An International and Interdisciplinary Initiative for Early-Career Scholars from the Global South funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation

Thursday, 14 September, 2017 - 23:30

The School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, announces open applications for the 2018-2019 Summer Program in Social Science. Conducted in collaboration with the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WISER) at the University of the Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, and the Escuela de Estudios de Género (EEG) and Centro de Estudios (CES) at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, in Bogotá, this innovative program will take place over a two-year cycle, beginning with a two-week session in Princeton (June 18-29, 2018), followed by one week mid- 2019 at one of the two collaborating institutions in South Africa and Colombia, with continuous communication facilitated among the scholars throughout the two year period. The program will be led by Didier Fassin, James D. Wolfensohn Professor in the Institute’s School of Social Science, in collaboration with Sarah Nuttall, Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, and Mara Viveros, Professor at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia.

Designed to draw together twenty early-career scholars from countries in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, the program aims to enrich and expand the realm of the social sciences through the confrontation of different intellectual traditions and perspectives; to facilitate and enhance the dialogue between various scientific disciplines and communities; and to strengthen international networks across continents. Fellows will pursue and present their own research projects during the program. This research is expected to be at an advanced stage of development so as to render discussions of its object, method and conclusions richer and intellectual interactions among the fellows more fruitful. A special attention will be paid to local contexts of production and global modalities of circulation of knowledge and the participants will be invited to exchange their research experiences. The purpose is to constitute a genuinely international and interdisciplinary network of social scientists from the global South. The program is open to scholars from all social sciences, including anthropology, sociology, history, psychology, economics, law, and political science, as well as neighboring disciplines such as philosophy, political theory, and literary studies. All research themes are welcomed. The workshops will be held in English in Princeton and Johannesburg, and in Spanish in Bogotá. All transportation, meals and accommodation expenses for the participating scholars will be covered.

Applications must be filed electronically through the Institute’s online application system by the deadline of September 15, 2017. The selection process will be completed by November 1 st . Application instructions can be found here: https://www.sss.ias.edu/spss/instructions

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