Monday, August 24, 2026

Princeton University: Great Fellowship Opportunity for non-US-based Scholars!

 





Princeton University is pleased to announce the call for applications to the Fung Global Fellows Program at the Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS). The program will select early-career scholars from around the world to be in residence at Princeton for an academic year (10 months) and to engage in research and discussion around a common theme. The fellowships will be awarded to those employed outside the United States who have a faculty appointment or a professional research appointment, and they will be expected to return to their positions at the conclusion of the fellowship. Lastly, they must have demonstrated outstanding scholarly achievement and unusual intellectual promise. Early-career scholars will be appointed at the rank of Visiting Research Scholar.

Democratic governance faces mounting pressure around the world. The rise of populist movements, declining trust in institutions, polarization, disinformation, and democratic backsliding (including in democracies once considered as consolidated) have prompted renewed debate about whether democracy's ascendance in the late 20th century was more fragile than assumed. At the same time, democracies have proven resilient in unexpected ways—through grassroots mobilization, institutional safeguards, judicial independence, and civic renewal—raising the question of what, precisely, allows some democratic systems to weather crisis while others erode or collapse.

During the 2027-28 academic year, the program theme will be "Democracy in Crisis?" We invite applications from scholars who study the challenges confronting democratic governance and/or the sources of democratic resilience. Projects might explore the drivers and dynamics of populism; the erosion of democratic norms and institutions; the role of media, technology, and disinformation in shaping political life; the relationship between economic inequality and democratic legitimacy; or the strategies through which citizens, civil society, and institutions have defended or renewed democratic practice. We are equally interested in work that interrogates the conceptual and normative foundations of democracy itself – what it means, who it serves, and how it has been imagined and contested across different political and cultural traditions.

Applicants may address any region of the world and can bring contemporary and/or historical perspectives to bear. We welcome scholars from across the humanities and social sciences and hope to bring together a cohort whose comparative and interdisciplinary conversations will deepen our understanding of democracy's vulnerabilities and its capacity for renewal.

Applicants must apply online at this link: https://apply.interfolio.com/191685. Applications are due on November 16, 2026 (11:59 p.m. EST).

Should an offer be made, successful candidates who hold faculty appointments or professional research appointments will be required to submit an official letter from their current employer affirming that they would be permitted to accept the offer and to spend the academic year at Princeton University.

The work location for these positions is in-person, on campus at Princeton University. These positions are not eligible for sponsorship of an H-1B visa requiring consular processing; other visa sponsorships may be available, as appropriate.


Qualifications

To be eligible, applicants must have received their Ph.D. (or equivalent) generally after September 1, 2017. Candidates who are currently enrolled in a Ph.D. program or employed as postdocs are not eligible to apply. Fellowships will be awarded on the strength of a candidate's proposed research project, the relationship of that project to the program's theme, the candidate's scholarly record, and their ability to contribute to the intellectual life of the program. For more information, see: https://funggfp.princeton.edu/applications.


Application Instructions

The following items must be submitted by the applicant, in English, by November 16, 2026:

- Cover letter (1.5 pages maximum)

- Curriculum Vitae (including publications)

- Research proposal (maximum of 3 pages, single spaced)

- One writing sample (article or book chapter, maximum of 50 pages)

- The names and email addresses for three referees, who will be contacted automatically by the online application system with an invitation to upload their letter of recommendation to the system by the application deadline. (*Please note: all letters of reference should be submitted by your referees before the November 16, 2026, deadline.*)


Equal Employment Opportunity Statement

Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to age, race, color, religion, sex, sexual orientation, gender identity or expression, national origin, disability status, protected veteran status, or any other characteristic protected by law.

Pay Transparency Disclosure

The University considers factors such as (but not limited to) the scope and responsibilities of the position, candidate's qualifications, work experience, education/training, key skills, market, collective bargaining agreements as applicable, and organizational considerations when extending an offer. The posted salary range represents the University's good faith and reasonable estimate for a full-time position; salaries for part-time positions are pro-rated accordingly. The University also offers a comprehensive benefits program to eligible employees. Please see this link for more information.

