In Ghana (Akan Twi) we say that "Ti koro nko agyina" which literally means that "One head (person) does not hold council.". We also know that two is often better than one. In this context, I am delighted to announce that I am now recruiting for a postdoctoral researcher as many hands makes light work. … Continue reading Vacancy Notice: Postdoctoral researcher for ‘Tourism’s intersection with slavery and colonial heritage in the context of cultural memory politics’
Where does one draw the line between the personal and the professional in the fieldwork context? Is the researcher self the same as the ‘normal’ self? And I write ‘normal’ in quotation marks because what is ‘normal’ and what is ‘not normal’ about the self? How much entanglements do we engage in as researchers between … Continue reading Namib Notes IV: When the field becomes personal and the personal becomes the field
This fact took me entirely by surprise: the land size of Namibia is about 3.5x the land size of Ghana. It was a wow moment for me, especially given that there are some 33 million people in Ghana while Namibia has just under 3.5 million according to their most recent census. I was having a … Continue reading Namib Notes III: From Katutura to Matutura: place names and (post)colonial spatial planning
On my first Monday of fieldwork, I managed to be up bright and early in order to catch the Free Guided Walking Tour of Windhoek. It was an interesting tour led by a young lady (Yvette) who had just started in this role back in February. She took us along the main highlights of downtown … Continue reading Namib Notes II: Aweh!, mind those Robots! Yoh! before you turn into Pap!
Well, it's technically not too windy but Windy Windhoek does make for a nice alliterative title for the post - if you get what I mean :). While it might not be too windy, Windhoek is quite the hilly city which can only be good for my love of walking. I arrived in the storied … Continue reading Namib Notes: Welcome to Windy Windhoek
1st April is beginning to feel like one of my favourite dates. Some pretty significant milestones of my professional life has been marked by this 1st April date - and it's no joke 😉 This is especially in relation to my academic career trajectory in the Netherlands. Prior to my transition from being a professional … Continue reading FRICTIONS starts today!: lift-off time for my ERC Starting Grant project (Frictions of space: the generative tensions of slavery and colonial heritage tourism)
How do recruitment managers do this? How do they sort through CVs upon CVs of highly qualified candidates in order to shortlist the few that might proceed into the interview stage? How do they make the final decision after witnessing the brilliance of all the shortlisted candidates during the interviews? Flip a coin and hope … Continue reading This piece or that piece? The art of recruiting and puzzling an ERC FRICTIONS PhD research team together.
I am excited to annouce that I am recruiting for 3 PhD positions on my ERC Starting Grant Project which are to start from September 2025. The vacancy details are below and have been published on the Wageningen University website and Academictransfer.nl https://www.wur.nl/en/vacancy/three-phd-positions-for-the-erc-project-the-generative-tensions-of-slavery-and-colonial-heritage-tourism.htm https://www.academictransfer.com/en/346580/three-phd-positions-for-the-erc-project-the-generative-tensions-of-slavery-and-colonial-heritage-tourism/ Check out the details if this is something for you or … Continue reading Vacancy Notice: Three PhD positions for the ERC project, ‘The generative tensions of slavery and colonial heritage tourism’
The author is ecstatic about being awarded a European Research Council Starting Grant for a 5-year research project, expressing gratitude to God and colleagues. The project, FRICTIONS, focuses on how tourism impacts slavery and colonial heritage, aiming to shift societal narratives. The author plans to recruit 3 PhD candidates and a Postdoc to join the research team. Despite the challenges during the application process, the author encourages unsuccessful applicants and acknowledges their efforts. The post also hints at upcoming vacancies and promises more details about the project. The author concludes by congratulating other grant awardees and wishing good luck to those who were not successful.
Emmanuel Akwasi Adu-Ampong 