Visiting Fellowships for Scholars from the Global South

The Centre for Research in the Arts, Humanities and Social Sciences (CRASSH) at the University of Cambridge is inviting applications for funded 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.

Musical Bodies and Ecologies

For 2028, CRASSH will partner with the Faculty of Music at the University of Cambridge.

Since antiquity, music has had a complicated relationship with the body and the broader ecologies surrounding it. On the one hand, music has been integral to forms of celebration, sacred worship, song and dance across vast cultural geographies. Yet on the other hand, music has often been understood as suspect for its potential for excess. In our current moment of mounting ecological and other crises, new criticism and questions have arisen about whether music has any meaningful role to play in cultivating sustainable and regenerative forms of life.

We invite applications that explore these questions of music and its connections to human bodies and to broader ecologies beyond the human. We welcome proposals dealing with any musical tradition/culture, but especially encourage applications from scholars working on musical practices beyond the Western art music tradition. Some areas of research that may be particularly relevant include:

• music and listening as bodily practices
• music and dance
• music and ritual
• music and bodily presence, including shared co-presence and community
• music and the environment
• Black and Indigenous ecomusicological thought and practices
• music and time (potentially including ‘deep time’, seasonality, and life cycles)
• music, sound and voice
• religious and other cosmologies of music/sound and the broader world around us
• more-than-human musical practices (including non-human animals, plants, and geology)
• music and technological mediation, including the digital and artificial intelligence
• music pedagogy and the disciplining/training of the body

We welcome applications from any discipline, including music and sound studies, as well as the broader social sciences (e.g. anthropology, geography, politics, science and technology studies, sociology) and humanities (e.g. film/media studies, history, literary studies, religious studies).

All Fellows selected under this scheme will be invited to present on their work at a relevant Faculty while they are at Cambridge. They will also be asked to work together on a roundtable event related to the theme of this call, to take place at CRASSH during the term they are resident in Cambridge.

Up to three Visiting Fellows will be selected each year from different countries in the Global South whose research proposals respond to the call set out above. Check the key details tab on this page for more details on eligibility.

Hear more about the Global South Fellowship scheme at CRASSH: what the scheme offers, how to apply, and what we look for in strong applications. This short presentation by CRASSH Director Joanna Page is followed by a Q&A, and former Fellows also share their experiences. Watch the recording.

When will the Fellowships take place?

Visiting Fellows will be appointed for Lent Term 2028 (from mid-January to mid-March: see term dates for each year).

What is provided?

• Visiting Fellows will receive return (economy fare) travel from the scholar’s home institution, in accordance with the University’s travel policy. CRASSH will also cover the cost of a visa, if required.
• CRASSH will also book and cover the cost of single ensuite accommodation will be provided at Wolfson College. Wolfson College will waive its usual membership fee and provide free access to the college library, gym, and social spaces, as well as participation in activities open to college members. Fellows may take meals in the college Dining Hall at their own expense.
• As this scheme is open to scholars already employed at a higher education institution, it is assumed that most everyday expenses will be met through their salary; however, a subsistence allowance of £175 per week is provided 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.
• Each Visiting Fellow will have desk space and computer access at CRASSH, along with full access to the University’s libraries, collections, and academic events hosted by CRASSH and other University institutions.
• The in-person Fellowship must be held for a minimum of nine weeks, and may be extended to twelve weeks if the Fellow wishes. It will be followed by a nine-month digital Fellowship, providing continued access to the University’s online events and resources.

