PhD Positions for anthropology research on masculinities in urban Africa, University of Amsterdam, Netherlands (2015)

Since the mid-1980s, academic and public discourses have depicted African masculinity as both precarious and predatory. Economic insecurity, urbanisation, shifting gender norms and growing gender parity have accompanied claims that African masculinity is ‘in crisis’. More recently, however, new stories of urban men embracing responsible fatherhood, condemning intimate partner violence and demanding homosexual rights have emerged as exemplars of progressive responsibility. This anthropological project will combine ethnography and discourse analysis to examine so-called 'male involvement' programmes with the aim of investigating and theorizing the ways urban African masculinities are imagined and reconfigured in local and global contexts.

The PhD researchers in this project will conduct in-depth ethnographic research on a range of male-involvement initiatives (for example, responsible fatherhood, male circumcision, HIV prevention programmes targeting fathers/husbands, MSM empowerment, gender-based violence programmes) to shed light on the ways masculinities are diversely imagined, (re)configured and performed within and in relation to these initiatives. Candidates are encouraged to propose a focus of study based on individual interest and experience. Upon appointment, researchers will be afforded 8 months to develop a full proposal. Research is to be conducted in Nairobi, Mombasa, and Kisumu, Kenya; Johannesburg and Durban, South Africa; and Dar es Salaam and Mwanza, Tanzania.

Tasks
- Conduct in-depth ethnographic field research;
- write and complete a PhD dissertation within four years;
- participate in the AISSR PhD programme;
- participate in conferences, workshops, seminars and other scholarly activities.

Requirements

PhD candidates should have the following credentials:
- a completed Master’s Degree; preference will be given to candidates with training in anthropology, gender studies or global health;
- relevant (ethnographic) fieldwork experience;
- excellent command of written and spoken English and proficiency in Kiswahili or Zulu;
- ability and interest to work in a team.

Further details:
http://www.academictransfer.com