Call for Applications - Africa Writeshop in Critical Agrarian Studies and Scholar-Activism, Cape Town

The Journal of Peasant Studies and co-organisers are pleased to announce the

Africa Writeshop in Critical Agrarian Studies and Scholar-Activism 2025

29 September - 6 October 2025, University of the Western Cape, Cape Town, South Africa

The Journal of Peasant Studies (JPS), Institute for Poverty, Land and Agrarian Studies (PLAAS) at the University of the Western Cape (Cape Town), Collective of Agrarian Scholar-Activists from the South (CASAS), Initiatives in Critical Agrarian Studies (ICAS) and the International Institute for Social Studies (ISS) of Erasmus University Rotterdam in the Netherlands are jointly organising the Africa Writeshop in Critical Agrarian Studies and Scholar-Activism for PhD students and early career researchers (up to 8 years from PhD completion) who are based in, or are originally from, Africa.

The Writeshop aims to improve researchers’ strategic knowledge about and practical skills on matters related to international journal publication and impact, with a particular focus in the field of Critical Agrarian Studies, with particular attention to action research in agrarian and food systems under climate change. This includes choosing journals; building ideas about and framing/writing journal manuscripts; overall preparation and submission of journal manuscripts; dealing with peer review reports, and so on.

It will include sessions by leading academics on key debates and literature in critical agrarian studies, and concepts in and practices of scholar-activism with an Africa focus. The 8-day Writeshop will include peer review discussions on participants’ draft journal manuscripts, conducted in small groups with mentors and facilitators - with one day for field visit / hiking during the event. Hosted by PLAAS, the Writeshop will take place at the UWC campus in Cape Town.

After the Writeshop, participants will be in a better position to frame their work in relation to critical agrarian studies, think about international journal publications in the long-term, and finalise journal manuscripts in the short term. They will also benefit from being part of an emerging community of researchers working in critical agrarian studies from a scholar-activist tradition. Several participants would be invited to submit manuscripts to JPS, and encouraged to submit to other major international journals.

We are looking at a maximum of 25 workshop participants. For PhD researchers, they should be in their post-fieldwork phase of the study. No fee is required. We will provide partial or full fellowships (travel and accommodation financial support) to some of the participants, depending on the availability of funds. We also encourage externally funded participants.

Successful applicants must circulate a draft manuscript (based on their accepted abstract) of 8,000-10,000 words in advance of the Writeshop.

To apply, complete the form here. You will be required to include:

(1) An abstract of 500 words, related to critical agrarian studies (see JPS aims and scope)

(2) A short bio of 250 words

(3) Names and contact information of 2 academic references

Successful applicants will be asked to confirm their acceptance of a place at the Writeshop.

Those selected will be invited to submit a full draft manuscript of 8,000–10,000 words.

Deadline for applications:                   18 April 2025

Application results announced:          16 May 2025

Draft paper due:                                  31 August 2025

Logistics

Selected participants will be provided with a detailed logistics note including information

regarding accommodation, visas and other details, well ahead of the Writeshop date.

Arrival at Writeshop: 28 September 2025

Departure from Writeshop: 6 October 2025

Opportunity to attend the Land, Life and Society Conference

Workshop participants will have the opportunity to stay on for a second week to attend the international conference on Land, Life and Society hosted by PLAAS from 7-9 October 2025. Please note that there is no guarantee that all workshop participants will have the opportunity to present in panels, unless they have already submitted an abstract in response to the conference call.

For information about the previous International Writeshops, see:

2019 Beijing: https://casasouth.org/sample-page/  (manifesto by participants).

2020 & 2021 online: https://www.plaas.org.za/sarchi-chair/jps-writeshop/

2022 Cape Town: https://plaas.org.za/sarchi-chair/jps-writeshop-2022/

2024 Beijing: https://cohd.cau.edu.cn/art/2024/8/9/art_47955_1033797.html

Note: JPS and partners organise the International Writeshop once every 2 years. The last one was in 2024, and the next one will be in 2026. In between, it is organising both a regional Africa Writeshop and a regional Asia Writeshop in 2025.

The Africa Writeshop is organised by:

JPS: Journal of Peasant Studies

CASAS: Collective of Agrarian Scholar-Activists from the South

PLAAS: Institute for Poverty, Land & Agrarian Studies at UWC

ICAS/ISS: International Institute of Social Studies of Erasmus University Rotterdam Netherlands

For queries, please contact any of the organisers, or send email to the Writeshop email address: jpsafrica@plaas.org.za. Note that you should not send your application to this address.

For regular updates on this, follow us through: https://www.peasantjournal.org and subscribe, and also through JPS on X and Facebook.

Please note: this event is exclusively in-person. No option of participation online will be provided for.

The JPS Africa Writeshop co-organisers