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.