Material Transitions: Exploring Cultural and Environmental Transformations Across Time

We invite PhD proposals examining how memory and material transitions shape and transform cultural and physical landscapes, past, present, and future.

Award

MRes | MPhil | PhD | MSc by Research

Start Date

Usually February and October - at individual School's discretion

Research Opportunities

Summary

This PhD opportunity focuses on exploring memory and material transitions across diverse landscapes through interdisciplinary research bridging related but distinct disciplines, including anthropology, architecture, art, and design. We invite projects that investigate how materials—from natural resources to digital data—embed histories and influence evolving environments, offering insight into the dynamic interactions within and between human and more-than-human worlds.

We are especially interested in research that delves into “in-between” spaces, where belonging and responsibilities are constantly renegotiated. Such spaces might encompass urban thresholds, rural-urban interfaces, or other physical, social, and cultural borders. These liminal zones hold potential for understanding how communities—both human and non-human—continually reshape and redefine their relationships to their surroundings.

Applicants should consider how creative practices contribute to material and cultural transformations over time. For instance, how do artistic interventions reflect or challenge existing narratives embedded within landscapes, or how might architectural designs respond to shifting environmental conditions? Additionally, projects could explore how digital platforms and technological tools impact our perception of memory and materiality, generating new spaces for interaction and storytelling.;

This PhD seeks students who are interested in interdisciplinary approaches and in contributing original insights on the intersections between memory, materiality, and environmental change.