The Cairns Institute invites applications for PhD scholarships under the programme “People and Societies of the Tropics”. Special focus is on issues of agency, temporality and change with a preferred regional focus on Melanesia and Northern Australia, but other regions will be considered. Depending on the quality of the applications up to three scholarships will be available for candidates with a background in anthropology and related disciplines.

The successful PhD students will work in a strong interdisciplinary research environment with an excellent international profile, with participation of scholars from the following disciplinary backgrounds: anthropology, linguistics, sociology, criminology, education and history. They will become part of the Research Group on Culture, Agency and Change, which is dedicated to investigating the conditions of people and societies in the tropics, their diverse histories and cultural traditions, their imaginations of the future, and the processes of change they are caught up in. The members of this group share an interest in critically engaged research: how does our knowledge influence collective social action - of which it is a part - and how does it contribute to the reflexive agency of people in the tropics, assisting them to act upon their cultural, social and natural environment.

For more information contact professor Ton Otto, research leader at the Cairns Institute and the School of Arts and Social Sciences ( Esta dirección electrónica esta protegida contra spambots. Es necesario activar Javascript para visualizarla ).

See also http://www.jcu.edu.au/cairnsinstitute (under construction) and http://www.jcu.edu.au/research/JCUPRD_047288.html

Closing date for applications is 31 August 2010 but prior to this the application has to be screened and approved by the proposed supervisor and the head of school.

NB: I am out of e-mail contact until 18 July.

Ton Otto

Professor,

Research Leader People and Societie of the Tropics

The Cairns Institute and School of Arts and Social Sciences

James Cook University

PO Box 6811 Cairns

Qld 4870 Australia

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