Conditions of the Fellowship

• This is a residential fellowship: scholars should be resident in Cambridge for the full term (nine weeks). Up to one week during the term may be spent elsewhere, by prior arrangement, for research, family or other personal reasons. A subsistence allowance will not be payable for time spent outside of the UK for non-academic reasons during the Fellowship.
• Fellows will be expected to take part in Research Practice seminar at CRASSH during the term.
• 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. Some of this preparatory work will take place online before the start of the Fellowship.
• Applicants must undertake to confirm their dates of travel at least five months before arrival in Cambridge and to apply for a visa (where required) at least four months before the start of their Fellowship.
• Successful applicants will need to confirm that they have taken out travel insurance (at their own cost).
• A successful applicant wishing to bring one or more dependants with them should inform CRASSH before the official letter of invitation is issued. We are able to include dependants in the letter of invitation, but applicants should be aware that we are not able to cover any additional costs involved in bringing dependants to Cambridge. Single accommodation will be provided as standard; it may be possible to book double accommodation for a Fellow who wishes to bring a partner, but availability is not guaranteed and the additional cost would be charged to the Fellow. We regret that we are not able to book accommodation for Fellows with children, which is more challenging to find in Cambridge. If Fellows choose to book family accommodation separately, CRASSH will make a contribution that equals the cost of the single accommodation we would have provided.

Q&A about the Global South Fellowship

Catch the full Q&A from the Global South Fellowship webinar on YouTube here

Please email fellowshipscrassh [dot] cam [dot] ac [dot] uk (fellowships[at]crassh[dot]cam[dot]ac[dot]uk) for enquiries.

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.
• Applicants must have a level of spoken English that will allow them to engage actively in discussion on topics of academic interest.

Application procedure

Applications must be submitted via the online application system by the deadline indicated. Register or log in to your application on the right-hand side of this page. The following documents are required: 

• A cover letter, explaining why you would like to be considered for a Fellowship at CRASSH.
• A curriculum vitae –  please use the template supplied. Applications with CVs in alternative formats will be considered ineligible.
• A copy of your phD certificate, confirming that your PhD has been formally awarded and clearly showing the date of award.
• A letter of support from your Head of Department (or equivalent), confirming that leave of absence will be granted by your institution for the full period of the Fellowship.
• A sample of written work – please upload a short text (e.g. a journal article or book chapter) you have already published on a topic relevant to your research proposal.
• A research proposal – please outline in up to 1500 words the research project you propose to undertake during your Fellowship at CRASSH.
  • Your proposal should clearly identify a central research problem or question and explain the original contribution your project seeks to make to existing knowledge or understanding. We are particularly interested in how your project emerges from your previous work, and how it builds on or challenges existing scholarship.
  • Please explain the specific sources, materials, evidence or cases you intend to investigate, the approach you will take, and how these will enable you to address your research questions. Your proposal should also explain what part of the project you would aim to complete during the Fellowship. We are looking for proposals that demonstrate independent intellectual judgement, a well-developed understanding of the research problem, and a clear rationale for the choices underpinning the project. We value precision, originality and critical engagement over broad claims about the significance or novelty of the proposed research.

Submitting your application

If you experience any technical difficulties with the application system, please contact fellowshipscrassh [dot] cam [dot] ac [dot] uk (fellowships[at]crassh[dot]cam[dot]ac[dot]uk) for assistance.

To submit your completed application, click on the ‘Submit’ button at the bottom of the page. You can submit at any time up until the deadline, provided all fields have been completed.  You can log in to view and amend your application after submission.

Please note that uploaded documents must be PDF files.

Selection process

• 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.
• 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 duration of the Fellowship.
• Shortlisted applicants should expect to be invited to an online discussion as part of the selection process, during which they will be expected to explain their proposal in detail and the intellectual decisions that led to it. The use of AI tools or assistance is not permitted during the discussion.

What is the closing date for applications?

The deadline for applications is 12:00 (midday) UTC on 22 January 2027. Late applications cannot be accepted. The results of the selection process will be communicated to all applicants before the end of March 2027.

CRASSH welcomes applications that demonstrate original thinking and independent intellectual engagement with the proposed research project. We recognise that generative AI can be a useful tool in preparing applications, particularly for improving clarity, structure and language, and for translation. However, applicants must be the intellectual authors of their research proposals. The central research questions, arguments and methodological approaches must be grounded in their own ideas, knowledge and critical judgement. It is not sufficient for applicants simply to select or refine research proposals substantially conceived or developed by AI.

Applicants must declare any substantive use of AI in developing the intellectual content of their proposal. Routine use for editing, translation or improving the presentation of an application need not be declared.

Shortlisted applicants should expect to be invited to an online discussion as part of the selection process, during which they will be expected to explain their proposal in detail and the intellectual decisions that led to it.