MECAM CALL FOR IDEAS

Traveling Academy

“Imagining Futures: Dealing with Disparity ”

The Traveling Academy reflects the transregional and dynamic dimension of the center. It is made up of researchers from the Maghreb, Europe and the rest of the world. This group travels to organize conferences in other countries of the region, in various contexts and in exchange with different research traditions.

( Deadline: October 7, 2024, 12.30 PM CEST )

Click below to download all the documents

Please Find the call for ideas here (pdf)

FAQ (PDF )

The secure online application platform (application.trafo-berlin.de)

We invite current, incoming, and former fellows of the Merian Center for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb (MECAM), as well as scholars from MECAM’s partner institutions in the Maghreb and the Mashreq, to explore their research questions and ideas within a Traveling Academy in relation to MECAM’s guiding theme, “Imagining Futures: Dealing with Disparity,” and one or more of its interdisciplinary Research Fields (IRF): Aesthetics & Cultural Practice, Inequality & Mobility, Memory & Justice, Resources & Sustainability, and Identities & Beliefs.

Purpose and Scope

MECAM promotes collaboration and exchange among researchers from the Maghreb, Europe, and other regions in the social sciences and humanities. Traveling Academies provide a mobile scholarly program with lectures, presentations, and collaborative learning opportunities in various settings, to promote interdisciplinary study and transregional perspectives on common questions. We are looking forward to applications that approach questions relating to MECAM’s guiding theme and one or more of the IRF’s from diverse disciplinary, local, regional angles, that contribute to knowledge production from and in the Maghreb as well as in neighboring regions, rather than solely focusing on one country or region. We encourage critical engagement with the complexities of the ongoing transformation processes.

Format and Structure

The first Traveling Academy, scheduled for 2025, offers an opportunity for intensive debate for scholars to explore the dynamic interplay between Aesthetics & Cultural Practice, Inequality & Mobility, Memory & Justice, Resources & Sustainability, or Identities & Beliefs in the Maghreb, the Mashreq, and its neighboring regions. The event will last between 4 to 6 days and will take place preferably in Casablanca.

Organization and Coordination

Based on this call for ideas, the Convener(s) will be selected by MECAM’s Executive Council Members and invited to organize a Traveling Academy. In close cooperation with MECAM’s science communication coordinator at the Forum Transregionale Studien, the Convener(s) will develop the program in conversation with three members of MECAM’s Executive Council, Mohamed Ali Ben Zina (Université de Tunis), Anissa Ben Hassine (Université de Tunis) and Fadma Aït Mous (Université Hassan II de Casablanca).
The Academy will be conducted by the Convener(s) supported by MECAM’s science communication coordinator, and advised by the three Executive Council members. There will be between 10 to 20 participants, depending on budget and conceptual considerations. They can be nominated or selected through an open call for applications, based on an abstract of a concrete research project they wish to discuss. The final decision on the number of participants and their selection will be made jointly by the Conveners and the science communication coordinator.

Program and Activities

The Academy will feature various flexible formats, including project presentations, thematic sessions based on selected readings, lectures, plenary discussions, and invitations of locally based scholars. If necessary or meaningful, some presentations and discussions can be arranged in parallel working groups. The detailed program will be developed jointly by the Conveners, and the Science Communication Coordinator. Each format encourages active engagement and contribution from convenor(s), and participants, with steering IAB members providing guidance and input where relevant. Participants are encouraged to partake in designing the Academy’s program by not only presenting their research but also by suggesting further topics or ideas.
The Academy will be accompanied by the dissemination and publication of short texts, essays, or series of essays on the MECAM space on the TRAFO Blog for Transregional Research.

Eligibility:

MECAM’s current, incoming and former fellows and scholars from MECAM’s partner institutions in the Maghreb and the Mashreq.

APPLICATION PROCEDURE:

