The Merian Centre for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb (MECAM) invites applications from early-career researchers in the social sciences for the Interdisciplinary Fellow Group (IFG) “Inequality & Mobility”.
The Merian Centre for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb (MECAM), based in Tunis, is a new institutional framework for interdisciplinary, transregional, and intergenerational research. It focuses on complex social and political processes and issues that divide and connect the Maghreb, the Middle East, and Europe historically and in our time, for instance, beliefs, distribution of resources, migration, rule of law, socio-economic conflicts, and (transitional) justice.
MECAM’s objective is to construct and strengthen scholarly networks between Tunisia and Germany, across the Maghreb, the Middle East, and Europe. From a vantage point in the Maghreb, MECAM’s guiding theme “Imagining Futures – Dealing with Disparity” addresses the complex processes of (re-)negotiating societal experiences into ideas for the future (‘imagining futures’) within the context of different forms and scales of disparity and unequal conditions (‘disparity’).
It explores the connection between multidimensional disparity and the possibilities of building and negotiating futures through five thematic clusters, each of which is developed in an International Fellow Group:
- Aesthetics & Cultural Practice,
- Inequality & Mobility,
- Memory & Justice,
- Resources & Sustainability, and
- Identities & Beliefs.
Benefits
- Travel and relocation costs will be compensated according to a “no gain/no loss” principle.
- A monthly living stipend will be awarded for the duration of the fellowship according to the same “no gain/no loss” principle.
- Furthermore, proven research costs can be reimbursed up to an amount of 500 EUR.
Eligibility
- Applications are welcome from early career researchers, either advanced Ph.D. candidates or postdoctoral researchers, in human geography, urban studies, sociology, anthropology, or a related field;
- Applicants should be interested in discussing their research in the framework of MECAM’s main theme with colleagues from the Maghreb, the Middle East, and Europe.
- They should show the eagerness to do collaborative work, engage in debate, and exchange within an interdisciplinary group of fellows on questions of “Inequality & Mobility”.
- They are interested in revisiting their research from a different vantage point.
- Become part of a (new) network of interdisciplinary, intergenerational, and transregional exchange and debate on disparity and the competing models for the future that co-exist in the societies of the contemporary Maghreb, Europe, and other parts of the world.
Application Process
The following documents should be submitted along with the application
- Curriculum vitae including publications (2-3 pages),
- Research proposal: Short abstract of your project (maximum of 1000 words),
- Names and contact details of two referees (university faculty members or practitioners in a field relevant to the applicant’s project),
- One recent writing sample: journal article (published or forthcoming), book or thesis chapter,
- No letters of recommendation required.
For detailed information on how to apply, click here.
Deadline: March 15, 2021
For more information, visit the official site.
