Resurgent Places: Practice-based Repair Across the West Asia and North Africa Region

This PhD investigates how places across the West Asia and North Africa (WANA) region have been shaped and disrupted by: colonial histories war and militarism environmental degradation and climate change The project frames the region as: socially and politically contested ecologically fragile shaped by external narratives (e.g., Orientalism) It invites research that explores “place repair” — rebuilding meaning, identity, and ecological relationships through creative and critical practices. Research Focus The project focuses on: place-making and re-making practices decolonial approaches to land and knowledge repair of cultural and ecological systems Key themes include: colonial and postcolonial narratives climate vulnerability and desertification ecological and social justice indigenous and land-based knowledge systems Possible Research Questions How can places be rebuilt after cultural and physical destruction? How can creative practice challenge colonial narratives of land? How can storytelling and art restore suppressed knowledge systems? How can place-based practices address violence and vulnerability? Practice-Based Approach “Practice” is interpreted broadly and may include: writing and critical essays poetry and storytelling film and sound visual arts spatial and design interventions The project encourages: critical fabulation (reimagining histories) storytelling as resistance textual and linguistic exploration Potential Research Areas indigenous and ecological knowledge recovery sustainability in conflict or post-conflict zones land-based epistemologies and ancestral practices decolonising knowledge systems human and more-than-human relationships (multi-species thinking) Industry Collaboration Partner: Mosaic Rooms (London-based arts organisation) Support includes: mentorship access to archives networking with communities and institutions opportunities for exhibitions, talks, and public outputs Research Environment Central Saint Martins (UAL) Research groups: Afterall (research centre) Commoning Ecologies Fictions, Fabulations and Fugitivities Focus areas: decolonial practice ecological justice cultural and narrative research

Strong degree (2:1 or equivalent) in:
Arts
Humanities
Social Sciences
or related field

strong interest in:
decolonisation
storytelling
ecology and climate justice
experience in:
creative practice
writing / research
interdisciplinary work

Apply via University of the Arts London website

Steps:

Review PhD application guidance
Submit online application

Typical documents required:

CV
Research proposal (very important)
Portfolio (if relevant)
Personal statement
Academic transcripts
References
Important Dates
Application Deadline: 11 May 2026
Start Date: Typically Autumn 2026