Durham CWIT/IAS Fellowship 2026/27

1. Fellowship Overview

The Charles Wallace India Trust (CWIT) and the Institute of Advanced Study (IAS) at Durham University invite applications for a fully funded visiting fellowship during the Epiphany term (11 January to 19 March 2027). Selected fellows will join the major interdisciplinary research project: 'Confronting Climate Apartheid: law, economy, culture' alongside its Durham University research team and other visiting Fellows.

2. Fellowship Benefits & Financial Support

• 🏢 Workspace: Dedicated office space in University College (Durham Castle).
• 🏠 Accommodation: A small, sole-occupancy house in Stephenson College with all rent and utilities paid directly by the IAS from the Fellowship grant.
• 🍽️ Community Access: Full membership to the Stephenson College Senior Common Room.
• ✈️ Travel Grant: £800 towards the costs associated with traveling from India to Durham.
• 💷 Living Subsistence: Funding of up to £2,000 as a contribution towards subsistence and living expenses, payable via bank transfer on arrival into Durham.
• 📈 Career Development Fund: Up to an additional £1,000 to support the Fellow with career development activities while in the UK (e.g., undertaking specialized training or attending professional conferences in the UK).
• Note: Fellows are responsible for applying and paying for their own visas (IAS will provide letters of support) and must obtain their own travel and health insurance.

3. Eligibility Criteria

Applicants must strictly meet the following criteria:

• Must be Indian citizens, domiciled, and resident in India, and pursuing their academic careers in India.
• Must be an Early to Mid-Career Researcher (ECR).
• Must hold a PhD in a relevant field within the Arts, Humanities, or Social Sciences, and/or demonstrate a proven track record, alongside a willingness to work collaboratively on the Major Project.
• Must be able to explain how the experience of this Fellowship will enhance their careers.
• Must be highly proficient in English language skills, as the recipient is expected to deliver a seminar, public lecture, or public-facing event in English.
• Previous recipients of a CWIT grant within the past five years are not eligible to apply.
• Priority will be given to applicants with little or no prior experience of researching or studying outside of India.
• The fellowship is available strictly for the 10-week period from 11 January to 19 March 2027 only; alternative dates are not possible.

4. Fellow's Contributions & Obligations

To ensure the best experience, the selected CWIT/IAS Fellow is required to:

• Reside in Durham for the full 10-week term of the Fellowship.
• Participate in Climate Apartheid Project activities, IAS activities, and engage with staff and research students in relevant Departments and Colleges.
• Present a 'work in progress' IAS seminar paper.
• Deliver a public lecture or other form of public-facing event within Stephenson College.
• Acknowledge both CWIT and IAS support in any publications resulting from the Fellowship.
• Produce an 'End of Fellowship' report of no more than 1,000 words (3 pages of A4) detailing activities and achievements.

5. Application Procedures & Required Materials

📅 Closing Date: 15 June 2026 at 11:45 PM UK Time

All application materials must be submitted together in one single email directly to the IAS Manager, Linda Crowe, at ias.manager@durham.ac.uk. Partial or incomplete applications will not be considered. Please include:

1. Letter of Application: Outlining how you meet eligibility criteria and how the experience will enhance your career. The letter must explicitly confirm that you can attend the online interview on July 15, 2026, if shortlisted. It must also list the names, addresses, and email addresses of your two referees.
2. Full Curriculum Vitae (CV): Including clear evidence of research interests, academic career history to date, international recognition, and impact in the field.
3. Fellowship Proposal (ca. 500-1000 words): Describing your project outline, aims, objectives, planned activities, significance, proposed methods, outcomes, and outputs, showing how the research benefits from being carried out at the IAS within the context of the Project.
4. Two Letters of Reference: Referees must email their letters directly to ias.manager@durham.ac.uk by the application deadline. The IAS will not request references on your behalf; missing references will deem the application incomplete. References should address your standing, quality of research, recognition, and interdisciplinary collaboration skills.

Shortlisted candidates will be invited to an online interview on 15 July 2026 (UK Time) via Microsoft Teams. This date cannot be changed.

6. Application Evaluation Weights

• Criterion 1 (40%): International standing and contribution of the candidate to the field, appropriate to their career stage.
• Criterion 2 (30%): Quality of the proposed research activities while at the IAS, contribution to the IAS Major Project 'Confronting Climate Apartheid' and wider scholarly community at Durham.
• Criterion 3 (30%): Collegiality and ability to contribute to the community of IAS Fellows.

7. Interrogating Climate Apartheid Conference Programme

Prospective applicants can learn more about the project scope by reviewing or attending the associated virtual two-day conference.

