Path 1 Kawader: Research Assistant – Voice Studies and Cultural Anthropolinguistics

What the Program Offers

• Full-time paid research position for up to 3 years.
• Mentorship by NYUAD faculty.
• Professional development and training opportunities.
• Exposure to interdisciplinary research in voice studies, cultural anthropolinguistics, and performance studies.
• Opportunity to co-author a scholarly book chapter.
• International research experience, including support for a four-month visiting fellowship at the University of Victoria (Canada).
• Experience contributing to the establishment of a new Voice Studies & Epistemological Research Centre in the UAE.

Key Responsibilities

• Research & Literature Synthesis : Conduct deep archival and secondary literature reviews on Artaud’s theatre of cruelty/glossolalia, sound studies, and Middle Eastern oral/vocal histories.

• Fieldwork & Participant Coordination : Assist in organizing, executing, and documenting ethnographic fieldwork exploring vocal traditions and glossolalia in the Arab world; recruit and liaise with research participants.

• Co-Authorship & Writing : Collaborate on draft conceptualizations, with the opportunity to formally co-author a book chapter based on field data or theoretical synthesis.

• Administrative & Publication Liaison : Manage administrative workflows for the book projects, including corresponding with co-editors, publishers, and contributing authors.

• Institutional Development : Assist in administrative and strategic tasks related to setting up the Voice Studies & Epistemological Research Centre in the UAE.

Supervision

Required

• Graduate degree in an Arts or Humanities discipline, or a Master’s degree in a related field.
• Fluency in English and Arabic (Classical and/or relevant regional dialects vital for fieldwork).
• Experience or training in qualitative research methods, ethnography, oral history interviewing, or field audio recording.
• Strong academic writing skills and familiarity with academic citation and formatting standards.
• Excellent organizational and administrative skills, including experience managing communications with multiple stakeholders.
• Willingness and ability to travel internationally, including participation in a four-month residency at the University of Victoria (Canada) and fieldwork across the Arab world.

Preferred

• Background or strong interest in Voice Studies, Sound Studies, Performance Studies, decolonial epistemologies, or the avant-garde ( specifically Artaud).
• Prior experience with academic publishing workflows, including manuscript preparation, indexing, or copyediting.

• Methodological Versatility: Demonstrated ability to work with varied research methodologies alongside strong analytical skills in synthesizing complex data.

• Audio/Field Technology : Familiarity with high-quality field recording equipment and basic audio editing/archiving software (e.g., Audacity, Adobe Audition) for preserving vocal performances.
• Epistemological Frameworks : Strong literacy in decolonial methodologies and non- Western epistemologies of language and body.

• Publication Record : Direct mentorship through the academic publishing cycle, culminating in a verifiable co-authorship credit on a major book chapter.

• Global Networking : Exposure to high-level academic environments across North America (University of Victoria) and the Middle East (the new UAE Research Centre).

• Project Managemen t: Practical experience in institutional building and managing a complex, multi-author editorial project from conception to print.

Additional Program Information

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