A) The Centre for Social Studies (CES) of the University of Coimbra is now accepting applications from researchers willing to have CES as the host institution for a Marie Slodowska-Curie Actions 2024 (MSCA), call of the Horizon Europe Programme (European Commission): Postdoctoral Fellowships.

Eligible candidates must be holders of a PhD degree, have up to 8 years (max.) of post-doctoral research experience, and comply with the following mobility criteria:

- MSCA mobility rule: the researcher cannot have resided or carried out his/her main activity (work, studies, etc.) in the country of the host institution for more than 12 months in the 36 months immediately before the call deadline.

- The researcher must be a national or long-term resident (residing for at least 5 consecutive years) of a Member State or Associated Country (Global Fellowships only);

B) CES will support up to 6 applications for the MSCA-PF 2024 call: 5 in predefined thematic areas and 1 under a free topic. The applications to be supported will be selected by the CES Scientific Board.

C) The application process for CES as a host institution complies with the following timeline:

• The call for the submission of proposals runs from 12 April to 31 May 2024, through an electronic form according to MSCA template (here).
• Selected applicants will participate in an online workshop to support project preparation to be held during the first week of July.
• By 31 July 2024, selected applicants will send their full proposals to CES and their supervisors.
• After this date, applicants will work in close conjunction with the scientific officer appointed by the Scientific Board and the Project Management Office to improve and fine-tune the application which must be submitted by 11 September 2024 on the respective European Commission platform.

Thematic Areas

Topic 1:International political economy

International relations, with an interdisciplinary focus in international political economy: interest in studying European peripheral capitalisms in the context of supranational integration, connecting economy, polity and society in a changing and multiscalar landscape of polycrisis.

Priority will be given to candidates with a background in International Relations.

Topic 2: Democracy, resistance and alternatives.

Centred on the analysis of processes of collective action, this strategic area focuses on critical approaches to the notions and praxis of democracy and citizenship, with a focus on the struggles, rebellions and social protests that confront the structures of capitalism, colonialism and cis-heteropatriarchy. This topic also analyses the challenges posed by the narrowing of democracy in its liberal version and the practices of representative democracy and the resurgence of nationalist populisms in the 21st century. 

Keywords: collective action, participatory democracy, intersectionality, social movements, care networks, resistance.

Topic 3: New cartographies of Europe and the Global South: representations, knowledges, violence and memories

This topic aims to foster the analysis of the articulations between Europe and the Global South, at various scales, within the framework of an increasingly multipolar world. Proposals on the following themes will be accepted: New cartographies of Europe - Representations, violences and memories; Epistemologies of the South, decolonisation and the pluriverses of knowledge; Transnationalisms, diasporas and mobilities; and Contemporary geopolitics, global interventionism and peace processes.

Topic 4:Risk(s), resilience(ies), vulnerability(ies) and collective action

In his/her proposal, this researcher should present topics relating to processes of vulnerabilisation of individuals, families, and/or communities, as well as the role of public policies that promote their empowerment and resilience. An interdisciplinary approach to these themes will be favoured, with a strong emphasis on the use of participatory methodologies. This is an area that not only needs more in-depth studies but can also be articulated with other CES thematic lines.

Priority will be given to candidates with a background in Social studies and humanities.

Topic 5:Reshaping nature-human connections and urban-rural cultural linkages

Urban cultures are interwoven with the urgent imperative to face contemporary challenges related to climate change and socio-territorial inequalities. One of the challenges is the relation of cities with nature, which creates an opportunity to make cities more green and more healthy for their inhabitants. Processes of rethinking and renewing connections between nature and humans are contributing to new and expanding fields of research, such as research in action and community-based research, where integrated citizens’ engagement is driving the creation of more democratic and equitable cities. A complementary challenge is the need to re-envision and renew urban-rural cultural linkages, which are contextualized by the gradual transformation of cities and their surrounding areas through dynamic and multifaceted interconnections. Research is addressing these themes to understand how urban ways of life can learn from and integrate rural cultures and knowledges while, at the same time, cultures of non-urban/rural territories can dialogue with urban-based cultures to find innovative ways to address issues of inequalities, social cohesion and change, capacity-building, and desertification. In this sense, interdisciplinary research is needed to involve and integrate perspectives and knowledges from environmental, social sciences, artistic practices, and urban planning fields.
Priority will be given to candidates with a background in Social studies and humanities, in interdisciplinary research involving, e.g., environment, social sciences, artistic practices, and urban planning and with an experience in collaborative research, Place-sensitive research and/or research-action projects

Topic 6: Free