SPSS 2018 - 2019

The School of Social Science at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, has organized the 2018-2019 Summer Program in Social Science. Funded by the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation and conducted in collaboration with the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WISER) at the University of the Witwatersrand, in Johannesburg, and the Escuela de Estudios de Género (EEG) and Centro de Estudios (CES) at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia, in Bogotá, this innovative program took place over a two-year cycle, beginning with a two-week session in Princeton (June 18-29, 2018), followed by one week mid-2019 at one of the two collaborating institutions in South Africa and Colombia, with continuous communication facilitated among the scholars throughout the two year period. The program was led by Didier Fassin, James D. Wolfensohn Professor in the Institute’s School of Social Science, in collaboration with Sarah Nuttall, Professor at the University of the Witwatersrand, and Mara Viveros-Vigoya, Professor at the Universidad Nacional de Colombia.

Designed to draw together twenty early-career scholars from countries in Africa, the Middle East and Latin America, the program aims to enrich and expand the realm of the social sciences through the confrontation of different intellectual traditions and perspectives; to facilitate and enhance the dialogue between various scientific disciplines and communities; and to strengthen international networks across continents. Fellows pursued and presented their own research projects during the program. Research was expected to be at an advanced stage of development so as to render discussions of its object, method and conclusions richer and intellectual interactions among the fellows more fruitful. Special attention was paid to local contexts of production and global modalities of circulation of knowledge and the participants will be invited to exchange their research experiences. The purpose is to constitute a genuinely international and interdisciplinary network of social scientists from the global South.

The program was open to scholars from all social sciences, including anthropology, sociology, history, psychology, economics, law, and political science, as well as neighboring disciplines such as philosophy, political theory, and literary studies. All research themes were welcomed.

The Scientific Committee of the program was composed of Luz Gabriela Arango († Universidad Nacional de Colombia), Keith Breckenridge (University of the Witwatersrand), Didier Fassin (Institute for Advanced Study), Olga Matilde Restrepo Forero (Universidad Nacional de Colombia), Stefania Gallini (Universidad Nacional de Colombia), Achille Mbembe (University of the Witwatersrand), Jonathan Morduch (New York University), Sarah Nuttall (University of the Witwatersrand), Kim Lane Scheppele (Princeton University), Mara Viveros-Vigoya (Universidad Nacional de Colombia).

Overview of the collective project initiated during the inaugural Summer Program in Social Science (2015-17).

Click here for other years and cohorts.

SPSS Fellows 2018-2019

Scholarly Activities

Program 2018 Princeton

Program 2019 Bogotá

Program 2019 Johannesburg