Apply here



Wednesday, August 19, 2026

How we sense and feel | A Gathering to Reimagine Creative Solidarity.


VIAD Research Centre, University of Johannesburg in partnership with the Simmons Centre, Brown University and the Africa Institute, Global Studies University invites you to “How we sense and feel |A Gathering to Reimagine Creative Solidarity.”

We invite makers, artists and art-researchers to consider how they are actively reconstituting the aesthetic in the present time of war. In coming together with artists from the Sudan, the Democratic Republic of Congo, Palestine, Lebanon, South Africa, Haiti, Ethiopia and the United States of America, the Imagined New Volume III (or, what happens when History is a Catastrophe?), puts forward the following questions:  What (new) aesthetic knowledges are artists fighting for in the face of catastrophic violence? How are artists remaking worlds from material violence without reproducing this violence? How do artists tell stories of war, grief and hope beyond their identity? And what is the present relationship between art and the political? 

Sensing the world is how we make sense of our experiences and the feelings which emerge therein. During war and heightened violent conflict, our perceptual terrain is disrupted; as our very lived world faces an unmaking. Worse still, is that the regime of war attempts to deconstruct what is sensible or reasonable by attacking perception through the senses as well as the social. 

Who we are is pulled apart during war, and that relational being is forced to ask who belongs and who does not belong when some are cast as enemies. In that space, what can be done to whom and why is measured by feelings of fear, love, hatred, grief, even hope but it is distorted from any ordinary ways of knowing what it means to live a life. Within this social sphere which knows the world through skewed perceptual frames, some are forced to experience worlds without place while others lay claim to the whole world in its entirety. With the aesthetic realm implicated in all sides of the regime of contemporary warfare, this gathering of artists – who think about conflict through their hands, bodies, natural and built environments – offers a moment for collectively reimagining what creative solidarity can look like today. In Johannesburg, South Africa, at the Pan-Africanist space of The Forge, this assembly acts as an invitation to think collectively through practice. How we make worlds and create new forms of solidarity is what this gathering hopes to imagine anew.

How we sense and feel is at stake. Join us to think through (new) creative ways of knowing the world while facing war.

This roundtable conversation features artists; Berhanu Ashagrie Deribew, Tibian Bahari, Mark Gibson, Renold Laurent, Patrick Bongoy, Teresa Kutala Firmino, Mai Shaer, Milia Khoury and Shereen Abed.


Venue: The Forge, at 87 De Korte Street, Braamfontein, Johannesburg

Date: Sunday, 23 August 2026

Time: 17:30–20:00


Please note that while the Forge has ramp access at the entrance, the bathroom does not have ramps.


Food served by Bitten Studio


Poster image by Teresa Kutala Firmino

Tuesday, August 4, 2026

2027-2028 Postdoctoral Fellowships at Princeton University--Call for Applications

  The Princeton Institute for International and Regional Studies (PIIRS) at Princeton University is pleased to announce the call for applications for the 2027-28 Postdoctoral Fellows Program supporting social science research on international issues. We would appreciate it if you could share this announcement with colleagues and encourage promising candidates to apply.

As a leading global institution, PIIRS is dedicated to advancing innovative scholarship that seeks to understand and address the world's most pressing challenges, and the postdoctoral program is integral to that mission. We invite applications for the 2027-28 cohort. Up to four fellowships will be awarded to recent PhDs in the social sciences who have demonstrated outstanding scholarship, congruent with the Institute's intellectual focus, that simultaneously advances theoretical debates in their disciplinary field; creatively speaks to and engages with a multidisciplinary audience; and deepens substantive knowledge of different regions around the world. 

The program will bring together an exceptional group of scholars whose work combines significant knowledge of a given region/place, usually through sustained fieldwork; disciplinary expertise, including theory and methods that advance disciplinary knowledge; and a multidisciplinary curiosity that enhances their research. Leveraging Princeton's scholarly resources, fellows will focus on research, expand their intellectual horizons, and prepare work for publication. They will have biweekly meetings with the faculty director to share their work, and monthly meetings with faculty fellows from various social sciences to present their work and learn from others. Fellows are also encouraged to engage with colleagues and attend departmental seminars. 

