The platform

The creation of the ISMed platform, supported by the MMSH and the Institute for Mediterranean archaeology (ARKAIA), is part of the drive to promote new ways of training through research in order to help students learn and develop their expertise, while at the same time developing and supporting new investigative practices among researchers. Images and sound are as much a means of collecting data as they are of narrating it, and are driving forward changes in the way research is conducted and written. They are becoming more powerful and easier to use as digital technologies evolve.

The platform provides researchers and students with a tool for hands-on experimentation with image and sound recording and exploitation techniques, enabling them to take part in this major movement. Students and researchers alike will discover new ways of exploring and understanding social and material heritage, and new ways of writing research.
 

ISMed’s main missions

Introduction to image and sound tools - The platform introduces students and researchers to the use of image and sound for research in the humanities and social sciences, and introduces them to dialogue with the audiovisual world. It is developing interactive courses to discuss audiovisual subjects and provide training in everyday digital tools, such as using a smartphone for shooting, sound recording and editing.

Research using images - The platform supports school projects run by researchers, teacher-researchers, post-docs and doctoral students who want to use images and sound in their research. It helps to put together an interdisciplinary team of advanced students (Masters) around the project leader. It makes equipment available and supports the project over a one-year period.

Culture of image and sound - The platform is intended to provide a means of raising the profile of new forms of research in the social sciences and humanities. It organises screenings, debates and exhibitions to showcase its power.