Past = Future in Perfect
© AdobeStock 288369706

TRA Present Pasts: Past Worlds and Modern Questions - Cultures Across Time and Space

Logo_UBo_TRA_Pres_bereinigt_klein.png
© .

The TRA Present Pasts works to overcome the eurocentric view of history through the transdisciplinary study of past cultural, political, social and economic constellations and their specific forms of communication. By developing new concepts of heritage and related practices we can better understand our own present day and ensure that we leave behind a sustainable legacy for future generations.

Research

Learn more about our research profile!

About Us

Learn about our hard facts!

Projects

Learn more about ongoing funded TRA Present Pasts projects!

Offers

Seed funding - Networking - Events. Find out about our offers here!

News from the TRA

  Notifications

© Gregor Hübl/University of Bonn
New Heisenberg Professor at the University of Bonn
A new Heisenberg Professor has begun her work at the University of Bonn. Professor Laury Sarti, a medieval historian, is investigating the everyday mobility of people in the Middle Ages, considering not only the nobility but also ordinary individuals. Through its Heisenberg Programme, the German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft, DFG) enables researchers to pursue high-level projects and thus burnish their academic reputation even further. Sarti is receiving funding worth around €650,000.
Jan 06, 2026
© Photo: M. Qaim
Expensive food makes children fat
When food prices skyrocket during an economic crisis, it is primarily urban populations and people with low levels of education who are affected. This can have lifelong negative health consequences – such as stunted growth in children. A research team at the University of Bonn has now demonstrated such long-term effects using the example of the "Asian financial crisis" in the 1990s. At that time, turmoil on the financial markets led to a drastic increase in the price of rice, Indonesia's most important staple food, which left measurable traces in the development of children. The study was published in the journal "Global Food Security."
Jan 02, 2026
© Photo: Barbara Frommann/Uni Bonn
Eight times excellent: From January 2026, two further clusters of excellence will be funded Bonn
From January 1, 2026, the number of clusters of excellence funded at the University of Bonn will rise to eight – more than at any other university in Germany. Two new cluster projects will receive funding from the Excellence Strategy of the German federal and state governments for the first time. Starting in 2026, a total of around 40 million euros will flow into Bonn each year to strengthen the research activities of this University of Excellence.
Dec 22, 2025
© Universität Bonn / YouTube
EU Project: Bonn Robot Unjumbles Ancient Jigsaw
In what had long been merely the stuff of dreams for archaeologists, a “smart robot” has now put shattered ancient murals from Pompeii back together, piece by tiny piece. A team of researchers led by Professor Maren Bennewitz from the University of Bonn taught the robot how to solve its jigsaw puzzle as part of “Reconstructing the Past: Artificial Intelligence and Robotics Meet Cultural Heritage” (RePAIR), an EU collaborative project that has recently concluded.
Dec 03, 2025

Highlights and Announcements

Get Involved in the TRA

As a member of the TRA, you can access funding opportunities, take part in events and build new networks. 

© Uni Bonn

Our Members

Our members are independent researchers from all faculties and central institutions, from PhDs to postdocs to professors. Together, they conduct research on current debates and related phenomena from the past.

Join us!

TRA members benefit from regular funding opportunities and the chance to network beyond disciplinary borders.

Meet our Researchers

Inter- and transdisciplinary research actively pursued at the University of Bonn and is promoted across faculty boundaries. The faces of the TRA Present Pasts are our Argelander Professor and the numerous dedicated researchers.  

© Gregor Hübl / Uni Bonn

TRA Present Pasts Spokesperson

Prof. Dr. Matthias Becher

© Boris Schafgans

TRA Present Pasts Spokesperson

Prof. Dr. Karoline Noack

© TRA Present Pasts

Joint Fellow BCDSS and TRA Present Pasts

Prof. Dr. Sophia Labadi

Contact

Avatar Alings

Dr. Kim Alings

+49 228 73 54477

TRA manager | Strategic Development and Quality Assurance Unit
© Jürgen Hofmann

Read more...

Transdisciplinary Research Areas

Spaces for innovation in research and teaching - these are the six transdisciplinary research areas at the University of Bonn.

Learn more

University of Excellence

Since summer 2019, we have been one of eleven German Universities of Excellence. Read more about our research profile and our future concept.

Learn more

Research Funding

Research and Innovation Services at the University of Bonn will support you in all matters relating to your externally funded project.

Learn more