Call for Applications:

Two-Year Postdoctoral Research Fellowships

Deadline: Friday, 14 November 2025

The SARChI Chair in Violent Histories and Transgenerational Trauma at the Centre for the Study of the Afterlife of Violence and the Reparative Quest (AVReQ), Stellenbosch University, invites applications for two-year full-time Postdoctoral Fellowships to be awarded to three outstanding candidates from any discipline in the Humanities and Social Sciences. AVReQ is an interdisciplinary research Centre and intellectual home that provides a vibrant environment for senior scholars, postdoctoral fellows, and postgraduate students to conduct research and engage in scholarly debates on issues of social relevance across disciplines. The commencement date of the fellowship is 2 February 2026.

Fellows will be required to undertake up to 8 hours of work a week on AVReQ’s archival and/or oral history research, which will be remunerated separately for institutional cultures research. Fellows are also expected to participate fully in the intellectual life of the Centre and contribute to the debates in the lecture series, public dialogue and in-house events organised by the Centre’s research teams. These scholarly events offer fellows the opportunity to lead and host events related to their own research. Examples of postdoctoral fellow events can be viewed here, and the recent postdoctoral fellow programme is available here.

Note: Postdoctoral fellows are not appointed as employees, and their fellowships are awarded tax-free. As non-employees, fellows do not receive employee benefits such as contributions to retirement funds, medical aid, or other staff-related perks. 

Eligibility Criteria:

  1. Applicants for the postdoctoral fellowships must hold a PhD in the Humanities and Social Sciences awarded within the last five years.
  2. Previous experience in humanities and social science research using qualitative research methods is essential. This must be demonstrable, especially in the doctoral thesis or in a previous peer-reviewed journal publication.
  3. Although not a requirement for all three positions to be awarded, experience with archival research and the capacity to construct historical narratives from archival materials are recommended as we will award at least one fellowship to a candidate with this expertise.

Application Procedure

Submit your application documents via email to Mr Westley Ceasar (ceasar@sun.ac.za) with the subject line in capital letters: POSTDOC FELLOWSHIP APPLICATION 2026. The following documents are required:

  1. A motivation letter of no more than two pages on why you would be the ideal candidate to join AVReQ’s research community.
  2. A short proposal of no more than two pages written in the form of a concept note detailing the research and writing you wish to pursue, aligned with the themes of the SARChI Chair in Violent Histories and Transgenerational Trauma. Importantly, the concept note must not simply be an abstract from your doctoral thesis but must include your thoughts about the significance of your area of research and how the insights you will draw from it will contribute to new knowledge production.
  3. CV clearly showing your previous scholarly activities.
  4. University transcripts for MA and PhD qualifications.
  5. Names of two referees who are familiar with your academic research journey.

Deadline for Applications: Friday, 14 November 2025 at 12 p.m. (noon).

Commencement of duties: Monday, 2 February 2026