Proposals in English, French, or Arabic can be handed in by one or more (up to four) MECAM Fellow(s), Alumni, or scholars from MECAM’s partner institutions in the Maghreb and the Mashreq. Please submit a CV and a 1-2 page proposal for a Traveling Academy, explaining the originality of your idea, and how it relates to one or more of MECAM’s IRF’s and to its guiding theme “Imagining Futures – Dealing with Disparities”. We kindly ask you to submit your proposal with a suggestion of scholars you would like to invite, and a brief reference what their potential contribution may be.
Proposals should be sent in via the secure online application platform (application.trafo-berlin.de) of the Forum Transregionale Studien by October 7 2023, 12.30 PM CEST. Applicants will be notified of the results by mid December 2023.
Upon acceptance of your application, you will be invited to co-develop the event with the assistance of the MECAM Science Communication Coordinator at the Forum, in conversation with the three Executive Council members Mohamed Ali Ben Zina, Anissa Ben Hassine and Fadma Aït Mous.
The Forum and MECAM pursue an open access publication strategy and offer a scholarly publication platform (The MECAM series on the TRAFO blog) and other digital channels for the dissemination of the discussions and results of the academy.
The organizers of the academy must submit an evaluation report within one month of the event’s completion.
Applicants are advised to consult the MECAM and the Forum website for information regarding themes and formats of past Academies. You also find attached to this call the FAQs.
Applications by email will not be considered.
If you have any questions, please do not hesitate to contact MECAM’s science communication coordinator at the Forum Transregionale Studien : diab@trafo-berlin.de

The Traveling Academies are a collaborative working format of the Merian Center for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb (MECAM). MECAM is a joint initiative of the Philipps-Universität Marburg, the Université de Tunis, the Universität Leipzig, the German Institute of Global and Area Studies (GIGA) in Hamburg/Germany, the Université de Sfax/Tunisia, and the Forum Transregionale Studien. MECAM is supported by the German Federal Ministry of Education and Research and hosted at the Université de Tunis..

Contact: Diana Abbani
MECAM Science Communication Coordinator
Forum Transregionale Studien e.V. | Wallotstraße 14 | 14193 Berlin
diab@trafo-berlin.de | Telephone: +49 (0)30 89001 442
www.forum-transregionale-studien.de

INSTITUTIONAL FRAMEWORK – WHAT IS MECAM?

The “Merian Centre for Advanced Studies in the Maghreb” (MECAM) was founded as an international centre for interdisciplinary research and academic exchange. It is located at the Université de Tunis/Tunisia. MECAM is a joint endeavour of a consortium of renowned Tunisian and German research institutions: It is coordinated by the Philipps-Universität Marburg and the Université de Tunis and supported by the Universität Leipzig, the German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA) in Hamburg/Germany, the Forum Transregionale Studien in Berlin/Germany and the University of Sfax/Tunisia. During a three-year preliminary phase (2020-2023), this consortium is entrusted with the institutional development of MECAM and the preparation of the project’s main phase (2023-2029).

MECAM’s partner institutions:

Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg: Philipps-Universität Marburg, Marburg: The Philipps-Universität Marburg, with its 25,000 students, has a research focus on the Area Studies, which is reflected for instance in the Center for Near and Middle Eastern Studies (CNMS). The CNMS is involved in MECAM, alongside other interdisciplinary institutions and departments, including the Centre for Conflict Studies, the Department of History and Cultural Studies, the Institutes of Media Studies and Romance Philology, and the Department of Mathematics and Computer Science.

Université de Tunis, Tunis: The Université de Tunis was founded in 1960 and is today, with some 20,000 students, one of the largest universities in Tunisia, boasting a wide-ranging research and teaching portfolio with an outstanding reputation for research excellence across the region.

Universität Leipzig, Leipzig: The Universität Leipzig is a German university with around 30.000 students. Within the MECAM institutional structure the University is represented by the Institute of Geography, the Institute for Oriental Studies, and the Small Enterprise Training Program (SEPT). The Institute of Geography’s regional focus is the Mediterranean region.
German Institute for Global and Area Studies (GIGA), Hamburg: GIGA is an independent research institute based in Hamburg, Germany, which conducts research on politics, economics, and society in Africa, Asia, Latin America, and the Middle East as well as on global issues. Within MECAM, the GIGA Institute for Middle East Studies (IMES) is particularly involved.
Forum Transregionale Studien, Berlin: The Forum Transregionale Studien is a platform that promotes the internationalization of research in the humanities and social sciences. It enables collaboration among researchers with different disciplinary backgrounds and awards fellowships to researchers from all over the world.
Université de Sfax, Sfax: The Université de Sfax is located in Tunisia’s second largest city and important economic centre in the south of the country. It is attended by 35,000 students.

The Federal Ministry of Education and Research of Germany supports and funds the establishment of the international centre for research in the Humanities and Social Sciences.

The Université de Tunis provides the infrastructure for the installation of MECAM in Tunis, including the premises and complementary resources, within the Institut Supérieur des Etudes Appliquées en Humanités (ISEAHT) de Tunis.

For further information on MECAM, please visit: www.mecam.tn