26/05/2021
Re-imagining Tragedy from Africa and the Global South
Postdoctoral Fellowship
The Centre for Theatre, Dance and Performance Studies (CTDPS) at the University of Cape
Town is engaged in an innovative, five-year research project that began in 2019, Reimagining
Tragedy from Africa and the Global South, funded by The Andrew W. Mellon Foundation. This
project proposes to take a concept – tragedy - from the very beginnings of theatre in its
European manifestation and to reimagine it from a perspective in Africa that is at once directed
at the complex challenges of our global postcolonial present and towards our possible futures
both inside and outside of the discipline.
The project is led by Mark Fleishman with Mandla Mbothwe, and aims to understand how
tragedy has been refigured in the post-colonial theatre; how moments of tragic excess are
enacted outside of the theatre in the course of revolts against neo-colonial establishments
and forces; and, in an embodied, performative manner, how tragedy might be utilized as a
tool for understanding the present regime of time and its performative effects in the global
neo-colonial complex that characterizes the world as it is emerging now across all
hemispheres. It is a project that sets out to reorient thinking about theatre by shifting its
dominant perspectives; re-read the postcolony through the frame of tragedy; explore the
relevance of tragedy for a young generation today; while adopting a methodology rooted in
art practice.
We are seeking a postdoctoral fellow to join the project for a three-year period commencing
in August/September 2021. The Postdoctoral Fellow will undertake research and gain
professional experience under the supervision and mentorship of Prof. Mark Fleishman, the
Principal Investigator of the RETAGS project.
Equity, redress, diversity and inclusion are central to the project. We will consider applications
from suitably qualified candidates with experience of and interest in the global South broadly.
However, we particularly encourage applications from women and black (and especially
African) South Africans.
Conditions of Award:
• The Postdoctoral Fellowship is valued at R210 000 per annum, renewable for a total of
three years (2021-2022-2023) on the basis of satisfactory academic progress and
availability of funds. No benefits or allowances are included in the value of the
fellowship
• The successful candidate will hold a PhD degree in Theatre or Performance Studies or
a cognate discipline and may not previously have held full-time permanent
professional or academic posts.
• The successful applicant will have a broad theatre & performance studies research
focus and an interest in applying concepts and forms from inside the theatre to events
occurring outside of the theatre in a global South context. Furthermore, an interest in,
and willingness to contribute to, the curation of online, digital archives of data
collected through fieldwork, would be an advantage.
• Candidates will be expected to participate fully in the life of the RETAGS project, to
mentor junior scholars and to develop their own research and outputs in line with the
stated objectives of the RETAGS programme. They may be invited to teach and
supervise, subject to the limits on Postdoctoral researchers.
• The successful candidate will be expected to conduct fieldwork in various part of the
African continent and in sites of the African diaspora and to contribute to the
establishment of digital archives based on such fieldwork.
• The successful candidate will be required to register at the Centre for Theatre, Dance
and Performance Studies, University of Cape Town, and to comply with relevant
policies, procedures and practices at the University of Cape Town. The fellow will be
required to be based in Cape Town for the duration of the postdoctoral period except
when conducting fieldwork or traveling for approved research purposes.
To apply, please send: A letter of application describing your work and how it fits with the
themes of the RETAGS project; a CV (including research activities and outputs); your academic
transcripts; and two letters of reference from academics who have taught, supervised or
worked alongside you.
Please send your query or completed application to Raezeen Wentworth
([email protected]) and copy Prof. Mark Fleishman ([email protected]).
Applications are due 30 June 2021. Eligible and complete applications will be considered by a
project committee. Incomplete or late applications will not be considered.
The University of Cape Town reserves the right to disqualify ineligible, incomplete and/or
inappropriate applications and to change the conditions of award or to make no awards at all.
