All Things Urban

This Postdoctoral Research Fellowship is linked to the University of Cape Town and University of Basel Professorship in Urban Studies at the African Centre for Cities (ACC). The ACC invites applications from suitably qualified applicants to apply for this one-year renewable Postdoctoral Research Fellowship. The successful candidate will be part of an interdisciplinary team working on questions of Southern Urbanism, engaged scholarship and pedagogy. Beyond the pursuit of their own postdoctoral research, the successful applicant is expected to contribute to the implementation of the University of Basel’s Masters of Critical Urbanisms track at ACC, as well as to ACC’s Masters in Southern Urbanism, in the form of co-teaching assignments and thesis supervision. As part of ACC’s intellectual and institutional enterprise, the successful applicant will also be expected to share their work in internal and public forums, be able to engage with colleagues in relation to at least one of our areas of existing work (please see our website: www.africancentreforcities.net) and provide mentorship to ACC’s PhD student cohort.

Ideally, the successful applicant’s research and methodological bend will speak to current debates around everyday urban practices in African cities and advance the ACC’s endeavour of producing interdisciplinary and socially relevant research in collaborations beyond the university and with a variety of publics in mind.

• Applicants are expected to have completed a doctoral degree in an area of study relevant to urban studies and southern urban debates within the past five years (e.g. Geography, Political Studies, Anthropology, Urban Studies, Planning, and related fields).
• Applicants may not previously have held full-time professional or academic posts.
• The successful candidate will be required to participate in selected teaching and supervision that form part of the ACC work in the Masters of Southern Urbanism and Masters of Critical Urbanisms. The successful candidate will be expected to pursue their own original research that contributes or speaks to at least one of the ACCs core areas of existing work. They will be required to comply with the University’s approved policies, procedures and practises for the postdoctoral sector.

The fellowship is valued at R370,000 per annum and is tenable for one year, renewable for a total of up to two and a half years. In addition, there is a R50,000 travel and research grant per full year. The fellowship is compliant with the SARS policies/rules and is therefore exempt from taxation.

Non-South African citizens may be required to apply for a study visa.

Closing date: 11 February 2022

More details: via the link below.

Established in 2008 and rooted at the University of Cape Town, African Centre for Cities (ACC) is one of the leading knowledge centres conducting meaningful research on how to understand, recast and address pressing urban crises, particularly on the African continent.
Since most urban challenges—for example, food security, climate change adaptation, economic inclusion, cultural vitality and tolerance—are inherently interdisciplinary and spatially layered, ACC nurtures the co-production of knowledge favouring and cultivating critical Southern perspectives.
Through its research ACC develops imaginative policy discourses and practices to promote vibrant, just and sustainable cities. This purpose has become all the more pertinent with the adoption of Agenda 2063 at a pan-African level, which chimes with the 2030 global agenda for sustainable development. Thus, a lot of the research and capacity development work seeks to foreground the urban dimensions of these new political horizons, embedded in an epistemic commitment to Southern solidarity and theory building.