[Reader-list] Call for Proposals - Mumbai Fellowships 2013 - Focus on Neighbourhoods

[Shilpa Phadke]

Please circulate widely!

http://tiss.edu/announcement/call-for-proposals-tiss-mpi-mumbai-fellowships-2013

*Call For Proposals  TISS-MPI, Mumbai Fellowships, 2013
Focus on Neighbourhoods*

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?

This year we will focus on neighbourhoods in the city of Mumbai. We invite
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 to
study either a changing neighbourhood in the city or particular aspects of
one neighbourhood, ranging from the multiple communities within, changing
landscapes, urban villages, cultures around places of worship, migrants,
the local trains, street economy, eateries, 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. Apart from this the fellowship recipients are also expected to
contribute 10 blog posts (can be photos, or articles) for the Urban
Aspirations Project Blog on the ward that they are working on. 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 installments against certain deliverables. Short-listed
applicants will be invited to attend an interview.

*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*

Terms & Conditions for TISS-MPI, Mumbai Fellowships, 2013

   1.

   Applicants are expected to have a Masters degree and be living in Mumbai
   at the time of the research. Academic qualification criteria maybe relaxed
   for exceptional applications
   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.
   3.

   A draft of the final outcome of the work should be ready by March 31,
   2014. Final presentations will be made in February 2014.
   4.

   As a part of the research commitment the selected candidates are
   expected to contribute to the Urban Aspirations blog with 10 blog posts (
   can be written or photo essays ).
   5.

   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.
   6.

   The copyright of the work generated will be granted to TISS (authorship
   will remain with the researcher/artist).
   7.

   The fellowship grant will released in installments against specific
   deliverables.
   8.

   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.
   9.

   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 addressed to:*

Applications and Queries may also be sent by email to: *
sowmya.skandan at tiss.edu*

*Last date for Submission of Applications: March 15, 2013*