-mail: kostas.arvanitis@manchester.ac.uk
Full Profile
Research Profile
Kostas's research is in the intersection of museology, archaeology, cultural heritage and new media. His work in the area of Digital Heritage includes the theory and practice of digital technology in museums, galleries and heritage sites, including issues of user interaction and participation, multimedia interpretation and digital content curatorship. He is particularly interested in the use of mobile and Web 2.0 media in museums for purposes of curation, interpretation and learning. His other research interests include archaeological curatorship and how it is translated in different contexts, such as archaeological museums, open-air museums and sites in urban environments. Kostas uses qualitative research methodology, including unobtrusive/participant observation, interviews and focus groups, as well as visual and virtual ethnography.
Kostas has, also, a longstanding interest in how museums relate to 'the everyday'. Previous related research has included an investigation of the relation between museums, everyday life and mobile media. Drawing on museological and cultural studies theory, he has explored how three archaeological monuments in Thessaloniki (Greece) are interpreted and used in daily life and the potential of using mobile phones to capture the monuments' 'everyday meanings'. Based on the outcomes of this research, Kostas is currently working on a project titled "'Curators in Residence': Hidden archaeological sites and virtual curating". This research aims to engage city residents in Greece with the interpretation and presentation of antiquities preserved under modern buildings via the use of digital media.
Research Projects
- Curators in Residence: Hidden Archaeological sites and virtual curating
- Digital Heritage Research Training Initiative
Supervision Areas
Kostas is interested in supervising research on:
- Digital curating in museums, galleries and heritage environments
- Social media and user participation
- Mobile media as 'mobile museums'
- Understanding engagement and impact through/of digital media in the museum and heritage sector
- Interactives and Interactivity
- Museum exhibitions in 'non places'
- Collecting the 'everyday'
- Archaeological sites as 'open-air museums'
- Archaeological monuments in urban settings
- Archaeological curatorship and museum archaeology
- Interpretation and display of Greek archaeology
- Collection management and development
- Museum professionalisation
Current PhD Students
- Ifigeneia Anagnostou, (since 2011; main supervisor) Working Title: 'Re-reading and re-writing the Greeks: Refurbishments of Greek Collections in the UK University Museums at the dawn of the 21st century'
- Julian Hartley, (since 2008; main supervisor) Working Title: 'Social Media as Contact Zone: Networked communities and art gallery communication'
- Robert McCombe, (co-supervisor) Working Title: 'Gold Under Gravel, Gold Under Glass: Anglo-Saxon objects through excavation, collection and display'
Relevant publications
- [forthcoming] Arvanitis, K. and L. Tythacott (eds). 2012. Museums and Restitution: New Practices, New Approaches. Ashgate.
- Arvanitis, K. 2010. 'Museums outside walls: mobile phones and the museum in the everyday'. In Museums in a Digital Age, ed. by Ross Parry. Routledge, pp. 170-176
- Arvanitis, K. 2008. 'Ancient monuments, everyday life and mobile technology', in Technology for Cultural Heritage. Management, Education, Communication. Proceedings of the 2nd International Conference, Dept. of Cultural Technology, University of the Aegean, Mytilene, 28 June-2 July 2004. Athens: Kaleidoskopio
- Jarvis, T., Arvanitis, K., and T. Pell. 2005. Learning on the Move Evaluation: Final Report. National Space Centre, Leicester
- Arvanitis, K. 2005. 'Imag(in)ing the Everyday: Using camera phones to access the everyday meanings of archaeological monuments', in Digital Culture & Heritage. Proceedings of ICHIM 05, Paris 21-23 Sept. 05. Electronic Proceedings. Available online (opens PDF).
- Arvanitis, K. 2005. 'Management of "virtual archaeological sites": The case of "Odysseus"', Scientific Review of the Department of Architecture Journal, Aristotle University of Thessaloniki, Greece (in Greek)
- Arvanitis, K. 2004. 'Museums and the Everyday: Making Meaning of an Ancient Monument in Greece', Museological Review, 11, 1-15