RESEARCH STUDENTSHIP - 1 vacancy - RegRural

The Centre for Social Studies (CES) – Associate Laboratory - University of Coimbra (Portugal), opens a call for applications for 1 research studentship (CES/20/2022-BI) in the project "RegRural - Regulating the Colonial Rural: Wartime Villagization in Late Portuguese Colonialism", with the reference EXPL/GES-URB/1284/2021, funded by FCT – Foundation for Science and Technology through national funds, under the coordination of Tiago Castela, Ph.D. CES provides an intellectually stimulating research environment in the social sciences and the humanities, notably in architecture and in postcolonial studies. The cooperation of the Center for Geographical Studies of the Institute of Geography and Spatial Planning of the University of Lisbon (CEG/IGOT/ULisboa) as a unit of additional research assures the extension of the scope to geographical issues.

a. Project Description:

"RegRural - Regulating the Colonial Rural: Wartime Villagization in Late Portuguese Colonialism"

At a time of unequal urban division in late colonial Africa and Asia in the 1950s and 60s, in rural areas European armies aimed at putting an end to itinerant territorialities by concentrating peasants in camps. During the 3 wars that from 1961 onwards aimed for the liberation of Angola, Mozambique, and Guinea-Bissau from Portugal, so-called villagization schemes were part of occupation by the Portuguese Army of regions bordering independent African countries, in the framework of a white settlers' alliance with Rhodesia and Apartheid South Africa. Up to 2 million peasants in the 3 territories were forcibly moved to thousands of camps. While villagization was conceived by Europeans as an element of military "psychological action," in the case of Portugal's schemes it involved the whole colonial state apparatus, as it attempted not only to separate peasants from their liberation movements, but also a late colonial regulation of rurality through fossil development and new forms of dispossession. Yet, the lived experience of villagization was also one of situated frictions, around the nature of labour or temporality; and ultimately the schemes did not impede the political independences in 1975. While many camps were abandoned both before and after independence, others became thriving border towns, including as communal villages in postcolonial Mozambique. This research project hopes to contribute to an understanding how, under violent conditions of incarceration through wartime villagization, African and Asian peasants continued regulating their own spaces according to their demands and visions for the future, rearticulating a spatiality of circulation.

Expected duration of project execution: 18 months, starting January 1, 2022

b. Scientific field:

Human Geography, Spatial Planning, Architecture, and related areas - Preference for Cartography

c. Work plan, tasks:

The selected researcher is expected to have the following responsibilities:

i) Support research, collection and digitization of textual, photographic and cartographic documents in libraries and archives;

ii) Preparation of digital cartography using ArcGIS Pro software and support for its availability on the project website

iii) Support the project communication tasks, namely by helping with the organization of workshops and lectures.

d. Applicable Legislation and Regulations:

Portuguese Law nº 40/2004, of August 18 (Scientific Research Fellow Statute) and following amendments; FCT's (National Agency for Science and Technology) Regulations for Advanced Training and Qualification of Human Resources, and Regulations for Fellowships at the Centre for Social Studies.

Template of the fellowship contract: https://ces.uc.pt/oportunidades/bolsasemprego/Minuta_Contrato_Bolsa_CES.pdf

Template of the final activities report: https://ces.uc.pt/oportunidades/bolsasemprego/E_Relatorio_actividades.pdf

e. Workplace:

The tasks will be performed at the Centre for Social Studies facilities or in other locations when necessary for the good implementation of the work plan, with emphasis on the premises of the Center for Geographical Studies (IGOT building, on Rua Branca Edmée Marques in Lisbon), under the scientific supervision of Tiago Castela (PI) and Francisco Roque de Oliveira (Researcher of the RegRural project at CEG/IGOT/ULisboa).

f. Duration of the fellowship contract:

The fellowship will last 6 months, starting at the end of July 2022. The scholarship contract may be extended for equal or different periods until the end of the project, depending on the evaluation of the work carried out, the financial provisions and the scientific needs of the project.

g. Application dates:

Opens on: June 15 2022

Closes on: June 30 2022

h. Application process:

Applications must include:

a) a letter of motivation with the call reference (CES/20/2022-BI), e-mail and phone number;

b) detailed Curriculum Vitae;

c) copies of degree certificates; (note: candidates must meet the eligibility conditions and conditions indicated in point k.)

d) copy of the enrolment for the Master's degree in the academic year 2021/2022 or copy of the enrolment in a non-academic degree, but integrated into the pedagogical project of a higher education institution (note: candidates must meet the eligibility conditions) and conditions indicated in point k.).

e) other relevant documents for eligibility purposes.

Applications should be sent by email to [email protected] until the final deadline, and will be valid only after a reading receipt is sent. Applications must include a clear indication of the reference of this call (CES/20/2022-BI).