Applications are invited for a four-year, fully-funded PhD studentship in African history at Gent University, Belgium.
The holder will be affiliated with the History Department and be part of a research group on the aftermath of slavery in East Africa, funded by the European Research Council. The topic of this PhD project is the apparent disappearance of former slaves from the Central Tanzanian region of Tabora in the early twentieth century, and the afterlives of slavery in social memory. Principal investigator on the project is Felicitas Becker (see http://research.flw.ugent.be/nl/feli.becker). There is no obligation to teach, but contributions to teaching can be arranged. The stipend amounts to ca. 2000 EUR per month, tax-free. The default start date is October 1, 2019, but there is some flexibility.
The successful applicant will have completed an MA in African history, African studies or a related discipline by September 2019. Fieldwork, especially interview, experience is a plus but not required. For fieldwork purposes, s/he will need a working knowledge of Swahili or a demonstrable capacity for acquiring new languages quickly. To apply, please send transcripts of academic record, including evidence of language skills, a short (up to two pages) statement of research interests, and a writing sample of up to 5000 words to kadhiscourts@gmail.com, and arrange for two letters of reference to be sent to the same address.
The Gent History Department has over 100 members, with an established strength in global history. Besides the history department, the post holder will find interlocutors in the African Studies department, the Conflict and Development research group, and the Global Studies centre. Gent is a vibrant and beautiful city of ca. 230,000 inhabitants, about 40,000 of them students. The official language is Flemish, but English is spoken almost universally. See https://visit.gent.be/en/HOME.
The deadline for applications is April 30. For further questions, please write to fmb26@cam.ac.uk.