HFG African Fellows The Harry Frank Guggenheim African Fellow Awards (formerly the Harry Frank Guggenheim Young African Scholars) recognize emerging African scholars studying aspects of violence on or directly related to the African continent. Every two years, the Foundation selects a cohort of Harry Frank Guggenheim African Fellows. Approximately a dozen emerging scholars are recognized for projects judged to be of high quality and closely relevant to the Foundation’s interest in violence. The Foundation welcomes proposals for the African Fellow Awards from any of the social and natural sciences or allied disciplines that promise to increase understanding of the causes, manifestations, and control of violence and aggression. Highest priority is given to research that can increase understanding and amelioration of urgent problems of violence and aggression in the modern world. The proposed project must relate directly to the African continent. The Foundation is interested in violence related to many subjects, including, but not limited to, the following: War Crime Terrorism Family and intimate-partner relationships Climate instability and natural resource competition Racial, ethnic, and religious conflict Political extremism and nationalism The Foundation supports research that investigates the basic mechanisms in the production of violence, but primacy is given to proposals that make a compelling case for the relevance of potential findings for policies intended to reduce these ills. Likewise, historical research is considered to the extent that it is relevant to a current situation of violence. Examinations of the effects of violence are appropriate for a proposal only if a strong case can be made that these outcomes serve, in turn, as causes of future violence. The African Fellow Awards Fellowships are offered to individual scholars for a period of two years. The African Fellow Awards include an in-person methods workshop on the African continent, fieldwork research grants of $10,000 each, mentoring from senior African and Africanist scholars, sponsorship at an international conference to present research findings, and editorial and publication assistance through a writing workshop geared to support and prepare scholars to write for and submit to international peer-reviewed journals and other outlets for their research. Timing Candidates for the African Fellow Awards may apply online annually between December 1 and March 1. Final decisions are made by the Board of Directors. Applicants will be informed promptly by email of the Board’s decision. The program begins with a research proposal workshop held on the African continent. Eligibility Applicants for the fellowship may be citizens of any country. They must be aged 45 or younger, currently enrolled in an accredited Ph.D. program at an African higher-education institution, and living on the continent. Application The March 1 application deadline occurs every other year, in accordance with the program application cycle. Applicants must create an account to access the application. The guidelines are also available through the second link below. Online Application (Login required) Application Guidelines (PDF) Advice for Applicants (PDF) Related: African Fellows at the African Studies Association UK 2024 Conference Recent Recipients2025–2026Aroob Alfaki (University of Khartoum, Social Anthropology). Reproduction of Inequalities or Construction of New Commonalities? Socio-Spatial and Cultural Reconfigurations of the Urban and the Rural in Sudan Between Revolution and War Tamia Botes (University of the Witwatersrand, Anthropology). Eldorado Park as Demonic Grounds: A Social History from 1960s–Present Nonhlanhla Gumede (University of Pretoria, Social Work). Narratives of Male Perpetrators on Factors Contributing to Gender-Based Violence: A Case Study of KwaZulu-Natal, South Africa Lameck Kachena (University of Cape Town, Environmental and Geographical Sciences). Migration, Socioecological and Geopolitical Trajectories along the Great Limpopo and Chimanimani Transboundary Parks Stanley Kiswaga (Makerere University, Makerere Institute of Social Research (MISR)). Theatre for Development and the Neoliberal Divides: Rethinking “New Nation-Building” in “Post-Socialist Tanzania” Kgomotso Komane (University of Pretoria, Political Science and International Relations). An Intersecting Theoretical Analysis on Lesotho’s Struggle with Political Violence: A Case Study on the (Re)Configuration and (Re)Construction of Basotho Wem on Mediation and Peacebuilding in Lesotho Abdirizak Muhumed (University of the Witwatersrand, Political Science). Unfinished Imperialism and Lived Experiences of Occupation in Ogaden, 1994–2018 Faridah Muli (University of Nairobi, Department of Diplomacy and International Studies). Digital Technologies in Counterterrorism: Assessing US-Kenya Partnerships in Violent Extremism Prevention in the Horn of Africa Azzeddine Tajjiou (Université Mohammed Premier, English Studies). Colonial Shadows and Post-Colonial Dreams: Exploring Corruption and Hope in Anglophone African Literature Rukayat Usman (University of Ibadan, Sociology/Public Policy). Violence Continuum and the Mobility Trajectories of Young Internally Displaced Persons Exiting Camps in Nigeria Alida van der Walt (Stellenbosch University, Department of Music; Centre for the Study of the Afterlife of Violence and the Reparative Quest). Sensing Sexual and Gender-Based Violence in South Africa: Vocal Performance as Witness and Apology See Full List
