Critical Food Studies: Transdisciplinary Humanities Approaches is an intra-institutional programme that is funded by the Andrew W Mellon foundation. Formed in 2019, it grew from the Food Politics and Cultures Project.
The programme involves close collaboration between 3 major Universities in South Africa: UWC, UKZN and UP, and aims to drive a field of critical food studies straddling humanities disciplines – in South Africa and globally.
The programme focuses on postgraduate studies and mentoring, seminars and conferences, academic and accessible online publications, performance and visual art productions as well as public engagement.
ABOUT THE CRITICAL FOOD STUDIES SCHOLARSHIP – FIELDS COVERED
Critical Food Studies, in collaboration with the University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN), the University of the Western Cape (UWC), and the University of Pretoria (UP), is inviting students to apply for a Postgraduate Scholarship for the 2024 academic year.
The University of KwaZulu-Natal (UKZN) research team, representing a variety of disciplines in various colleges, will be awarding scholarships to 2 postgraduate students (1 Honours and 1 Masters), from any discipline who are interested in pursuing transdisciplinary studies.
The aim of the programme is to strengthen transdisciplinary humanities research capacity and foster research community-building by providing academic and financial support for postgraduate studies.
Candidates can apply if they are interested in pursuing research studies focusing on food as an analytical lens through which society, culture, the economy, and the polity is scrutinised and theorised in such areas as:
- how food is culturally experienced, including viscerally, by taste, appetites, and desires
- representation, branding and marketing of food in an increasingly food-focused commodity culture
- contextual meanings of gustatory “taste”; symbolic or imaginative representations of “good food”, “cooking” and cuisine in subject-formation
- food consumption in struggles for agency, social prestige or cultural or social autonomy
- materiality of food and its visual representation in artwork, performance, and popular culture, and others
Scholars will be mentored into academic and critical knowledge-sharing cultures through co-supervision and dedicated cohort seminars and workshops throughout the year.
ELIGIBILITY REQUIREMENTS FOR THE CRITICAL FOOD STUDIES SCHOLARSHIP
Applicants must satisfy the following minimum entry criteria before applying (please note that failure to satisfy all the requirements will lead to your application not being considered):
- You must be a South African citizen or a permanent resident in South Africa
- You must have completed a Bachelors degree, if you are an Honours applicant
- You must have completed an Honours degree, if you are a Masters applicant
- You must be fully registered for 2024
- You must be interested in interdisciplinary research on food informed by a humanities lens
HOW TO APPLY FOR THE CRITICAL FOOD STUDIES SCHOLARSHIP
Students who meet all of the above eligibility criteria, can apply by submitting clear copies of the following supporting documentation (the submission of these documents is compulsory – if any items are missing, your application may be disqualified):
- Letter outlining your interest in interdisciplinary research on food informed by a humanities lens and future plans for advancing research in the field
- Certificates and transcripts of qualifications completed
Note: there is no application form to be completed for this scholarship application – applicants need only submit the list of above documents to apply.
Applications must be submitted via email to Nokuthula Magudulela at: [email protected]
(Insert the words “Critical Food Studies Scholarship Application 2024” in the email subject line).
CLOSING DATE FOR THE CRITICAL FOOD STUDIES SCHOLARSHIP
11 March.
(Applications submitted after this date will not be accepted – please apply before the closing date to ensure your application is considered.)
CONTACT THE SCHOLARSHIP PROVIDER
For any queries related to this scholarship programme, please contact UKZN directly:
Contact person: Prof Lebo Moletsane
Email: [email protected]