The Pasts in Public research group brings together people with a wide range of interests in how the past is represented in – and influences – the present. We are particularly concerned with studies in public history, memory studies, and heritage studies. We think about how the past is formally represented and commemorated, for instance in museum exhibitions, heritage sites, statues and monuments, political discourse, or historical film, fiction, and documentary; but also, equally, about how the past finds expression in more informal guises in the course of people’s everyday lives, be it in conversation with friends and family, browsing social media, interacting with material objects, playing and watching games and sport, or subconsciously encountering pasts through taste, smell, and other senses. We welcome everyone to our events – students, staff, and people external to the university. We schedule academic seminars, hands-on public history workshops, site visits, and walking tours. Please join our mailing list (see below) to keep updated with our programme of events! Affiliated projects'Lomoburgh: Exploring Historical Landscapes through Lomography and Gestural Drawing'Co-led by Dr Huw Halstead (Edinburgh) and Professor Carl Smith (University of Arkansas) with Ruby Martyn (Edinburgh). Lomoburgh 'Miniatures: Small Stories – Big Histories'Podcast on the history of everyday life co-hosted by Dr Huw Halstead (Edinburgh), Professor Kate Ferris (University of St Andrews), and Dr Islay Shelbourne (John Hopkins University). Miniatures: Small Stories – Big Histories Co-organisers Dr Huw Halstead Dr Elizabeth Banks This article was published on Wednesday 28 October 2026
