Postdoctoral Fellows at Columbia University's Institute of African Studies, 07/2000

UNIVERSITY OF PENNSYLVANIA - AFRICAN STUDIES CENTER

The Institute of African Studies at Columbia University invites applications for two post-doctoral positions for the academic year 2000-2001. The fellowships are designed to stimulate and support a new Instituteproject "Reconfiguring the Study of Africa." The project revolves around two basic ideas: one, that the notion of Africa in "African Studies" should includeboth the continental land mass and the Islands; and two, that this political boundary should not be turned into an epistemological boundary, but should be treated as porous so as to encourage thematically-based comparative studies. The fellows will be housed at the Institute of African Studies and will have access to Columbia's research facilities.

Responsibilities for the fellows include:

1. A research project of the candidate's choosing which takes a theme on which the candidate has worked previously and develops it through comparative work that crosses conventional area study boundaries (i.e., the Sahara and the Kalahari within Africa, and the oceans around it). The fellows will be required to present a seminar on their work during the second semester.

2. Participation in the development of a new undergraduate course related on "Major Debates in African studies."

3. Participation and coordination of a seminar and workshop series in "Major Debates in African Studies."

The following should be included in the application:

A cover letter, a writing sample, a one-page description of research interests and how they relate to the position described above, a c.v., and three letters of recommendation. The compensation for the fellows is$35,000.

Applications must be received by July 15 and should be sent to:

Professor Mahmood Mamdani
Director
Institute of African Studies
1103 SIPA
420 West 118th Street
New York, NY 10027
USA

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From: "Nigel Gibson" [ng9@columbia.edu] Subject: Post doc opportunity at Columbia Date: Fri, 9 Jun 2000 11:52:54 -0700

Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar