Internship: The role of (Post)colonial Public Intellectuals in Europe: Figures, Ideas and Connections.
Contact name
Prof. Sandra Ponzanesi
e-mail: s.ponzanesi@uu.nl
phone: 030-2537844
Affiliation
Utrecht ľ¹Ï¸£ÀûÓ°ÊÓ/ Department of Media and Culture Studies​
Project Name
The role of (Post)colonial Public Intellectuals in Europe: Figures, Ideas and Connections.
Research
Start: 01/11/15 - End date: 01/12/16
Description
The aim of this project is to investigate the role of ‘(post)colonial’ intellectuals in public debates in Europe and their impact on ideas of citizenship, governance and the public sphere. This research is an important contribution to the topic of institutions: the public intellectual is a key actor within the open society, influencing public opinion while operating on the periphery of formal politics.
The project aims in particular to gauge the impact of (post)colonial intellectuals in Europe since World War I (inter-war period, after decolonization1950s and since the multiculturalism of the1990s). It uses a comparative and multidisciplinary perspective, combining methodologies and approaches from history, media studies, postcolonial theory, religious studies and political philosophy. By choosing a (post)colonial framework, and by focusing on intellectuals with networks across the globe and in Europe, we attempt to analyse how they contributed to new conceptions of the role of intelligentsia, and of concepts of better governance and transnational citizenship.
The project will result in a critical-historical assessment of three important issues that epitomize the tensions between dominant concepts of citizenship and the role of immigrant intellectuals: freedom of speech; tensions between ‘objective’ civic institutions and processes of ethnic identification (both on the side of the receiving society and among migrant groups); and the transnational and viral character of (new) media.
Academic disciplines
Humanities: History, Literature, Media & Performance Studies, Philosophy, Religious Studies, Rhetoric & Argumentation
Social Sciences: Political Science, Sociology
Anticipated activities
The research assistant will help with the literary review, and the drafting of intermediary research reports, with the analysis of press and media archive, both digital and non, and contribute to the organization of workshops and support the writing of publications.
Requirements for applicants
Excellent research skills, good academic English, capability to work independently and in a team, communication skills, ICT skills and knowledge of digital tools, networking skills.