Project description:Violent conflict is on the increase in the Sahel since 2012, coinciding with the increased use of Social Media in the region. The organization of networks and their information flows are changing, and this project studies the conflict as a digitally and physically networked one. Cultural violence-the legitimation of violence-spreads through (trans)regional networks, and discursive and 'real' warfare become entangled. This interdisciplinary study focuses on (trans)national Fulani networks, combining historical-ethnographic and computational methods to understand the 'workings' of networked conflict. The project warns of possible increases in ethnic violence, resulting from digital media uses.
The project consists of 2 PhDs, 1 assistant researcher, Expert in Digital Humanities and the PI; further intensive collaboration with Research/Practice institutes in Africa is part of the programme.
The PhD candidate will be the main researcher in the sub project of the programme entitled: 'Cultural violence in Fulani networks in networked wars in the Sahel', Important methodology for this sub project is a combination of (n)ethnography and discourse analysis, both distant and close reading. The project will compile a dataset of content in the digital and non-digital networks, verify these as well on the ground. The candidate should be acquainted with Natural Language Processing techniques, and should be able to speak French, preferably also good knowledge of Fulfulde and some basic knowledge of Arabic.
Key responsibilities:
- The candidate will write a PhD thesis in English or French within four years;
- Write at least two co-authored articles for publication in peer-reviewed journals;
- Will also present research in a more societal oriented way through blogs, photo/visual stories and other possible creative writing projects;
- Co-organizing workshops, conferences and events with societal partners;