What Faculty do you work in?
The Faculty of Humanities and Social Sciences.
What is your main area of research?
I research climate change science fictions and stories about terraforming and geoengineering (which are, by and large, about climate change).
Why is your research important?
Science fictions are one of the ways in which the future is imagined and anticipated. The speculative nature of science fiction enables us to think about a whole range of social, cultural, scientific, philosophical and existential questions pertaining to a full range of human endeavour, from how societies work, how culture persists throughout time, and how scientific and technological developments could re-shape societies in the future. Sustainability, climate change, ecology, evolution and biology are some of science fiction’s most persistent themes, and there’s a case to be made that contemporary thinking about climate change is thoroughly informed by science fiction. For these reasons understanding how science fiction interacts with culture and science is both fascinating and crucial. It’s also an incredibly useful way to teach about these ideas and others in ways that encourage critical thinking.
What SDG is your research most closely aligned with?
The thing about the SDGs is that, as science fiction teaches us, all of these elements are inter-related. Reduced inequalities and gender equality go hand in hand, while climate action and quality education are in my view also closely aligned with my research in science fiction. Peace, justice and strong institutions is, too, as is responsible consumption and production. Science fiction, particularly those works that engage closely with climate change, however, have something to say about all the SDGs. The point about my research into terraforming and geoengineering is that they’re all inseparable.
What do you hope to accomplish with your research?
Fundamentally, I hope to show how we might use science fiction to become more critically aware of our pasts, presents and possible futures, and how we might use the resources that science fiction offers to enhance our sense of agency and our ability to form multiple, overlapping communities that encourage us and other beings to flourish.
Is there a cross-disciplinary element to your research? If so, who else at the University is involved?
Certainly. Science fiction is inherently cross-disciplinary. I’ve been working on projects that bring together people from multiple disciplines within and beyond the university. At Swansea, these include Federico Lopez-Terra in Modern Languages, Amy Isham and Andrew Kemp in Psychology, Geoff Proffitt and Kam Tang in Biosciences and Clare Wood in Civil Engineering.
Are there any external collaborators involved?
I’m part of a Biophilic Centre of Excellence <https://biophilic.wales/> that is working with external partners such as Hacer Developments, who are building the Swansea Biophilic Living Building (BIOSWA) in Swansea City Centre. This network includes researchers at UWTSD and Cardiff Metropolitan University. I’m also part of the Narrating Rural Change network, which includes a number of external collaborators.
What is next for your research?
I’m thinking of ways to use science fiction to work with members of the local Swansea community to imagine the future of our city. I’d like to explore this territory more in future research. In addition to continuing work on biophilic design, I’m also pursuing research into geoengineering and terraforming in science fiction, as well as agriculture.