DocTalks is an informal, peer-to-peer, weekly online forum by and for PhD students, postdocs and early career researchers in architectural history and theory. It is organized by a team of researchers from ETH Zurich, USI Accademia di Architettura di Mendrisio, IE University Madrid, UMass Amherst, Hong Kong University, McGill University and MIT.

The series started in 2018 as in-person meetings among PhD students at ETH Zurich/gta. In 2020 it moved online and opened to participants from other universities. Today, DocTalks is run by an international team and hosts a broad range of speakers and audience members from numerous universities worldwide.

We are all working in architectural history, in a broad range of geographical foci and chronologies, from early-modern to 20th century and even more recent history. The aim of the colloquium is not so much to guarantee fact-heavy input on whatever topic is presented (as would be the case in a research-peer group), but rather to try and draw parallels between different topics and to discuss more broadly how we do research, how we write, how we deal with historiographic tropes and conventions, and how we can situate our (often rather specialized) work within broader contexts and audiences. DocTalks works as a platform in which one can test their work beyond the narrow boundaries of their specific area of expertise.

We meet every week to present work-in-progress, exchange feedback and discuss matters of methodology, writing, narrative, terminology and periodology to draw links between different topics and areas of expertise. Meetings are structured around the canonical twenty-minute presentation, followed by a Q&A open to everyone attending. The format is designed so as to afford useful and direct feedback in a low-pressure environment. You may present anything that is useful for you according to the stage you are in: from the outline of your entire project to the draft of individual papers and/or chapters; from broader historiographical hypotheses to specific case studies.

We are looking for contributions from PhD students and Postdocs and early career researchers within the areas of architectural history and theory, from early-modern to contemporary. Besides those who wish to present their own work, our door is open to anyone that wishes to attend the sessions as an auditor and contribute with constructive comments and feedback.