As far as we know, humans are the only animals that actively relate to the past. However, we do not know the details of why we perceive and shape our understanding of the past as we do.
The research group PAST will facilitate the development of hypotheses and new research projects that investigate this phenomenon, focusing on the intersection between basic human capacities for perception, cognition, and temporality and the culturally specific factors that influence them. This work includes exploring how people have perceived and structured time and the past in different eras and cultural contexts, how such perceptions are formed through archaeology, museums, and other means, and how they are used and misused to shape understanding of the world in the present and the future.
The group’s themes and activities appeal to a wide range of disciplines, and it aims to foster highly interdisciplinary research collaborations.
