Winter School: The Future of the Past. Research Pathways in Digital Humanities and Memory Studies

The Future of the Past is an international program organized by the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Pavia, in collaboration with the Faculty of Information at the University of Toronto and infoclio.ch, the Swiss portal for historical sciences, under the patronage of Consulta Universitaria del Cinema and Società Italiana per lo Studio della Storia Contemporanea. The Winter School explores the transformative impact of digital technologies on the humanities, with a specific focus on contemporary history and memory studies.

This first edition is structured around three core themes: Preserving memory; Analyzing spaces of memory; Generating memory

Participants will take part in lectures, panel discussions, and practical workshops led by internationally recognized scholars. The program offers both theoretical foundations and hands-on training, providing participants with the skills to critically address the ethical and methodological challenges of digitizing historical heritage, and to apply digital tools and methods in historical and memory-related research.

Program Structure

The Winter School will take place from 10 to 12 December 2025 in a blended format, combining both in-person and online participation options. The program includes a total of 24 hours of activities spread over three intensive days, allowing participants to join either on-site or remotely. All lectures and activities will be conducted in English.

Download the full programme 

Who can apply: 

The Winter School is open to graduate students and PhD candidates with an interest in Digital Humanities and Memory Studies. Students from the Department of Political and Social Sciences at the University of Pavia will receive 3 ECTS upon successful completion.

A certificate of attendance will be issued to all participants.

How to apply: 

Participation is free of charge. To help us better understand your academic background and to plan logistics effectively applicants are kindly requested to submit a current short CV (2 pages max) along with their application, specifying in their email their preferred mode of participation. Please send your application to the following email address: futureofthepast@unipv.it by 25 november 2025.

The Zoom link for online participants will be circulated closer to the start of the Winter School.