CFAs: Visiting Fellowships for Scholars from the Global South

The purpose of these Fellowships is to provide opportunities for scholars working at higher education institutions in the Global South to exchange ideas with other researchers based at CRASSH and elsewhere in the University of Cambridge and to draw benefit from access to the University’s collections and resources. It is hoped that these visits will lead on to future collaborations and exchanges.

For 2026, CRASSH will partner with the Department of History and Philosophy of Science. Applications are invited from scholars whose research is connected to the theme of science, politics and justice. This invites projects that study the ethics, politics and history of scientific, medical and technical knowledge-making and the multiple ways in which science has been leveraged by various groups in pursuit of justice. This may include proposals that focus on the participation of scientific and medical experts and activists in projects of anticolonialism, antiracism, climate and environmental justice, disarmament, gender equity, indigenous rights, reproductive rights, the repatriation of heritage and ancestors, or scientific and medical literacy. The call also welcomes projects that examine moral, ethical, and historical questions of science and engineering as contributors to crime prevention, policing, prosecution, and war. Equally, it includes projects that investigate the moral responsibility of scientific experts, as well as objectivity, neutrality, and value judgments in socially engaged science.

They invite applications from any discipline, including anthropology, archaeology, art history, digital humanities, ecology and environmental studies, history, philosophy, medical humanities, museum studies, science and technology studies, and sociology. Projects should aim to advance current understandings of science, politics, and justice through concrete case studies of science in action.

All Fellows selected under this scheme will be asked to work together to design an event related to the theme of this call, to take place during the term they are resident in Cambridge, and to present their own research at this event. This event will be co-hosted by CRASSH and the Department of History and Philosophy of Science. Fellows will also be invited to give a separate presentation on their research, if they wish, at the Department of History and Philosophy of Science.

Themes

• Science, Politics and Justice

Benefits

• Return (economy fare) travel, single ensuite accommodation in Wolfson College, a subsistence allowance to help with additional everyday costs, desk space and access to a computer at CRASSH, full access to the University’s libraries and other collections, and to events and seminars run by CRASSH or other institutions in the University. The three-month in-person Fellowship will be followed by a nine-month digital Fellowship, allowing continued access to the University’s online events and resources.

Funding Information

• As this scheme is open to scholars already in employment at a higher education institution, it is assumed that they will be able to cover most other everyday expenses through their salary. However, a subsistence allowance of £140 per week will be available to help with the costs of food and local travel, which may be higher in the UK than in the applicant’s country of residence.

Eligibility Criteria

• Applicants must be currently employed at a higher education institution or a research institute located in the Global South, on at least a 50% contract, and working primarily within the arts, humanities, or social sciences. For the purposes of this Fellowship scheme, ‘Global South’ is defined as those countries that are included in the OECD’s list of countries receiving Official Development Assistance.
• Applicants should have been awarded a PhD at least five years before the date of application.

Selection Criteria

• The Selection Panel will include the Director of CRASSH and other members of academic staff at the University of Cambridge with expertise in different disciplines and different regions of the Global South.
• Preference may be given to applicants who received their PhD from, and have pursued their academic career in, an institution located in the Global South.
• Applicants will be asked to provide a CV (to include a list of publications) and to answer the questions.
• No references will be sought, but applicants will be asked to supply a letter of support from their Head of Department (or equivalent), confirming that leave of absence will be granted by their institution for the full period of the Fellowship.

For more information, visit CRASSH.