🌐 Online Participation Link: Join via Microsoft Teams Event

📅 Day 1: 24 March 2026

• 09:00 - 09:30 — Coffee/Tea & Breakfast Snacks
• 09:30 - 10:00 — Introductions (Andrew Baldwin, Simona Capisani, Chris Szabla)
• 10:00 - 10:45 — Keynote Talk and Q&A by Carmen Gonzalez (Durham Institute of Advanced Study / Loyola University Chicago)
• 10:45 - 11:00 — Break
• 11:00 - 12:30 — Session 1: Climate Apartheid: A Contested Concept
  • Charlotte Lemanski (Cambridge University) – "The Politics of Reappropriating Apartheid in Climate Discourse and Language"
  • Mori Ram (Newcastle University) – "Climate, Apartheid and the Politics of Privilege"
  • Jennifer Adese (University of Toronto) – "Apartheid is Not a Metaphor: Métis People's Experiences With Climate Change, Apartheid and Indigenous Environmental Justice"
• 12:30 - 13:30 — Lunch Break
• 13:30 - 15:30 — Session 2: Boundaries of/and the Law
  • Alessia Agostelli (University of Florence) – "Climate Apartheid at Europe’s Borders: Migration, Security, and Climate Change in EU Law"
  • Emily Jones (Newcastle University) – "The Hauntology of International Environmental Law: Climate Apartheid and The Slow Cancellation of the Future"
  • Ola Szkodzinska (University of Warsaw) – "Reimagining Violence in International Criminal Law: Towards Criminal Protection of the Right to a Healthy Climate"
  • Nataliia Hendel (National Academy of Legal Sciences of Ukraine) – "Climate Apartheid in Times of War: Russia’s Environmental Impact and Implications for Justice"
• 15:30 - 15:45 — Break (Tea & Snacks)
• 15:45 - 17:15 — Session 3: Legacies of Apartheid
  • Sampson Adese (York University) – "Beyond Metaphor: Problematizing the Conceptual Convergence of Climate Apartheid and South African History"
  • Thembi Luckett (Durham University) & Matthew Wingfield (University of the Western Cape) – "Undoing Climate Apartheid: Confronting Palimpsest Histories of Racialized Dispossession"
  • Juliana Mazzucotelli (Grenoble Alpes University / Vrije Universiteit Brussel) – "Climate Apartheid: A Multiscalar Analysis of Environmental Privilege in Los Angeles and Cape Town"
• 17:15 onwards — Drinks Reception

📅 Day 2: 25 March 2026

• 10:00 - 10:30 — Coffee/Tea & Breakfast Snacks
• 10:30 - 12:30 — Session 4: Imagining Climate Apartheid
  • Sophia Brown (Durham University) – "'Justice is Always Spatial': Examining the Representational Politics of Climate Mobilities Through the Lenses of Climate Apartheid and Abolition Geography"
  • Daniela Dora (Cambridge University) – "Climate Apartheid Fiction: Law as Narrative Infrastructure in the Anthropocene"
  • Elena Giacomelli (University of Bologna) – "Imaginary Wor(l)ds: Reframing Habitability Imaginaries in Climate Immobilities"
  • Alexis Radisoglou (Durham University) – "World-Making in the Panicocene: Imaginaries of Geoengineering in Contemporary Fiction"
• 12:30 - 13:30 — Lunch Break
• 13:30 - 15:00 — Session 5: Climate Apartheid as Legal Structure
  • Fahim Abrar (University of Glasgow) – "Climate Apartheid Without Criminalisation: Law’s Quiet Production of Climate Inequality"
  • Deng Zhishan (East China University of Political Science and Law) – "Climate Apartheid as Legal Structure: Rethinking Inequality in International Climate Finance and China’s Alternative Approach"
  • Rahul Desarda (Jindal Global Law School) – "Climate Apartheid as Structural Discrimination: Reinterpreting Equality and Non-Discrimination Norms under International Human Rights Law"
• 15:00 - 15:15 — Break
• 15:15 - 16:45 — Session 6: Mobilities & Materiality
  • Wanjing Yang (Imperial College London) – "Crossing the Bridge: The Materiality of Climate Apartheid in England’s Brownfield Regeneration"
  • Neha Arya (Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi) – "From Consumer Comfort to Worker Vulnerability: Climate Apartheid in India’s Digital Labour Platforms"
  • Kirsi Pauliina Kallio & Jouni Häkli (Tampere University) – "Rejecting Climate Apartheid in the Classroom: Developing Decolonizing Pedagogies on Climate Mobilities"
• 16:45 - 17:00 — Concluding Remarks

8. Official Institutional Resources

• Durham IAS Fellowships & Funding Page
• Official 'Confronting Climate Apartheid' Project Space
• Stephenson College Accommodation Details