Research Associate in History

Closes: 31st July 2026

Applicants are invited for a Research Associate in History to work with Dr David Wilson at the University of Strathclyde in Glasgow.

You will be engaged on the project “Colonial Currents, Contemporary Countercurrents: Historical Legacies and Collaborative Futures in Lake Malawi/Niassa/Nyasa’s Transnational Fisheries,” funded by The British Academy’s International Interdisciplinary Research Project [KF26\100825].

This project investigates how colonial and post-colonial fisheries management and development programmes continue to shape sustainability challenges in Lake Malawi/Niassa/Nyasa’s transnational waters. Pairing historical interrogation through archival documentation and oral histories with participatory research methods and community-directed environmental analysis, we examine how non-state actors—from fishers and traditional authorities to international development agencies—have responded to challenges transcending the borders of Malawi, Mozambique, and Tanzania since the mid-twentieth century. Our findings aim to offer new approaches to addressing the planetary challenge of sustainable fisheries through equitable knowledge partnerships, particularly where colonial legacies obstruct effective governance with consequences for human, fish, and environmental health.

This is a humanities-led interdisciplinary and international project, which foregrounds historical methodology while integrating environmental sciences and participatory research methods rooted in Indigenous and Local Knowledge (ILK) systems to address the transnational challenge of sustainable fisheries governance. The project is led by researchers from Mzuzu University (Malawi), Lilongwe University of Agriculture and Natural Resources (Malawi), and the University of Strathclyde (U.K.).

You will be engaged for either six months (1 FTE) or twelve months (0.5 FTE) to support the historical archival component of this project. Your main responsibilities will be to conduct an in-depth review, gathering, and transcription of archival material of Portuguese colonial records, located primarily in Lisbon, Portugal, and Maputo, Mozambique. As such, you will need advanced Portuguese language skills and a Ph.D. in Portuguese colonial history or relevant field. You will be based at the University of Strathclyde and will be supervised by Dr David Wilson. You will attend regular supervisory meetings as well as monthly project meetings (both via remote call). All travel costs for conducting archival research will be covered.

Alongside your CV, please include a short 1-page cover letter outlining your interest in this role.

Informal enquiries about the post can be directed to Dr David Wilson, Senior Lecturer in History (david.wilson.101@strath.ac.uk).

To be considered for the role, you will be educated to a minimum of PhD level in an appropriate discipline, or have significant relevant experience in addition to a relevant degree. You will have sufficient breadth or depth of knowledge in the history of Portuguese / European colonial history, environmental or legal history, and/or the history of natural resource management, alongside advanced Portuguese language skills, and a developing ability to conduct individual research work, to disseminate results and to prepare research proposals. You will have an ability to plan and organise your own workload effectively and an ability to work within a team environment. You will have excellent interpersonal and communication skills, with the ability to listen, engage and persuade, and to present complex information in an accessible way to a range of audiences.

The start date is expected to be 1 October, although this can be relatively flexible.

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