Call for Applications: 2013 Workshop Fellows: “Religion and Politics in Comparative Perspective” July 1 to 12, 2013
Deadline: March 15, 2013
Sponsored by the American Political Science Association
and the Institute for Governance and Development, Burkina Faso
The American Political Science Association (APSA) and the Institute for Governance and Development (IGD) are pleased to announce a call for applications from individuals who would like to participate in a workshop on “Religion and Politics in Comparative Perspective” in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso. The two-week workshop will be held from July 1st to July 12th at the IGD’s Center for Democratic Governance. The organizers, with a grant from the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation, will cover all the costs of participation (including travel, lodging, meals, and materials) for up to 26 qualified applicants. The workshop will be conducted in both English and French.
The workshop leaders are Einas Ahmed (Centre d’Études et Documentation Économiques, Juridiques et Sociales, Sudan), Augustin Loada (University of Ouagadougou and IGD, Burkina Faso), Mahaman Tidjani-Alou (University Abdou Moumouni, Niger), Leonardo Villalón (University of Florida, USA), and Kenneth Wald (University of Florida, USA).
Program information, eligibility requirements, and a web link to the online 2013 Application Form can be found online at the APSA Africa Workshop website: www.apsanet.org/africaworkshops. The application deadline is March 15, 2013.
Workshop Fellows
The workshop is targeted at university and college faculty in the social sciences residing in Africa who are in the early stages of their academic career. APSA welcomes applications from scholars who have completed their Ph.D as well as those who are working towards completion. Up to four advanced U.S. Ph.D. students will also be accepted. All Workshop Fellows must be actively engaged in a research project in political science or an area of inquiry related to politics. Fellows should be working on a manuscript, paper, book chapter, or article that can be developed during the workshop into an eventual publication. The 2013 workshop will be a dual-language program; both French-speaking and English-speaking scholars are welcome to apply. Bi-lingual fluency is not required but participants should command a professional fluency in one of workshop’s two working languages.
Workshop Theme
For two weeks, workshop fellows will study a series of interrelated theoretical and methodological themes under the banner of “Religion and Politics in Comparative Perspective.” After collaborative examination of the theoretical traditions and key concepts in the study of religion as a political factor, participants will present their own research. Discussion will focus on four key themes: 1) the relationship between religion and the state; 2) the role of religion on individual political behavior; 3) the impact of religion on the politics of gender, sexuality, and family law; and 4) the politics of inter-religious relations. Within these discussions, participants will compare and contrast the experience of the United States (and more broadly of the West) with Africa, as well as the distinct roles of religion in the Anglophone and Francophone state traditions. The workshop will interrogate potential differences of political culture within specific religious traditions: notably Christianity and Islam, but also Judaism and traditional African religious.
Applications
To submit an application for participation in the workshop, first review the eligibility requirements on APSA’s Africa Workshop website and then follow the web link to the online 2013 Application Form. If preferred, a copy of the Application Form in Microsoft Word can be e-mailed to you upon request. Complete applications, including all necessary supporting documents, should be sent to APSA electronically by March 15, 2013; please email all materials directly to <africaworkshops@apsanet.org>. The final list of selected Workshop Fellows will be announced in early April.</africaworkshops@apsanet.org>
Applications may be submitted in English or French, and must include:
1. The completed Application Form (online at www.apsanet.org/africaworkshops).
2. A detailed, recent Curriculum Vitae/resume.
3. A 500-word statement that describes your current research plans or ideas and how it relates to the workshop theme.
4. The draft working paper or manuscript in progress that you propose to take with you to the workshop. This can be a work-in-progress drawn from your current research, or part of a paper, article, or chapter under development. At a minimum, this should be a 2,500-word document that includes: 1) a 150-word abstract; 2) a description of research design; 3) a one-page bibliography of literature most relevant to your paper.
5. Two letters of reference on official letterhead and scanned as electronic files. If you are a graduate student, one letter should be a letter of introduction from your supervising professor. If you are a researcher or faculty member, the letters can be from a former dissertation supervisor, a colleague or collaborator at your home institution or elsewhere, a university official, or an employer.
For questions, contact us at africaworkshops@apsanet.org, or call Andrew Stinson at (202) 349-9364. Please do not contact the workshop leaders directly.
