In a nutshell, the CUDAN project mission is to further understand the nature of cultural interaction, cultural dynamics, and cultural evolution, through research in the mode of a multidisciplinary science lab, and through nurturing the associated community of practice in an exercise of intentional academic mixing. Our project aims at building a new analytical approach, called “Cultural Data Analytics” that integrates quantitative and qualitative methods, including aspects of network science, complexity science, computational social science, science of science, machine learning, data science, design research, visualization, art history, cultural semiotics, digital culture studies, and creative industries’ studies to work with digitized cultural heritage as well as with born-digital data acquired from contemporary platforms.
The main objective of CUDAN is to build on and develop the existing strengths in digital culture studies within Tallinn University and in Estonia more broadly. This will be accomplished through establishing the ERA Chair position and the transdisciplinary and innovative cooperation platform (Open Lab) at Tallinn University. The two are co-constitutive, the ERA Chair will spearhead the Open Lab project, its team members will facilitate Open Lab projects and events, will develop its methods and management protocols. Open Lab will cooperate with multiple external partners, both public and private, in order to collect, analyse and use digital cultural data, to better understand contemporary cultural dynamics and incorporate this understanding into public cultural service designs, and cultural and creative industries policies.
