POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP IN THE MEDICAL AND HEALTH HUMANITIES

The Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship at the University of  Pretoria, is offering a Wellcome Trust funded postdoctoral fellowship. The aim of the fellowship is to support and nurture a cohort of researchers who will work on the theme of Reimagining reproduction: Making babies, making kin and citizens in Africa.

The postdoctoral fellow will be part of a team involved in the development of a research agenda that interrogates the reimagining of reproductive scholarship on the African continent. The team of scholars, researchers and mentors are based in five countries – Ghana, eSwatini, Malawi, South Africa and Uganda. We are currently seeking applications for prospective candidates in Ghana. The project has two main foci:

1. The social study of reproductive technologies, focusing on attempts by people living in the four African countries to shape their biology through vernacular and biomedical interventions.‍
2. ‍The exploration of the socialization of children, focusing on care for new-borns, their kinning and their preparation for becoming citizens.

Applicants should hold a PhD degree in Anthropology, or cognate discipline awarded within the last 5 years. They should also have substantial experience in conducting ethnographic research.

The postdoctoral fellowship is valued at ZAR260 000 rising up to ZAR325 000 in the fifth year. It is renewable for a total of five years (2021-2026) on the basis of satisfactory progress. There is an additional R90 000 per annum for fieldwork costs. No other benefits or allowances are included in the value of the fellowship.

The selected candidate will be expected to participate fully in the life of the five year programme and will be based in the home country, Ghana. In addition to undertaking fieldwork for six months every year in Ghana, the selected candidate will travel once a year to visit the projects in the other countries.

To apply, please send:

• a letter of motivation describing your work and how it fits with the themes above;
• one exemplary publication;
• a CV (including research activities and outputs);
• your academic transcripts;
• two letters of reference from academics who have taught, supervised or worked alongside you.

Contact:  Professor Nolwazi Mkhwanazi (Nolwazi.Mkhwanazi@up.ac.za).

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