Appointments are anticipated for two years, with the possibility of renewal pending satisfactory performance and continued funding. Fellows will hold the rank of postdoctoral research associate and, in addition to a competitive salary and benefits, the program will provide fellows with the opportunity to host a small, pre-publication, book workshop; and a research fund of $4,000 per year. The work location for this position is in-person on campus at Princeton University. 

Applicants must demonstrate outstanding scholarly achievement and promise. To be eligible, applicants generally cannot have more than two years of postdoctoral experience prior to the start of the appointment, at the beginning of the academic year on September 1, 2027. PhDs must be granted from a university other than Princeton.

Applicants must apply online at: https://apply.interfolio.com/189215

Applications are due by September 15, 2026 (11:59 p.m. EST). The following application items should be uploaded by the applicant in English:

·        Cover letter

·        Curriculum vitae

·        Transcripts

·        Research Proposal indicating plans for two-year postdoc (maximum 5 pages double-spaced)

·        Dissertation abstract (including Table of Contents)

·        Writing sample: one chapter of the dissertation or one published article related to dissertation topic.

·       Document confirming either that you have completed all requirements for the PhD degree or a letter signed by your dissertation advisor indicating that you will complete the PhD by the start date of the fellowship

·       The names and email addresses of three referees, who will be contacted automatically by the online application system with an invitation to upload their letter of recommendation to the system by the application deadline. (**Please note: all letters of reference should be submitted by your referees before the September 15, 2026 deadline. **)   

Further information can be found at https://piirs.princeton.edu/funding-fellowships/piirs-postdoctoral-fellows

Questions about the program or application process may be directed to the Program Coordinator, Nicole Bergman at piirspdocs@princeton.edu. 

Princeton University is an Equal Opportunity/Affirmative Action Employer and all qualified applicants will receive consideration for employment without regard to race, sex, ethnicity, color, national origin, religion, disability, or any other protected characteristic, and Princeton does not provide special benefits or preferential treatment on the basis of a protected characteristic. 

Thursday, July 30, 2026

Arts Council of African Studies Association (ACASA) call for Webinar proposals

 The Arts Council of the African Studies Association (ACASA) invites proposals from ACASA members for its upcoming (Spring / Fall) webinar series. This initiative aims to foster timely, engaging, and innovative conversations in the field of African art history and related disciplines.


We welcome proposals that address emerging topics, revisit critical questions, or bring new perspectives to ongoing scholarly, curatorial, and artistic conversations. Webinars may take the form of panels, roundtables, interviews, or other creative formats. Faculty members may also sponsor graduate student panels through their ACASA membership and serve as mentors throughout the proposal and presentation process.


Proposal Guidelines

Applicants are invited to submit the following materials:

  • A brief proposal (500 words) outlining the theme, central questions, and relevance of the webinar
  • A proposed title
  • A list of (no more than 4) participants (including organizers, speakers, moderators, or respondents) with brief bios
  • A description of the format (e.g., panel, roundtable, conversation)
  • Preferred timing within the season (if applicable)


Selection Criteria

Proposals will be evaluated based on:

  • Relevance to current conversations in the field
  • Clarity and strength of the central theme
  • Feasibility of the proposed format
  • Submitter must be an active ACASA Member (panelists are encoraged to join ACASA, but it is not required) 


What ACASA Provides

Selected proposals will receive:

  • Logistical and technical support for hosting the webinar
  • Promotion through ACASA’s communication channels
  • An honorarium for the organizer and each participant (no more than 4 recipients total)


Timeline

  • Proposal Deadline: September 1st, 2026
  • Notification of Acceptance: September 15th, 2026
  • Webinar Window: October 15th - December 15th, 2026


Selected applications will also be required to submit project updates to ACASA at key stages leading up to the webinar to ensure continued engagement, accountability, and the overall quality of the program. 


Submission Instructions

Please submit proposals, no later than September 1, as a single PDF to bastian@acasaonline.org with the subject line: ACASA Webinar Proposal – Fall 2026

 


For any questions or issues, please email Caroline Bastian at bastian@acasaonline.org


Monday, July 20, 2026

MOWAA Drum Fellowship 2026-27