The Africa Institute Senior & Postdoctoral Fellowships for African Scholars 2023

The Africa Institute announces its official call for applications to its program of four fellowships: two senior fellowships named in honor of the late Toni Morrison, the acclaimed literary icon, novelist, theorist, and late professor of African studies, Ali A. Mazrui, and two postdoctoral fellowships named in honor of late scholar and art critic Okwui Enwezor, and world-renowned Moroccan scholar Fatema Mernissi.  

The Africa Institute Research Fellowships Program provides the opportunity for both senior and junior scholars of African and African diaspora studies to focus on a research project and participate in ongoing scholarly and intellectual activities during their one-year residency at the Institute. 

The applications for all four fellowships are now open for the academic year 2024-2025. The Africa Institute’s faculty will review all applications. Recipients will be chosen based on the proposal’s quality, and the applicant’s demonstrated capacity to complete the project.

About The Africa Institute

Established in 2018, The Africa Institute in Sharjah, UAE, is an interdisciplinary academic research institute dedicated to the study, research, and documentation of Africa and the African diaspora. As the only institution of its kind located in the Gulf—the historical nexus of African-Arab cultural exchange—The Africa Institute is uniquely positioned to expand understanding of African and African diaspora studies as a global enterprise. The Africa Institute’s curriculum of postgraduate studies is designed to train the next generation of critical thinkers in African and Afric... read more

Senior & Postdoctoral Fellowships

Aim and Benefits of Senior & Postdoctoral Fellowships

The Institute Research Fellowships Program 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 residency also grants fellows the opportunity to interact with scholars and academics in their area of research.

Requirements for Senior & Postdoctoral Fellowships Qualification

The fellowship is open to emerging scholars in the field of social sciences with specific emphasis on gender, feminism and cultural studies and visual cultures, and their intersection with African and African diaspora studies. 

•  The application deadline is Tuesday, August 1, 2023, for all fellowships commencing in September 2024.
•         The applicant for the Post-doctoral Fellowships must hold a Ph.D. awarded within the last five years.
•         The Senior Fellowships are open to scholars who are at the associate professor or full professor levels, or their equivalents within or outside the academy.
•         Applications should include a CV and cover letter indicating the proposed research project, in addition to two published or unpublished writing samples.

Application Deadline

How to Apply

The proposal must be submitted in English and emailed to: [email protected] with the subject line indicating “Name of the respective Fellowship” you are applying to: 

•         Toni Morrison Senior Fellowship in African Diaspora Literature and Cultural Studies
•         Ali A. Mazrui Senior Fellowship in Global African Studies
•         Okwui Enwezor Postdoctoral Fellowship in Visual Culture, Performance Studies, and Critical Humanities
•         Fatema Mernissi Postdoctoral Fellowship in Social and Cultural Studies

For more details, visit The Africa Institute website.