Culture and creativity
Advances in the creative economies and an exploration of the cultural heritage of Scotland and other countries and peoples.
The University is active in vibrant areas of the creative economies such as gaming, music, the visual arts, film, and graphic design. Its research also enriches topics including tourism, festivals, and the rich cultural heritage of Scotland and other countries.
Discover how Edinburgh's influence helps shape and inform our culture and creativity.
Discover our research themes
Culture and creativity This digital life One Health The future of health and care Futureproofing societies and the planet
Are some languages more difficult than others?
The level of similarity between adopted and mother tongues governs how tricky a new language is to learn. But there's good news for babies with bilingual aspirations.
Are some languages more difficult than others?
Beyond football’s elite, survival can seem like success
As Europe’s top clubs take time out for the World Cup, most of Scotland’s professional teams – financially, on a different planet – will keep playing regardless.
Beyond football’s elite, survival can seem like success
The unfinished business of colonialism
How do you return ancestral remains looted during the height of the British Empire in a way that brings genuine healing? A project involving Naga artefacts is underway to do just that.
The unfinished business of colonialism
Chasing the blues
The hunt for a naturally occurring blue – something that is surprisingly rare – that can be produced at scale led a collaboration of researchers and a biotech firm to an unlikely source – algae.
Chasing the blues
Beyond the brain
Researchers at the University of Edinburgh are challenging how we think about thinking.
Beyond the brain
Culture is bad for you
Research conducted at the University of Edinburgh is helping challenge inequalities in the creative and cultural industries (CCIs).
Culture is bad for you
Revisiting the crucifixion
Two thousand years of retelling the Easter story may have obscured some fascinating details. Is it time to reassess the archvillains of the crucifixion and see Jesus’ women followers as the key to this pivotal historical event?
Revisiting the crucifixion
How Chagos Islanders are fighting to keep their culture alive in exile
After the forced removal of the inhabitants of the Chagos Islands in the 1960s and 1970s, displaced Chagossians have sustained their culture by sharing their music, dance, and cuisine – and created a rallying call in their fight to return.
How Chagos Islanders are fighting to keep their culture alive in exile
When women modernised the military
The courage and sacrifice of the women drafted into the armed forces during the Second World War changed the military forever. Professor Jeremy Crang traces how their wartime heroism opened the door to a vocation that was historically taboo for women.
When women modernised the military
Hi-tech tool prompts hope of virtual assistants fluent in Gaelic
Speech recognition software developed by Edinburgh researchers is helping to ensure that Scotland’s ancient language has a place in the modern technological landscape.
Gaelic virtual assistants
Revived with the sound of music
Gaming technology can blur the lines between reality and fantasy. Researchers have been exploring its potential to create the sensation of a musical time machine.
Revived with the sound of music
Where artistry and everyday life meet
In 1951 the School of Scottish Studies began collecting images, stories and voices of the Scottish lives that had been often overlooked. As its famed Archive celebrates its 70th anniversary, its impact still resonates.
Where artistry and everyday life meet