Edinburgh Centre of African Studies Visting Fellowships,
01/07
The deadline for applications is 31 January 2007.
The Centre of African Studies at the University of Edinburgh is
pleased to announce the second year of its Visiting Research
Fellowship programme. The programme aims at allowing African
academics to spend time interacting with colleagues and making use of
resources in Scotland. This research initiative, funded for three
years by the Scottish Executive, has an annual theme: in year one, it
was Civil Society and Development; in year two, it
will be Land, Water and Cross-Border Resource Use; and it is anticipated
that year three will be dedicated to Health and Infectious Disease.
The Fellowhsips are intended to give younger African scholars the
opportunity to use the University's library resources, develop papers and projects,
interact with academics at CAS and across Scotland, and contribute to the
intellectual life of the Centre and the University.
Each year the fellowship scheme funds several young African scholars to
spend time in residence at the University of Edinburgh. Fellowships will
cover return airfare and a stipend towards accommodation and living expenses
for periods of between two and six months. Applicants should be young
African scholars, with a PhD or equivalent research experience, who
are seeking to develop their careers and who are currently based in an
African institution. Unfortunately, applications from people based in
Europe or North America cannot be entertained.
Year 2 Research Theme: Land, Water and Cross-Border Resource Use
At the start of a the new millennium, there has been a convergence
between a set of development issues turning on the use of land and water. The
phenomenon of a perceived shortage of arable land, made more acute by
the effects of climate change, is now a matter of concern in very many
African
countries. In states where land reform is on the agenda, the question of who
gets what and where has become politically highly contentious. Meanwhile,
the World Bank is encouraging African states to make land tenure reform a
priority, and in particular to embrace formal titling. Attempts by donors to
rationalise land tenure rub up against a deeply ingrained contention that
notionally communal landholding is the best guarantee of security for
all, including the poorest sections of society. The debate about land
reform can
only gain in importance in the decades to come. Likewise, water is a finite
and increasingly scarce resource. The management of water resources is
recognized a pressing development issue, but once again the latter is
also highly political by its very nature. Given that so many of Africa's
international boundary follow watercourses, the management of water embodies
an important inter-state or regional dimension. Whereas development
interventions tend to be country specific, water is a classic instance
of a
resource which can only husbanded through cross-border co-operation -
preferably involving border communities themselves. Applications are
invited which deal with issues of land and water in their own right or
with specific
reference to cross-border issues.
If you would like to be considered for a fellowship during 2006:
1. Send a short c.v. and the names and email addresses of two
referees
2. Send a proposal of not more than 1,000 words on this year's theme,
showing your record of past research, how you will benefit from the
fellowship and what you hope to achieve while in Edinburgh.
3. Indicate the period of time you would like to spend in Edinburgh
Applications or enquiries should be directed to Dr. Tom Moloney
[Thomas.Molony@ed.ac.uk], Centre of African Studies, 21 George Square,
Edinburgh, EH8 9LL, United Kingdom.
Paul Nugent
Paul Nugent
Professor of Comparative African History and Director
Centre of of African Studies
University of Edinburgh
21 George Square
EH8 9LD
United Kingdom
tel: 0044-(0)131-6503879 (direct)
tel: 0044-(0)131-6503878 (secretary)
website: http://www.cas.ed.ac.uk
Centre of African Studies
email: african.studies@ed.ac.uk
tel: +44 (0)131 650 3878
Page Editor: Ali B. Ali-Dinar, Ph.D.