The Danish-East African research project, "People Speaking Back? Media, Empowerment and Democracy in East Africa (MEDIeA)", funded by the Danish Development Agency (Danida), is offering two full-time PhD scholarships (36 months) starting on January 1 2010. The general objective of the PhD scholarships is to strengthen the research efforts of MEDIeA in Kenya and Tanzania. The PhD students are expected to provide community-based research which uncovers the synergies and communication relations between everyday life, media use, and citizen engagement in social and political processes. One successful applicant will be registered as a PhD student at University of Nairobi, the other at University of Dar es Salaam.

The overall objective of MEDIeA is to explore the role that civil society-driven media and communication technologies can have in enhancing participatory governance processes in East Africa, more specifically in Kenya and Tanzania. The research project’s analytical challenge is to understand the ways and means in which youth as ordinary citizens engage with such civil society-driven media and communication platforms and what socio-cultural and policy-related outcomes this may have.

The organisers describe the specific topics to be addressed for the PhD scholarships as follows:

Tanzania: Media Use, Citizenship, and Participatory Communication - A Media Ethnographic Study

According to the organisers, a key working hypothesis in this research proposal is that in the fight against HIV/AIDS, civil society organisations have engaged and empowered local communities in ways whereby processes of empowerment and social change have been articulated. It is MEDIeA’s claim that this is a phenomenon seen across Africa, with initiatives such as the Straight Talk organisations in Uganda and Kenya, with the Advent Development and Relief Agency (ADRA) Malawi’s communication initiatives, with N’weti in Mozambique, the Soul City initiative in South Africa, and Femina HIP (Health Information Project) in Tanzania. It is the aim of this PhD candidate to test this hypothesis. It is suggested that the study will primarily, but not exclusively, explore the situation amongst young women.

Kenya: Communication, E-participation, and Digital Inclusion - A Media Ethnographic Study

This PhD project will provide a bottom-up community-based perspective on how young Kenyans in rural and urban settings experience, produce meaning, and engage with civil society-driven media and communication initiatives. A key working hypothesis in this research proposal is that contemporary technologies such as electronic mailing lists, peer-to-peer networks, collaborative software, wikis, internet forums, and blogs are clues to and early potential solutions for some aspects of e-democracy. The study will primarily centre on some of the young women who are approached and engaged by communication strategies of several yet-to-be-identified local organisations. The question of whether these non-profit initiatives do strengthen the participation of young women in public debate and thus potentially empower them, will ideally be explored by an agency-centred, critically distanced approach that gauges the effect of these people-centred communication initiatives.

Click here for the online call for applications.

Click here to download more detailed information about the scholarships in PDF format.

Applications from students with an MA in social sciences or humanities and with experience in qualitative empirical research, preferably in the field of qualitative reception studies, media ethnography, and/or participatory communication studies, are invited to apply. Applicants should be prepared to work extended periods in the field, in close and prolonged cooperation with the non-governmental and community-based organisations selected as case studies by the MEDIeA team of senior researchers. Applicants must be able to communicate in the relevant vernacular language, besides English, as well as demonstrate the necessary abilities to do research based on a participant observation approach. Finally, it would be beneficial if applicants also have experience with survey-based, quantitative research designs, or equivalent qualifications.

Applicants are required to submit the following:

• a research proposal of up to five pages;
• a curriculum vitae including a list of publications;
• a writing sample/publication of 5-10,000 words;
• official transcripts of undergraduate degree and Master’s degree; and
• reference letters (optional).

Please send an application, including appendices, in one single PDF file to Kirsten Høffding at Roskilde University (see contact details below). Should you have questions regarding the content of the proposal, please contact the following:
For the Kenya scholarship: Norbert Wildermuth and Winnie Mitulla. (details below).
For the Tanzania scholarship: Thomas Tufte and Datius Rweyemanu. (details below).

Email from Thomas Tufte to Soul Beat Africa on July 1 2009.