Past = Future in Perfect

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

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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

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About Us

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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

Childhood 1500 years ago uncovered
What did babies eat 1500 years ago? International researchers led by the University of Bonn and the Nova University of Lisbon reconstructed the diet of children in Roman and medieval Portugal using state-of-the-art isotope methods to answer this question. The results have been published in the journal “Scientific Reports”. 
Ages and Wonders in P26 : University of Bonn holds ceremony to open new House of Knowledge and Research
The University of Bonn has formally opened P26, its House of Knowledge and Research, in the heart of the city center. Short for “Poststraße 26,” it is a place where research, teaching and the general public can now come together. In the future, the rented building—a former department store—will house two University museums, the Global Heritage Lab and the University’s Infopunkt information desk. P26 will open its doors to the public on Wednesday, October 23, 2024.
Gustavo Politis Wins Humboldt Research Prize
The Argentinian archaeologist Professor Gustavo Politis is to receive a research prize from the Humboldt Foundation. Among other things, the researcher is studying the early settlement of the Americas. Professor Carla Jaimes Betancourt from the Department of Anthropology of the Americas at the University of Bonn had put his name forward for the €60,000 award. The pair are now stepping up their collaboration.
Immersing Ourselves in New Worlds: Where Theology Meets Cognitive Research
What happens when we look at a late antique image? In what order does our gaze wander over the individual elements? Where does it linger? What bodily reactions do such images or early Christian narratives trigger in us? Attempts to answer questions like this are going well beyond merely interpreting early Christian works. A research project embarked on by the University of Bonn together with the University of St Andrews is now bringing Ancient Studies and Cognitive Science together. One key theme is immersion, a concept usually associated more with the world of gaming. 

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. 

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.  

TRA Present Pasts Spokesperson

Prof. Dr. Matthias Becher

Historian Matthias Becher researches the political culture of the early and high Middle Ages as well as the communication and integration strategies of this period in transcultural comparison.

TRA Present Pasts Spokesperson

Prof. Dr. Karoline Noack

Karoline Noack is an ancient Americanist and director of the BASA Museum. Her research ranges from transculturality and dependency in the Inca state and its continuities to relations between Latin America and Europe, shaped by migrations of people, images and objects.

Joint Fellow

Prof. Dr. Sophia Labadi

Sophia Labadi is Professor of Heritage at the University of Kent and has been extending the GHL for a year, initially with a Humboldt Fellowship and now with a joint fellowship from TRA Present Pasts and the Cluster of Excellence BCDSS.

Contact

Avatar Alings

Kim Alings

TRA manager | Strategic Development and Quality Assurance Unit

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Transdisciplinary Research Areas

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

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.

Research Funding

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

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