IMÉRA Necessary Utopias Programme┋Transregional studies

Recommendations for submitting an application to the “Necessary Utopias” programme:

1. The research project must be relevant to the intention of spending a research period at an institute of advanced studies based in Marseille.
2. The research project must be relevant to the themes of the “Necessary Utopias” programme.

Conditions of application and residence

The aim of the EHESS / Iméra Chair in ‘Transregional Studies’ is to develop research at the highest international level into circulations and exchanges between humans and non-humans; things, words, ideas and doctrines; practices, techniques and languages; in the past, present and future. Innovative interdisciplinary approaches with strong empirical foundations will be encouraged, taking into account the interplay of scales and connections in the configuration of social realities, without forgetting the obstacles, divisions and conflicts that are part of any movement of people and things.

Particular attention will be paid to research that goes beyond the paradigm of areal studies, including South-South exchanges, and to research that looks beyond the national, state or even regional framework. The Chair is part of the ‘Necessary Utopias’ programme, which seeks to bring to light possibilities that are politically unexpected or improbable but humanly necessary. It encourages openness to different forms of writing in the social sciences.

The successful candidate is invited to carry out these research themes within a framework that will intensify cooperation between the EHESS Marseille Campus and Iméra and ensure the visibility of the Chair’s work, in a variety of ways left to the candidate’s free choice.

Calendar

Application deadline: 20 October 2025, at 1pm (UTC + 2)

Publication of selection results: early February 2026

Duration of the residency: 5 or 10 months between September 2026 and June 2027

Proposed periods of residency (to be chosen by the applicant, several choices possible) :

• 10-month residency: from 02/09/2026 to 30/06/2027
• 5-month residency in the first semester: from 02/09/2026 to 26/01/2027
• 5-month residency in the second half of the year: from 04/02/2027 to 30/06/2027

Conditions of eligibility

The EHESS/Iméra Chair is open to established researchers from all social science disciplines who present a research project that seeks to bring together studies on different regions of the world, paying attention to their comparison and the relationships they may have developed. Particular attention will be paid to projects that place the contemporary world in a longer historical perspective.

Candidates meeting these conditions are eligible:

• Have a contract of employment (permanent or otherwise) at a foreign university or research establishment during the residency period
• Not have been resident in France for more than 12 months in the 3 years preceding the call for applications
• Hold a doctorate or Ph.D. (except for teachers holding a permanent post in the Schools of Fine Arts & Design)

Remuneration and accommodation

The Chairholder receives a monthly allowance of €2,500.

He or she will also receive reimbursement of return travel expenses from and back to his or her country of origin and free accommodation on the Iméra campus.

Selection criteria

The criteria for assessing applications include, but are not limited to, the following:

• The scientific excellence and originality of the series of public lectures on offer
• The researcher’s scientific excellence in line with the highest international standards in the field
• The scientific excellence of the project, and in particular its interdisciplinary dimension, which is crucial to the researcher’s integration into the collective research dynamic at Iméra as well as the Aix Marseille Université academic ecosystem
• The ability to support scientific collaboration between EHESS and Iméra

Application

The online application consists of the following documents:

• The completed application form (mandatory fields)
• Files to download :
  • A curriculum vitae including a list of publications
  • A presentation of the research project (maximum 5 pages) followed by a selective bibliography
  • Optional: a letter of reference from a person who has played a decisive role in the scientist’s scientific career

About the Chair’s partner

EHESS – Ecole des Hautes Etudes en Sciences Sociales is a major institution dedicated to research and teaching in the social sciences. It operates from its headquarters and regional centres in Lyon, Marseille and Toulouse. Iméra works closely with the EHESS Marseille campus: created in 1977, the EHESS Marseille campus, supported by the City of Marseille and in synergy with Aix-Marseille University, has developed a range of teaching activities at master’s and doctoral levels and interdisciplinary research in the humanities and social sciences (history, anthropology, sociology, economics, etc.). The EHESS Marseille campus, half of whose students are foreign, is also a focal point for scientific cooperation on an international scale.

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