Mecila
Conviviality and Inequality from Interdisciplinary Perspectives

Junior Fellows 2025

4 Fellowships for Postdoctoral Researchers

Mecila (Maria Sibylla Merian International Centre for Advanced Studies in the Humanities and Social Sciences Conviviality-Inequality in Latin America) is a joint project of the following German and Latin American research institutions: Freie Universität Berlin (coordination); Ibero-Amerikanisches Institut, Stiftung Preußischer Kulturbesitz (Berlin); Universität zu Köln (Cologne); Universidade de São Paulo and Centro Brasileiro de Análise e Planejamento (São Paulo); Instituto de Investigaciones en Humanidades
y Ciencias Sociales (Universidad Nacional de La Plata/Conicet, La Plata); and El Colegio de México (Mexico City).

Funded by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research (BMBF)
and established in São Paulo in April 2017, Mecila cordially invites postdoctoral scholars from any discipline to apply for its Junior Fellowships.  Successful applicants are expected to participate in a plural international research network that focuses on the co-constitution of conviviality and inequality from interdisciplinary perspectives. Accordingly, the Centre addresses the processes of negotiation, legitimation, transformation, and representation of existing hierarchies as they take place in everyday interactions and within institutions. The Centre encourages proposals focused on theoretical and/or empirical research using a wide range of methods and sources. A general outline of the Centre’s research programme is available on our website.

Mecila will award 4 Junior Fellowships to excellent early-career scholars who have obtained their doctoral degree in the humanities or social sciences. The duration of each Fellowship is 9 months (from 1 March to 30 November). Fellows are expected to commit fulltime to their proposed research activities at the Centre. For the duration of the Fellowship, fellows will normally receive a monthly allowance, depending on individual circumstances and taking other forms of income before and during the fellowship into account.

Requirements

  • A PhD degree in the humanities or social sciences obtained within the last 5 years from the date of application
  • A track record of training, research, and /or publications in Mecila’s subject areas
  • Excellent command of the English language by the time the Fellowship begins
  • Ability to and interest in actively engaging in and creating an intellectual community in a diverse international and interdisciplinary research environment
  • An ambitious and innovative research project of relevance to Mecila that will enhance the applicant’s career prospects

Responsibilities

  • Develop an independent research project within the field of conviviality-inequality, making a contribution to the project’s Research Areas
  • Participate actively in the Centre’s activities (including the weekly colloquia) and engage in interdisciplinary exchange
  • Present and discuss scientific research results within and outside the Centre
  • Contribute to external funding applications
  • Contribute at least one paper to Mecila’s Working Paper Series
  • Contribute at least one outreach activity (interview, blog entry, video, public lecture, policy briefing, etc.)

Application

Applicants must fill in the Application Form linked below and send the following documents in English, Spanish, or Portuguese, using the link provided on the Form, in a single pdf-attachment no later than 15 February 2024:

  • Motivation letter (max. 500 words)
  • Research outline describing current research and envisioned
    contribution to the Centre (max. 1.500 words)
  • Abstract (max. 150 words)
  • Keywords (max. 5)
  • Work plan detailing how the proposed project will be realized during the stay at the Centre
  • Curriculum Vitae, including a list of publications
  • Two recent writing samples: journal article (published or forthcoming), book chapter, or thesis chapter

 

To access the Application Form, please use the following link: https://uni.koeln/G3VE7

Selection criteria

Applications from prospective Junior Fellows will be submitted to a peer-review process. The primary selection criterion is the applicant’s potential to yield original and excellent research results through a Mecila Junior Fellowship. The academic merit of the project will be assessed in terms of its originality, the importance of the scientific questions addressed, and its relevance to Mecila. An appropriate methodology and a feasible timeframe will also be part of the assessment. Final decisions will be taken by Mecila’s Executive Board, in close consultation with its Advisory Board and Ethics Committee, aiming at disciplinary and gender balance as well as intersectional equity and an adequate regional representation. We aim to inform the applicants of the selection results by 30 June 2024.

For further inquiries regarding the Fellowship or the application process, please refer to our FAQ available at Mecila’s website. In case of further questions please contact Mecila’s Coordination Office in São Paulo via e-mail (mecila@cebrap.org.br).

By applying to this Fellowship you consent that we use the information you provide for the Fellowship process.