Postdoctoral Research Fellowship - Languages (English Studies)

Type:

• Postdoctoral research fellowship within the research niche area of Languages (English Studies). The fellowships is a two-year fixed contract subject to satisfactory annual performance. The tax-free stipend is R300 000 per annum.

Minimum requirements

Applicants must have:

• A PhD (NQF Level 10) A PhD degree (NQF Level 10) in English (Literature), Performing Arts, African Studies or a related field, completed within the last five (5) years.
• Evidence of research productivity, including peer-reviewed journal articles, book chapters, edited scholarly outputs, and/or manuscripts under review in areas related to the Fellowship.
• Demonstrated research interest in at least two of the following: indigenous health care, medical ethnobotany, food and water security, climate change adaptation, indigenous and local knowledge systems, and intangible cultural heritage.
• Competence in qualitative, participatory, ethnographic, interdisciplinary, and/or community-engaged research methods.
• Strong written and oral communication skills, good computer and data management skills, and the ability to work both independently and in interdisciplinary research teams.
• Ability to produce publishable research outputs and to contribute to postgraduate mentorship, seminars, workshops, and research culture activities.

Added advantage

• Experience conducting fieldwork with rural communities, indigenous knowledge holders, local authorities, civil society actors and theatre practitioners.
• A publication record or active manuscripts on Afrocentric and/or decolonial approaches to literary and dramatic arts, indigenous knowledge, intangible cultural heritage, governance, migration, or Southern African development challenges.
• Experience in Limpopo Province, South Africa, and/or comparable Southern African field sites.
• Experience in grant proposal writing, externally funded research projects, academic editing, special issues, edited books, conference organisation, or international collaboration.
• Experience supporting postgraduate students in research topic development, academic writing, publication planning, qualitative methods training, teaching, supervision or co-supervision.
• Ability to contribute to policy briefs, community reports, biodiversity literacy materials, field guides, atlases, public-facing research outputs and stakeholder workshops.

Duties and responsibilities

The successful Fellow will:

• Develop and implement an independent postdoctoral research plan aligned with Prof Abodunrin's niche area and the University's research priorities.
• Conduct high-quality, interdisciplinary research on indigenous African literature,
• Performing Arts, Applied Theatre and African Indigenous Knowledge Systems (AIKS), as well as Afrocentric knowledge systems and sustainable development.
• Produce peer-reviewed publications in DHET-accredited and reputable international journals, as well as scholarly books and/or edited collections.
• Participate in empirical fieldwork and community-engaged research in Limpopo
• Province, South Africa, and/or comparable Southern African settings.
• Document and analyse indigenous and local knowledge, and community adaptation strategies.
• Contribute to research ethics applications, data collection and management, qualitative analysis, reporting and responsible knowledge sharing.
• Support grant proposal development, research fundraising and national, regional and international collaborations.
• Assist with postgraduate supervision, mentorship, writing retreats, methods workshops, publication planning and seminars that promote a strong research culture.
• Contribute to knowledge translation outputs, including policy briefs, community reports, biodiversity literacy materials, field guides, atlases, public lectures and conference presentations.
• Represent the research niche area at academic forums, conferences and stakeholder engagements, where appropriate.

Expected outputs:

During the fellowship, the successful candidate will be expected to produce:

• At least 4 accredited journal publications over the two-year fellowship.
• Several conference presentations at national and international scientific meetings.
• At least one competitive external research grant application.
• Research reports for government and other stakeholders.
• Contributions to postgraduate student supervision and capacity development.
• Collaborative publications with the host supervisor and research team.
• Participation in multidisciplinary research projects within the Faculty and University.