5th CODESRIA/CASB Summer School in African Studies and Area Studies in Africa 2022

The overall objective of the CODESRIA/CASB Summer School is to stimulate and consolidate interdisciplinary approaches to research on Africa, but also on other regions of the world undertaken from within the African continent. It focuses on African Studies as an instance of area studies and seeks to identify themes that are theoretically, conceptually and methodologically relevant to the reflection on the intellectual challenge of Africa as an object of knowledge and its contribution to general scholarship while inquiring into the relevance of the findings to African approaches to other regions. The goals of the Summer School are the following:

• Give PhD students and emerging scholars the opportunity to engage critically with new theoretical, conceptual and methodological developments in African Studies and enhance the relevance of the methods to their work under the guidance of senior scholars;
• Encourage PhD students and emerging scholars to reflect on the potential relevance of knowledge on Africa to the task of improving our theoretical, conceptual and methodological tools both in the disciplines as well as in interdisciplinary work;
• Foster among PhD students and emerging scholars a sense of belonging to a community of scholars in pursuit of knowledge and scholarship;
• Stimulate emerging scholars to work towards carving a space for African Studies in the broader field of scholarship and, in this way, helping African Studies to claim a place right at the center of knowledge production.

Theme: How Political is Knowledge?

The discussions at the CODESRIA/CASB Summer School will be structured along the following three major themes:

• Normativity: The motivation of the scholar, the choice of the subject and the role of interests and values;
• Research design and process: The formulation of research questions, the collection and analysis of data, the choice and use of concepts, methods and theories;
• Output: The presentation and publication of research results and its perception by the scientific community, by decision makers and by a wider public.

The expected outcome from the Summer School is that participants will develop the competence to reflect on their own position within their present and future academic environment, enhance their awareness of the importance of doing so for the relevance and content of their work and develop approaches that allow for a more reflected and reciprocal perspective in their research.

About Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA)

5th CODESRIA/CASB Summer School

Application Deadline	30 Jun 2022
Type	Entrepreneurs
Sponsor	Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA)
Gender	Men and Women

Aim and Benefits of 5th CODESRIA/CASB Summer School

Travel, accommodation and meals during the Summer School will be provided for participants enrolled at institutions in Africa.

Requirements for 5th CODESRIA/CASB Summer School Qualification

•  The Summer School is open for PhD students and emerging scholars enrolled and working at Higher Education institutions in any country.
• Applications from PhD students registered in African and Swiss universities and in the following disciplines are highly encouraged: Social Anthropology, Sociology, History, Religion, Philosophy, Gender studies and Political science.

Application Deadline

June 30, 2022

How to Apply

Interested and qualified? Go to Council for the Development of Social Science Research in Africa (CODESRIA) on submission.codesria.org to apply

The 5th CODESRIA/ZASB Summer School invites applications from doctoral students interested in exploring these issues as part of a larger framework of engaging with methodological challenges in African Studies.

The Summer School is open to PhD students and emerging scholars enrolled and working at Higher Education institutions in any country. Applications from PhD students registered in African and Swiss universities and in the following disciplines are highly encouraged: Social Anthropology, Sociology, History, Religion, Philosophy, Gender studies and Political science. Travel, accommodation and meals during the Summer School will be provided for participants from African Institutions.

Those wishing to be considered for participation should submit an application with the following:

• A letter of motivation with a clear statement on how you approach the challenge of “objectivity” in the social sciences and humanities as practiced in Africa and elsewhere
• A five-page concept paper which should highlight: (a) what they are working on (b) how their work relates to the theme of the Summer School; (c) their expectations from the Summer School should they be selected.

With regard to (b) applicants should challenge themselves to look critically into their work and ask themselves what role any of the issues listed below play in it:

1. 1. 1. What normative assumptions underlie your research?
      2. What regimes of power and truth, but also resistance and contention, speak through your research?
      3. What does the idea that “knowledge is political” mean in your research, and how do you go about it?
      4. How “objective” are the standards for the validation of your research findings?

• Curriculum vitae
• One letter of recommendation from the candidate’s institution of affiliation
• A copy of the applicant’s passport

For more details, visit CODESRIA website.