Space, cultures and politics

Description

The interdisciplinary group focuses on the implications of space production from social, cultural, and political perspectives in various contexts. The group applies a plethora of humanities and social science techniques in their research.

The research breadth is historical, utilising humanities and social science to evaluate all types of spatial production. The projects span geographically and historically, with theoretical diversity. They consider relations in the global south, east-west exchange, and provide a thorough analysis of the global north. The researchers share a common interest in critical engagement with domestic and public architecture, and urban transformation processes. The group investigates numerous key research topics such as cultural impacts of climate change, spatial humanities, post-secularity and religion, spatial health experiences, built and cultural heritage, decolonisation studies in the global south, postsocialist domesticities, informal imperialism, and digital criticality. A range of interdisciplinary approaches, interests, and methodologies are utilised, including social and cultural anthropology, critical and historical inquiry, ethnography, literature, medical humanities, philosophy, scenario making, design research, drawing, filmmaking, creative writing, critical digital studies, and urban studies.

Research outputs vary significantly, ranging from detailed research articles and monographs to temporary installation works, creative writing outputs, and public engagement and design projects.

The Space, Cultures, and Politics researchers demonstrate expertise in numerous areas including architectural humanities, climate research, conservation, decolonisation, design research, digital humanities, intersectional feminism, photography, religion, and urban studies. They collaborate interdisciplinary with colleagues in various fields and international colleagues from numerous countries.

Research themes include: • Cultural dimensions of climate change • Feminist approaches to care in university settings • Critical approaches to architectural history with a focus on subaltern architectures • Impact of digital technologies on understanding, designing, and inhabiting spaces • Concerns about time, managing change, heritage, and memory in conservation and regeneration • Modern architecture and heritage, and architectural anthropology in East-West Studies • Visual and material cultures in urban histories • Role of architecture in materialising imperial ambitions in the 19th century • Meanings and implications of the material and economic networks in architecture • Materialisation of religious practices in built environments • Intersections of health and illness with built environments • Critical approaches to design and spatial research in spatial humanities • Relationship between gender, domestic space, and the (post)socialist state in Eastern Europe • Feminised migration from the global east

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No, this infrastructure does not provide funding.

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University affiliation(s)

University of Sheffield
Sheffield