POST-DOCTORAL FELLOWSHIP IN THE MEDICAL AND HEALTH HUMANITIES

The Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, offers a Wellcome Trust-funded postdoctoral fellowship. The aim of the fellowship is to support and nurture a cohort of early career researchers who will work on the theme of Re-imagining Reproduction: Making babies, making kin and citizens in Africa.

Working across different countries on the African continent, we aim to begin an investigation of the country-specific and regional variations shaped by a diverse range of socio-material, technological, customary and biological practices by which people are re-imagining reproduction and kinning practices.

The project has two main foci:

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

The postdoctoral fellow will be part of a team involved in the development of a research agenda that interrogates the re-imagining of reproductive scholarship on the African continent. Each postdoctoral fellow will conceptualise, develop and conduct fieldwork in their country location based on the broad theme of the project. Applicants should:

• Hold a PhD degree in Anthropology, or cognate discipline awarded within the last 5 years;
• Have experience in conducting ethnographic research, and have excellent communication, presentation and writing skills in English.

The selected candidate will be expected to:

• Participate fully in the life of the programme and contribute to the research environment at the Centre for the Advancement of Scholarship, University of Pretoria for the duration of the project;
• Undertake fieldwork for six months every year in their country location;
• Travel once a year to visit the projects in the other African countries;
• Attend an annual summer school at the University of Pretoria, South Africa;
• Develop research and ethical protocols based on best practice guidelines;
• Produce both individual and co-authored publications;
• Present papers at aligned conferences and;
• Primarily work as part of a research team within and outside of the University of Pretoria engaged in the study of reproduction, families, care, assisted reproductive technologies and children.

The postdoctoral fellowship is valued at ZAR275 000 and is renewable on a yearly basis subject to satisfactory progress as determined by the project leader. There is an additional ZAR90 000 per annum for fieldwork costs. No other benefits or allowances are included in the value of the fellowship.

To apply, please send:

• a letter of motivation describing your work and how it fits with the themes above;
• a two-page concept note describing the topic of your project and how it attempts to re-imagine studies of reproduction in Africa;
• 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)

Closing Date: 15 December 2022