Postdoctoral Position

One Postdoctoral position in the research project 'Mobilities, Imaginaries & Articulations (MIA): Revisioning the African City from the Periphery' 

The Department of Anthropology, School of Culture and Society, Faculty of Arts, Aarhus University invites applications for an 18-month Postdoctoral position in the research project 'Mobilities, Imaginaries & Articulations (MIA): Revisioning the African City from the Periphery', financed by the Independent Research Fund Denmark 2024-2028. The project is a comparative examination of the everyday life of youth in urban peripheries in Nouakchott, Cape Town, and Nairobi, three rapidly growing African cities.

The appointment begins on September 1, 2025, or as soon as possible thereafter. The position is based in Aarhus, Denmark, but extended periods of fieldwork are to be expected.

The university is keen for its staff to reflect the diversity of society and thus welcomes applications from all qualified applicants regardless of their background.

Research context

We are looking for an innovative scholar with a background in social anthropology, history, cultural heritage studies, artistic research, film and media, urban studies, or related disciplines, preferably with a specialisation in multimodal/audiovisual approaches, qualitative and participatory research methodologies, urban Africa, archival research, and collaboration. Experience with sound recording equipment, sound editing as well as experience with video-filming and editing, and photography is an advantage but not a prerequisite for applying. Fluency in written and spoken English is mandatory. Knowledge of Afrikaans is a strong advantage.

About the research project

Positing the urban periphery as a site of invention and potentiality, in which mobilities, imaginaries, and articulations constitute pivotal components, the MIA project comparatively analyses how these converge in the everyday lives of youth. Working with the same focus group through a shared methodological and analytical approach in three geographically and historically diverse African cities (Nouakchott, Cape Town, and Nairobi), we develop a new urgently needed general theoretical framework. We call this framework ‘peripheral synergy’. Drawing near to and comparing young Africans’ experiential histories on the urban periphery through fieldwork and collaboration, MIA fills a crucial knowledge-gap, inquiring into the following problem statement and related research questions:

How do youth in urban peripheries in Africa move in, imagine, and articulate the city, and how may multimodal anthropology contribute to a new general theory on ‘peripheral synergy’?

• How does Mobility, and stuckness, configure young livelihoods on the urban periphery, and how may we draw nearer to this through collaborative, multimodal mapping?
• In what ways do audio-visual, digital media e.g. film, radio, social media, and other online fora, inform the Imaginaries of a better life for urban African youth?
• How do youth Articulate themselves through film, photography, and sound, and how can these be integrated in accountable knowledge-production and dissemination? 

Deadline

03 June 2025 

Please read the full job description and apply at the university homepage via the 'Apply' button above

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