PhD-Led Seminar Series 7 

A series of informal seminars led by and for Arts & Humanities doctoral students. Each seminar is presented by a different PhD researcher and involves plenty of interactive discussion. This is a friendly, supportive space in which we develop critical research skills and build community. 

Seminar 7.1: Everything, Everywhere, All at Once: Construction site atmospheres and digital practices

When & Where: Thursday 19^th March 2026 from 1-2 pm in Grosvenor East room 206 and on Teams, with optional extension until 2:30 pm for in-person attendees. Tea, coffee, juice, and snacks provided.

Presenter: Loretta Lipworth. Loretta is a final year PhD researcher. Her project examines the relationship between affective atmospheres (i.e. mood, vibe, or how a place feels) and Building Information Modelling (BIM), which is a digital technology and process used in the management of construction projects.

Format/topic: Loretta will lead this session with an overview of her PhD research, including key findings and discussion points that move through atmospheres of optimism, uncertainty and negativity. Attendees will be invited to see, hear and feel experiences from the field, in order to critically engage with the atmospheres concept and implications of the research.

Preparation: There is no pre-reading for this session but for Q&A and discussion you may want to consider: How do your own emotions and sensory experiences figure in your research? Are you challenging any orthodoxies or busting any myths in your thesis? Which literatures/disciplines do you draw on and are there conceptual crossovers with other disciplines?

If you would like to attend: Email Domenic Suntrapak at 22588709@stu.mmu.ac.uk by 12:30 pm Friday 13th March to say whether you would like to attend online or in person, and if you have any dietary requirements (all snacks are vegetarian).