Global: Research fellowships available - The Sephis programme

Research Fellowships

The Sephis programme has two sub-themes; 1. Equity, Exclusion and Liberalization. and, 2. The Forging of Nationhood & The Contest over Citizenship, Ethnicity and History. These reflect the double range of interest of the programme, directed at both understanding processes of cultural change and developing new visions on development emerging in the South. Sephis will pay special attention to projects that support the elaboration of these themes, which - as it were - reflect the cultural and economic side of the programme.

In 2007, fellowships are available at the Post-Doctoral and PhD level. Funding will be provided for travel and research costs, and salary according to local standards. These fellowships extend from a minimum of three months to a maximum of two years for fellowships at Postdoctoral level and three years for fellowships at PhD level. In addition, Sephis encourages proposals at the interface of history, theory and development practice Eligibility at the Postdoctoral level: Scholars who have received their PhD degrees, preferably within the last five years. An exception to this rule can be made for researchers from countries that have not been providing PhD courses. Their applications must include evidence of at least three articles that have been accepted by international refereed journals over the past five years. Applicants should be employed by or affiliated to a university, a research institute, or development agency in the South.

Eligibility at the PhD level: PhD students enrolled at a university in the South, who are supported by their institution. The proposal must include a period of research and should make clear that the applicant can realistically complete his or her draft thesis in the given time. Salaries are normally not included in the Sephis fellowships at the PhD level.

Applications for these fellowships should include:

a research proposal (maximum of 4 pages prefaced by an abstract of 100 words) presenting the research problem and research methodology (including the sources to be examined), reviewing the relevant literature, and indicating the relevance of the research to one or both of the Sephis themes; an academic curriculum vitae; (maximum of 3 pages)

a letter testifying to institutional affiliation; two original referee's reports; a budget; a timetable.

In addition, applications at the Post-Doctoral level should include:

an indication of the form of publication (book, article etc.); a copy of the PhD certificate, or - and only in the case of non-availability of PhD certificate - copies of 3 articles in international refereed magazines.

In addition, applications at the PhD level should include:

a letter of recommendation by the thesis supervisor.

Grants for Preserving social memory: History and Social movements'.

The grants programme for 'Preserving social memory; History and Social movements' is intended to support small scale projects for the preservation and dissemination of alternative historical sources, such as visual and audio material. It is important that these initiatives are well-connected to local intellectual communities and social movements and that their results will be accessible to a wide audience.

Applications for Grants for "Preserving social memory: History and Social movements".

The grants programme for "Preserving social memory: History and Social movements" is intended to support small scale projects for the preservation and dissemination of alternative historical sources, such as visual and audio material. It is important that these initiatives are well-connected to local intellectual communities and social movements and that their results will be accessible to a wide audience.

A proposal (maximum of 4 pages) presenting the objectives of the project and its relevance to one or both of the Sephis themes and one or more of the aims of the grants for social movement and their sources; a budget (not exceeding the amount of USD 10,000 and specifying the contribution by the organizing institute); an authorized letter from the organizing institute stating that it assumes the responsibility for the proper conduct of the project; Indication of the relationship/partnership between the research team and social movements; A dissemination plan (for example through radio and other media).

Research proposals will be selected by the Sephis Steering Committee, which consists of historians from different regions in the world. The applications will be evaluated according to academic quality, feasibility, relevance to local intellectual communities and social movements and relevance to Sephis themes. .

The applications must be received at our office before April 15, 2008.

Applications should be written in English. Incomplete applications, applications by fax or e-mail and applications which exceed the stated length cannot be considered.

The application and all requests about the fellowships and grants programme should be sent to:

Sephis Programme
International Institute of Social History
Cruquiusweg 31
1019 AT Amsterdam
The Netherlands