LAUNCH OF NEW SENIOR & POSTDOCTORAL FELLOWSHIPS PROGRAM

The Africa Institute, a globally oriented center for research, documentation, study and teaching of Africa and its diaspora in the humanities and social sciences, today announced the inaugural group of fellowships awarded through its new Research Fellowships Program. Conceived as a research-based think-tank and a postgraduate studies institution, the Institute will offer both masters and PhD programs dedicated to training a new generation of critical thinkers in African and African diaspora studies and evolving a new model for academic research, teaching and documentation in the field.

In advancement of these goals, The Africa Institute has inaugurated a senior fellowship named in honor of the esteemed late professor of African studies Ali A. Mazrui as well as two postdoctoral fellowships named for scholar, curator and art critic Okwui Enwezor and for world-renowned Moroccan scholar Fatema Mernissi.

The inaugural cohort of fellows consists of:

• Okwui Enwezor Postdoctoral Fellow in Visual Culture, Performance Studies and Critical Humanities: Surafel Wondimu Abebe, Assistant Professor, Centre for African Studies and College of Performing and Visual Arts at Addis Ababa University
• Fatema Mernissi Postdoctoral Fellow in Social and Cultural Studies: Nidhi Mahajan, Assistant Professor in Anthropology at the University of California, Santa Cruz
• Ali A. Mazrui Senior Fellow in Global African Studies: Elizabeth W. Giorgis, Associate Professor of Art History, Criticism and Theory in the College of Performing and Visual Art and the Center for African and Asian Studies at Addis Ababa University
• Senior Fellow: Dagmawi Woubshet, Ahuja Family Presidential Associate Professor of English at the University of Pennsylvania

The Africa Institute Research Fellowships Programme provides the opportunity for both junior and senior scholars of African and African diaspora studies to focus on a research project and participate in ongoing scholarly and intellectual activities during their term at the Institute. The programme also grants fellows the opportunity to interact with scholars and academics in their area of research with the aim of enriching their scholarly experiences and future projects.

The Africa Institute welcomes interested scholars to apply by 15 July 2021 for fellowships commencing in September 2021. Applications should include a CV and cover letter indicating a proposed research project, in addition to a writing sample or publication, directed to applications@theafricainstitute.org.