Speculative space: Architectural imaginaries and utopian practice through science fiction

Applications accepted all year round

Self-Funded PhD Students Only

About the Project

This research project looks at how the representation of architecture and built environments in sf might be used to inform and enact spatial alternatives within the present. While there is an existing body of scholarship that reflects on how science fiction responds to the world as experienced, this research project is informed by the research work of Amy Butt to ask how we might use sf as a critical and constructive tool to reflect on contemporary architectural practice, to support social and spatial justice work, and propose radical alternatives of making and living together. It builds on the work of scholars such as Walidah Imarisha and Adrienne Maree Brown who look to sf as a space of activism and radical change, where the unshackling of imagination is an integral part of liberation.

This research does not privilege certain types of media, but instead is excited by the insights that can be generated through any speculative fiction including films, novels, short fictions, games and comic books. It seeks to challenge the dominance of heavily studied works of sf by white, male, anglophone authors by attending to the work of historically overlooked works or those produced by marginalised groups, to reflect the rich diversity of speculative fictions and expand the scope of sources for imagines futures. Feminist and situated readings are an essential part of any close reading of these works, to acknowledge our own position as readers and researchers.

It is founded on a collaborative and a collective ethos to the construction of knowledge, exploring how these sf texts might be used as a locus for discussion, or a prompt for creative practice to enact alternatives. As such it celebrates the collaborative possibilities of Practice Based Research, creating knowledge through the production of workshops and artworks. This interdisciplinary work sits between and across the fields of Architecture, Urban Studies, Utopian Studies, Contemporary Literature, Cultural Studies and Media Studies, and is open to being informed by the scholarship and practice of multiple other fields.

This project offers the opportunity to attend to the possibilities held within speculative fiction, to manifest alternatives through small-scale practice based works, to develop thinking and practice in collaboration with others, to produce knowledge and practice that aims to support spatial and social justice.

University of Reading:

The University of Reading, located west of London, England, is ranked at 172 globally, according to the QS World University Rankings 2025. 98% of research at the University is of international standing (REF 2021, combining the University’s world leading, internationally excellent and internationally recognised submissions). The University’s main Whiteknights Campus is set in 130 hectares of beautiful, award-winning parkland, less than a 30-minute train ride to London Paddington and is approximately 30 miles from London Heathrow airport.

During your PhD at the University of Reading, you will expand your research knowledge and skills, receiving supervision and training in a number of different forms. We also provide dedicated training in important transferable skills that will support your career aspirations. If you need to develop your academic English skills before you start your studies, then the University has an excellent Global Academy which can help with this.

Eligibility:

• Applicants should have a Masters degree (or equivalent) in an appropriate subject, or a First Class degree with a research component and a strong record of practice based work.
• International applicants will also need to meet the University’s English Language requirements. We offer pre-sessional English courses that can help with meeting these requirements.

The University of Reading is committed to a policy of equal opportunities and non-discriminatory treatment for all members of its community.

How to apply:

Submit an application for a PhD in Architecture via our online application system.

Further information:

Architecture PhD webpage

Enquiries:

Dr Amy Butt e-mail : a.v.butt@reading.ac.uk

www.amyvictoriabutt.com