Residencies at Memorial University (Canada)

The research group Classics at the Crossroads: Partnership, Mobility, and Exchange Between Ghana, Nigeria, and Canada is pleased to announce a call for applications for fully funded one month residencies at the Memorial University of Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada. There is funding for up to three residencies. We welcome applications from African scholars, artists, and intellectuals at all career stages, to be judged by the following criteria:

1. Quality and originality of the scholarly or artistic proposal

2. Feasibility of the project and its suitability to the resources and academic community of Memorial University: https://www.mun.ca/main/about/; https://www.mun.ca/research/research-strategy/themes/; https://www.mun.ca/hss/about/strategic-framework/; https://www.mun.ca/classics/; https://www.library.mun.ca  

3. Quality and originality of the applicant’s existing published work (e.g., doctoral thesis, book, or substantial article) or equivalent creative output (performance, artworks, etc.)  

The project in question must be engaged with aspects of Greco-Roman or Mediterranean antiquity, but such engagement can take different forms:

• Traditional scholarship

• Theatrical adaptation

• Artistic or intellectual endeavours

The selected candidates must be scholars, artists, or intellectuals working in an African country. This competition forms part of a broader project aimed at building global networks and overcoming obstacles to the mobility of students and researchers in Classics. It is hoped that successful applicants to this residency program will benefit from access to library resources, connections with other researchers and/or creative practitioners at Memorial and other Canadian universities, and the opportunity to disseminate their research or artistic creations. The competition will be adjudicated by an international committee of scholars in Classics and related fields.

Award:

The award will cover the costs of travel to Memorial University’s St. John’s campus, meals, accommodation (approx. one month), and visa application fees, up to a maximum of $10,000 CAD per residency. Successful candidates will have access to library resources and office space on campus, and will be invited to offer a public lecture or presentation on their work. All awards are conditional on successful application for a visa for a one-month stay in Canada. The residencies can be scheduled for any time between Summer 2025 and February 2027. Residencies during the main teaching terms (September - December; January - April), though not required, are preferable, as this will maximize the potential for interaction with students and faculty. Six months or more should be allowed for the visa application process.

Application Procedure:

To apply, please send the following materials to Luke Roman (romanl@mun.ca) by November 1, 2024:

1. Cover letter outlining the project—originality, approach, and projected outcomes—and what the applicant hopes to achieve during their visit at Memorial University (max. 2 pages singlespaced).

2. Curriculum vitae.

3. Writing sample of published scholarship such as a chapter, article, or excerpt from a doctoral thesis (max. 10,000 words) or sample of creative work.

4. Names of two referees.

5. Three sets of projected dates for the visit, ranked according to the applicant’s preference.

We hope to announce the outcome of the competition by February 2025.

Responsive Governance and Population Well-being in Late Antiquity:

Project Description:

Scholarship on Late Antiquity has established that the later Roman Empire employed response mechanisms for more effective and directive governance. How such governance relates to the common good and population well-being is less researched and more difficult to describe. The current collaborative project (Ghent University, Stellenbosch University, University of the Western Cape) aims atinvestigating the reciprocal relationship between imperial structures and the general populace of the empire. The topic is studied from a top-down perspective (laws, speeches, treatises issued from the top of the social hierarchy) as well as a bottom-up perspective which was communicated to those in executive capacities able to improve the quality of life of lower social strata (petitions, acclamations, the ‘common good’ implied in ideologies of the ideal state and good rulership, economic and social advances, philosophical notions on happiness, medical ideas of good health, environmental impacts) .

Requirements:

• Ph.D. in Late Antique (Roman Imperial) History and Literature, or a related subject field in Classics (graduation within the last five years).

• Evidence of the ability to publish in national and international journals.

The post-doctoral fellowship package includes: A monthly stipend and workspace.

Application:

Send a letter of application, accompanied by an academic record and a comprehensive curriculum vitae including a list of publications, and the names and contact details of at least two referees, to bosmanpr@sun.ac.za
Applicants should request their referees to forward confidential reports by the closing date directly to the same address.

Further Notes:

• The fellowship is renewable for a second year subject to satisfactory performance.

• The successful candidate will be required to stay in the greater Cape Town area for at least 9 months per annum.

• The postdoctoral fellow will be required to do research and publish research results related to the research project as formulated for the South African side of the project. Further research related tasks include conference organisation and coordination and editing of an edited volume on the research topic.

• The postdoctoral fellow will be affiliated to both the University of Stellenbosch and the University of the Western Cape.

