[Reader-list] Reminder: CALL FOR PROPOSALS TISS-MPI MUMBAI FELLOWSHIPS 2012

[Shilpa Phadke]

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CALL FOR PROPOSALS

TISS-MPI MUMBAI FELLOWSHIPS 2012

The city of Mumbai, formerly Mumbai/Bombay/Bambai in the 21st century is
the locus of

multiple fractures, contestations and diverse claims being made everyday.
As the commercial

capital of India and as a vital metropolitan node in a globalizing world,
Mumbai has played

host to a series of pressures. The real estate boom and the land scams, the
terror attacks and

the crumbling infrastructure have taken a toll as the chasm between the
haves and the have-

nots in the city has widened and deepened over the last decade and a half.
However, befitting

its critical contradictory energies, the city is alive to numerous
communities and cultures that

innovatively adapt to the exigencies of the rapidly changing world.

As the city gets composed and re-composed socially, economically,
politically and

aesthetically, day after day, several fault-lines fall open. What does the
changing face of the

city tell us about ourselves? How do we trace the transformations and
understand them? How

do we locate these transformations against the myriad processes of
globalisation and the

aspirations generated by them?

Tata Institute of Social Sciences invites proposals from individuals
belonging to diverse

fields including but not restricted to academics, media practitioners,
filmmakers, architects,

planners, artists, designers, activists and all other professionals with a
minimum qualification

of a post graduate degree in any discipline/ field. The proposed studies
could cover varied

aspects  of Mumbai’s multiple communities, changing landscapes, urban
villages, cultures

around places of worship, migrants, the local trains, street economy,
eataries, street food,

language, jargon, representations, cinemas, contested spaces, to name only
some.

TISS-MPI Mumbai Fellowships are intended to provide the space and time for
individuals to

conduct research on or engage with the city of Mumbai and produce a
research monograph or

a short film or a photo essay or a documentary. The material generated from
this research will

contribute to a growing archive of work on the city of Mumbai.

*About the Urban Aspirations in Global Cities Project*

"Urban Aspirations in Global Cities" is an international collaborative
project in which

researchers from TISS, Mumbai, Max Planck Institute (MPI), Germany and
Partners for

Urban Knowledge Action and Research (PUKAR), Mumbai, are working together.
The

project aims to compare post-colonial mega-cities in Asia, including
Mumbai, Singapore and

Shanghai, and understand how the urban community of rapidly growing
mega-cities impacts

the development of urban aspirations.

This project which commenced in December 2010 attempts to explore the city
through

primary research done by young researchers of TISS, MPI and PUKAR and
document

contemporary research on the city available in the form of reports,
research monographs,

films and other textual and visual material. This material will be housed
in TISS and will also

be available on a virtual platform that allows for complex and multiple
engagements with the

research material on the city.

*About the Fellowships:*

Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) is internationally recognised for
its excellence in

education, research and field action. It has contributed significantly to
policies and debates on

socially relevant issues and problems. With its experienced and
accomplished faculty, a

dynamic student community, a well-equipped library, and IT resources, TISS
provides

meaningful support and mentorship for research.

The fellowships will cover a period of time up to a maximum of ten months.
The fellowships

between Rs. 50,000 to Rs. 1,00,000 for this duration, will be released in
instalments against

certain deliverables  Short-listed applicants will be invited to attend an
interview.

 The selections will be announced in February 2012.

*Guidelines for the Proposal *

The proposal should contain:

1. Name:

2. Address:

3. Contact Email and Phone Number:

4. A short CV of not more than two pages.

5. Proposal with Working Title of a maximum of 2500 words which includes
the

research idea, the objectives of the research, methodology, rationale for
and relevance

of the research. Also indicate what form your project will take (research
paper,

installation, audio-visual documentation).

6. Time line of the project: Please provide a month by month work plan for
the project.

Your planned project could vary from two months to ten months.

7. Two samples of previous work (if available) or information on previous
experience.

8. Names, phone numbers and email addresses of two referees willing to
furnish a

reference for you.

*Terms & Conditions*

1. Applicants are expected to have a Masters degree and be living in Mumbai
at the time

of the research.

2. Proposals are expected to be in English but the actual research can be
in English,

Hindi, Marathi, or any other Indian regional language but the work has to
be on

Mumbai. The research work and presentation can also be in any of these
languages.

2

3. A draft of the final outcome of the work should be ready by 30 November
2012. Final

presentations will be made in December 2012 or January 2013.

4. The grantees will be expected to attend workshops organised by TISS-Max
Planck

and meet all other requirements of the programme. The grantees will also be
expected

to make presentations of work in progress to other fellows.

5. The copyright of the work generated will be granted to TISS (authorship
will remain

with the researcher/artist).

6. The fellowship grant will released in installments against specific
deliverables.

7. The fellowship is intended to be a rigorous endeavour demanding a
certain level of

commitment and engagement both to the research process and to interaction
with

other grantees, there is no restriction on those who already have other
commitments

either employment, education or other research from receiving a fellowship.

8. Fellows will be given access to TISS library and e-resources during the
tenure of the

fellowship. Fellows are encouraged to participate in the activities of
relevance to their

research work at the TISS.  Accommodation on the campus or admission to any
of the

academic programmes cannot be offered.

*Please send applications and queries addressed to:*
sowmya.skandan at tiss.edu

*Last date for Submission of Applications: 16 January  2012*