3-Month Visiting (Senior) Research Fellowship Appointments

Applications are invited for 3-month Visiting (Senior) Research Fellowships at the Asia Research Institute (ARI), National University of Singapore to commence in October 2010, January 2011 and April 2011. The positions are intended for outstanding researchers whose work focus on Asia, with a balance anticipated between senior and junior scholars.  Interested applicants should have at least a PhD with a few years of postdoctoral research experience.  Applicants are invited to indicate which of the ARI clusters they would like to be affiliated with (see information about clusters below).  Interdisciplinary interests are encouraged. The position is essentially a writing fellowship, and at least one published outcome is expected.  Applicants who do not normally publish in English will be encouraged and assisted to do so.

TERMS AND CONDITIONS
Visiting (Senior) Research Fellowships: This 3-month fellowship comes with a competitive remuneration and benefits package, depending on seniority. Details of housing benefit will be provided to successful candidates.

AREAS OF RESEARCH FOCUS

1. The Asian Migration cluster explores the issues arising from increased levels of human mobility in the region, both within and across national borders. Mobility of high-level professional and managerial personnel, unskilled labour migration (both documented and undocumented), and human trafficking all raise methodological and theoretical questions, and major policy issues, as does the role of migration in development and change.

2. The Asian Urbanisms cluster provides space for exploration of Asia’s urban diversity. Emerging urban forms, phenomena and experiences within ARI’s areal scope demand empirical documentation and analysis. The cluster also takes regional urban diversity as a resource for wider theorization. The theoretical orientation of the cluster is towards work which: (1)speaks in transformative ways to urban studies debates beyond Asian area studies; and (2)resists the ingrained impulse to refer back to antecedents in North America or western Europe. The cluster is particularly interested in forms of relational, comparative research which de-centre the West as the supposed leading edge of urban transition, innovation and influence. Avenues for such work include (but not limited to): intra-Asian city models and emulation; sustainability and urban lifestyles; natural disasters, conflict and urban resilience; cultures of urban heritage; and religion-related urbanisms.

3. The Changing Family in Asia cluster explores the dimensions of family change in the region, their causes and implications. These dimensions include rising ages at marriage and decreasing non-marriage, declining fertility and declining size of the nuclear family, increase in one-person households and alternative family forms, changing gender roles within families, and changes in family structures consequent on population aging.

4. The Cultural Studies in Asia is an emerging field of academic research in Asia which is challenging conventional disciplinary boundaries to rethink received knowledge on existing issues and/or to addresses new topics and concerns thrown up by the rapid changes and impact on cultural practices, brought about by new technologies and the new phase of global capitalism.

5. The Religion and Globalisation cluster is dedicated to exploring global reconfigurations of conceptions of ‘religion’ and their diverse manifestations in Asian contexts. Particular attention is given here to the dynamic interactions of secularization and religious revival in the modern period, as well as to related issues of the invocation of authority and tradition in contemporary discourse and practice. In terms of coverage, , the cluster works to facilitate studies of significant developments in major established religions such as Buddhism, Christianity and Islam, as well as localized indigenous traditions and new religious movements from any part of Asia, broadly conceived.

6. The Science, Technology, and Society research studies the inter-relationships between those three domains, especially in the context of Asia. STS is a research programme which began in the late 1960s, and is now conducted at more than a hundred institutions around the world. NUS has one of the largest concentrations of faculty in Asia researching STS themes, and working on both global and regional scales.

7.  The Open Category.  While any research institute must focus its work on certain particular frontiers on which it hopes to make a difference, ARI has also kept its doors open to talented people, exciting ideas and worthwhile projects across the whole spectrum of the social sciences. Many of our most exciting visitors have been in what we call the ‘open’ cluster, to ensure this openness to ideas remains.

ABOUT THE ASIA RESEARCH INSTITUTE (ARI)

The Asia Research Institute (ARI) was established as a university-level institute in July 2001 as one of the strategic initiatives of the National University of Singapore (NUS). Its mission is to provide a world-class focus and resource for research on the Asian region, located at one of its communication hubs.

ARI engages the humanities and social sciences broadly defined, and especially interdisciplinary frontiers between and beyond disciplines.

INVITATION TO APPLY

Interested applicants are invited to email/mail their applications, consisting of:
• Application form (please click here to download the application form);
• Curriculum Vitae;
• Synopsis of the proposed research project (no restriction on the number of pages);
• At least one sample of their published work;
• Ensure that a minimum of 3 referees submit directly to us (email is also acceptable) a confidential report on the applicant's academic standing as well as comment on their research project by 1 April 2010.

The closing date for applications is on 1 April 2010. We regret that only shortlisted candidates will be notified (via email). Candidates who do not hear from the University within 10 weeks after closing date of the advertisement may assume the position has been filled.

Address for submission of applications and references:

Human Resources
c/o Ms Chong Mei Peen
Asia Research Institute
National University of Singapore
469A, Tower Block,
#10-01, Bukit Timah Road,
Singapore 259770
Email: joinari@nus.edu.sg