• The Postdoctoral Office at Stellenbosch University assists postdoctoral fellows with logistical arrangements, including support for visa applications, temporary accommodation at Stellenbosch University, airport transport upon arrival, and registration on the University system.

• Postdoctoral fellows are not appointed as employees and as their fellowships are awarded tax-free, they are not eligible for employee benefits.

• The University reserves the right NOT to make anappointment if suitable candidates do not apply

To forward your application, please send the application documents to the following email address:

Call for Visiting Fellowships

The Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) invites joint proposals from African academics in the Diaspora and within universities in Africa for the African Academic Diaspora Visiting Fellowships to African universities. This call targets African scholars in the Diaspora wishing to be supported to spend some time in an African university to undertake specific academic activities aimed at strengthening teaching and research in the Social Sciences, the Humanities or in Higher Education studies. The Fellowships will only be undertaken in universities located in Ghana, Nigeria, Kenya, Uganda, Tanzania, and South Africa). The tenure of the fellowships will range from two weeks (14 days) to one month (30 days).

CODESRIA is implementing the African Academic Diaspora Support to African Universities programme with funding support from the Carnegie Corporation of New York (CCNY). The programme seeks to mobilise the African academic diaspora to support African universities strengthen teaching, research and knowledge production in the social sciences and humanities. The scope of activities to be undertaken by academic diaspora visiting fellows will be limited to teaching graduate level courses, conducting mentorship and skill workshops, design of programmes and review of existing ones, conceptualisation and participation in research partnerships. These activities reflect CODESRIA’s thematic priorities for research and training in the 2023-2027 programme cycle. The specific details of the activities and manner of implementation will be agreed upon between the diaspora academics and the host institutions, but should generally revolve around the following:

• Short-term post-graduate teaching engagements at a selected African

• Initiating joint research activities and

• Organising the joint supervision of masters’ and doctoral

• Facilitating the review or development of curricula in the social sciences and humanities.

• Organising mentorship workshops for PhD supervision, as well as summer schools for advanced doctoral and post-doctoral students and early career academics.

• Undertake other activities that would potentially contribute to strengthening the relationships and linkages between African academics in the diaspora and African

Mode of Application

African Academics from the Diaspora who wish to be supported as visiting fellows under this programme are required to submit a joint application with a senior faculty or member of the academic division from the host institution. The application file should include:

1. A brief joint concept note of not more than 2000 words highlighting the area of intervention and related activities to be undertaken by the visiting fellow during the period of the fellowship in the African university. This concept note will include but not limited to the following: the gaps in the host institutions’ academic plan that the activities will contribute to addressing; the duration of the fellowship and the exact timing the fellowship will be undertaken.

2. Supporting documents from the host African institution indicating the nature of support the host institution will extend to the visiting fellow as part of the host institution’s subsidizing of the Fellowship.

3. Budget- this should be linked to the time and activities the visiting fellow will undertake in the African host institution. For planning purposes, interested fellows should note that CODESRIA will allocate USD250 per day to successful applicants. This amount will cover all travel related expenses including round ticket, accommodation and subsistence of the visiting fellow for the duration of the fellowship.

(Note: Fellows are free to consider undertaking some activities virtually or suggest hybrid formats where circumstances and the nature of activities to be undertaken permit.)

Expected outputs.

At the end of the fellowship, diaspora academics to be supported will be expected to provide the following outputs:

1. Submit to CODESRIA a scientific exit report publishable by CODESRIA (4000-6000 words). The report will highlight the activities undertaken as part of the fellowship as well as provide a deeper reflection on the state of higher education, social science and humanities within the case study university and the country and possible implications of the fellowship.

2. Both the visiting fellow and the contact person at the host institution will be expected to respond to an evaluation to be undertaken by an external person evaluating the programme on behalf of CODESRIA at the end of the fellowship.

3. Visiting fellows will be encouraged to share and disseminate their learnings through other publications like University World News, The Conversation Africa, or other relevant online academic publications where applicable.

Eligibility

Those eligible for support under this programme are African-born academics in the diaspora, especially in North America and Europe. African scholars based in countries other than their own in Africa but interested in being supported as visiting fellows in other African universities are encouraged to apply. Prospective visiting diaspora academics should get in touch with the host university/department to agree on details of the relevant activities they will be engaged in during the tenure of their fellowship. This information should be included as part of the application documents.

Application Deadlines

All applications should be received by August 15, 2024. Successful Fellows are expected to hold the fellowship from November 2024 to July 2025.

For Specific questions, please contact:

AFRICAN DIASPORA VISITING FELLOWSHIPS (tgf@codesria.org)

For more information and to submit an application, please follow the link below: