Call for positions: The South African Research Chair in Social Change

 

The chair is funded by the Department of Science and Technology and administered by the National Research Fund (NRF). The chair holder is Prof. Peter Alexander. Dr. Marcelle Dawson has been seconded to the chair as a senior researcher and most of the above positions are linked to her proposed NRF Thuthuka project. Further support for these positions is provided by the University of Johannesburg (UJ) and by the university's Faculty of Humanities. Bursaries are linked to students who are registered on a UJ programme. Doctoral and masters students must be supervised or co-supervised by either Dr. Dawson or Prof. Alexander, but the chair is interdisciplinary and can assist with locating additional supervision. Fellows and bursars will be based at the UJ Research Village, where they will join a vibrant team of about 20 staff and students engaged in cutting-edge projects on social change.

The work of the chair focuses mainly on social change from below, specifically on the following projects:

1) The social movements-social change nexus. This project is led by Dr Dawson. It is a collaborative and comparative project that analyses social movement outcomes in South Africa and Brazil. It considers the nature, scale and sustainability of social change as well as the conditions under which movement-induced social change occurs. On one hand this study aims to challenge northern theoretical paradigms which have dominated the study of social movements and, on the other, it seeks to contribute to the growing body of comparative research between countries that comprise the BRICSA group. In other words, the objectives are both theoretical and methodological. Although not a requirement for the bursaries and fellowships, the ability to read and speak Portuguese is an added advantage.

2) South Africa's rebellion of the poor. This is Prof. Alexander's principal project at present and builds on articles he has written on the subject. He is especially interested in developing case-study research linked to specific communities. These would be particularly suitable for masters' students.

3) Striking workers. Measured in days lost per capita, over the past decade South Africa has experienced the highest level of strike action in the world. The project builds on Prof. Alexander's long standing interest in comparative labour history, though his primary interest here is in contemporary unrest.

4) Reducing inequality: popular pressure and state intervention. This is a new project that investigates initiatives developed by the South African government over the past decades (e.g. Community Work Programme). It is linked to an international collaboration that includes colleagues from the UK, China, India and Brazil.

Excellent students wishing to work in the broad domain of social change will also be considered (see web site for projects currently underway). However, Dr. Dawson and Prof. Alexander would like to bring greater focus to their research supervision. Comparative research is encouraged but this should have a South African component.

1) Post-doctoral fellowships are open to candidates of any nationality.

2) Non-South Africans can be considered for doctoral and masters bursaries, but the NRF limits availability.

3). Honours bursaries are only available to black South African students.

In addition to the following sums, students may also receive bursaries awarded by the university and by the faculty.

1) PDFs. R200,000 p.a. for two years (includes NRF fellowship plus 'top-up' from other sources).

2) Doctoral bursaries. R80,000 p.a. for three years.

3) Masters bursaries, R50,000 p.a for two years.

4) Honours bursaries. R25,000 p.a. for one year.

 

For further information email mdawsonuj [ punto ] ac [ punto ] za (mdawson[at]uj[dot]ac[dot]za) or palexanderuj [ punto ] ac [ punto ] za (palexander[at]uj[dot]ac[dot]za).

 

All applicants should submit a CV, transcript, names and contact details of three academic referees, and a covering letter indicating which of the research project/s you are interested in. In addition, candidates for PDFs and doctoral bursaries should submit a sample of academic writing. Applications should be sent to llandenuj [ punto ] ac [ punto ] za by 28 October 2011.