The Africa Institute, a globally oriented center for research, documentation, study, and teaching of Africa and its diaspora in the humanities and social sciences, hosts a series of senior and post-doctoral fellowships, awarded through its Research Fellowships Program.
Conceived as a research-based think-tank and a postgraduate studies institution, the Institute offers both masters and Ph.D. programs dedicated to training a new generation of critical thinkers in African and African diaspora studies and evolving a new model for academic research, teaching and documentation in the field.
In advancing these goals, The Africa Institute has inaugurated senior fellowships named in honor of the late Toni Morrison, an acclaimed literary icon known as the first African American woman to win the Nobel Prize in literature, and the esteemed late professor of African studies Ali A. Mazrui. In addition to these, there are two postdoctoral fellowships named for the scholar, curator, and art critic Okwui Enwezor and for world-renowned Moroccan scholar Fatema Mernissi.
Toni Morrison Senior Fellowship in African Diaspora Literature and Cultural Studies
This fellowship is named in honor of the late Toni Morrison, a prolific woman of letters whose contributions to world literature, the humanities, and the understanding of the African American experience, expand beyond her novels and into incisive texts in cultural studies and critical theory. Winner of the National Book Critics Circle Award (1977), Pulitzer Prize (1988), Nobel Prize in Literature (1993) to name a few of her several prestigious accolades. She is a unique voice that encourages individuals and entire nations to contextually imagine the black experience through powerful lyrical prose that continues to inspire old and new artists alike. By all measures, Toni Morrison is one of the most important thinkers of our time.
Eligible applicants include the level of associate or full professors in their home institutions, or independent authors and public intellectuals who earned critical recognition for their writings in all related fields to African and African diaspora and culture. Read more about the namesake scholar, Toni Morrison.
Ali A. Mazrui Senior Fellowship in Global African Studies
Named in honor of the esteemed late Professor Ali A. Mazrui – whose contributions to the field of African Studies have left a remarkable and transformative impact on the world – this fellowship is open to senior scholars whose work shows emphasis on African and African diaspora studies and their intersections with social sciences and the humanities.
Eligible applicants include well-recognized scholars at the level of associate or full professors in their home institutions, or independent authors and public intellectuals who earned critical recognition for their writings in all related fields to African and African diaspora studies. Read more about the namesake scholar, Ali A. Mazrui
Okwui Enwezor Postdoctoral Fellowship in Visual Culture, Performance Studies, and Critical Humanities
Named in honor of the late Okwui Enwezor, the famed scholar, curator, and art critic, whose contributions to the disciplines of art history, art criticism and cultural studies have left a groundbreaking and dynamic impact, this fellowship is open to emerging scholars whose work focuses on visual and performance studies and intersections with discourses of art history, performance studies, and critical humanities.
Eligible applicants must have earned their doctoral degree (Ph.D.) within the last five years, prior to assuming the fellowship. Read more about the namesake scholar, Okwui Enwezor
Fatema Mernissi Postdoctoral Fellowship in Social and Cultural Studies
This fellowship is named in honor of the world-renowned Moroccan scholar, the late Professor Fatema Mernissi, whose contributions to gender, feminism, sociopolitical change and Islam, have been critical and transformational. 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, as long as they intersect with African and African diaspora studies. Read more about the namesake scholar, Fatima Mernissi
Open Call for 2024-2025
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.
Application and Eligibility Criteria:
- 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.
The proposal must be submitted in English and emailed to: applications@theafricainstitute.org 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
Current & Previous Research Fellows:
