The Sarai Programme, Centre for the Study of Developing Societies, Delhi, invites proposals from individuals for research projects on contemporary social and digital media, its ecologies and histories. Selected research proposals will be supported with a short-term grant for six months, and the researchers will present their studies in a workshop at Sarai-CSDS at the end of the period.
Themes
We are interested in the following themes:
- Unpacking Obscenity
- Memes, ‘Selfies’, Lists and Viral Content
- New Media Effects and Violence
- Digital Money
- Law and Media: Legal Debates on Circulation of Images and Messages
- Platform: Design, Participation, Revenue, Alternatives
- Media Streams: Delivery and Distribution of Media (cinema, news, music, images)
- Censorship, Government and Commercial Regulations and Public Campaigns
- Intermedia Junctions: Screen Cultures, Interface Design, Data Streams
- Memory: Storage, Databases, Retrieval, Devices
- Online Media as Archive
- Issues of Privacy/Disclosure
- Surveillance: Private and Public
- Gender, Sexuality and Technology
- Social Media Campaigns: Organized Politics, Petitions, Performance and Activism
- Practice-based Research on Software and Multimedia Platforms
- Gaming Cultures: Narrative, Interface, Aesthetics
- Offline Network of Things: Bluetooth, SD Cards, File Sharing Apps
- Mobile Phone Culture and Effects
- Rural Landscapes after New Media
- Media after Big Data: Feedback, Affect and Knowledge Production
In select cases, applications from themes beyond the above list will be considered.
This research project takes inspiration from the pioneering Sarai Independent Fellowship programme that initiated and supported a host of individual researchers working on contemporary culture.
Conditions
Like the previous programme, we propose to mobilise collaborative models of research: we expect selected researchers to interact both with Sarai’s in-house research group and a larger community, and deposit their materials in the Sarai archive for public access and use.
- Researchers can be based anywhere in India, but will contribute regular research updates through postings on the online forum at the Sarai website. There will be a final paper and presentation in a workshop at Sarai-CSDS, Delhi.
- Applicants should have an Indian Bank Account and Income Tax PAN in her/his name.
- The research project will be available for up to six months and for a maximum amount of Rs. 1,00,000/-.
- The research projects will run from March 01, 2016 to August 31, 2016.
Application Details
Applicants need to send:
- Research proposal of maximum of 1,000 words
- Brief Work-plan
- Comprehensive CV
- Two work samples (can include writing samples or practice-based media)
Please email the documents mentioned above as separate PDF files to dak@sarai.net with “Application for Short Term Research Project” as the subject header.
Last date for applications: February 15, 2016
[clear]