CALL FOR APPLICATIONS

DOCTORATE IN PROVENANCE RESEARCH

UNIVERSITY OF KINSHASA

As part of the PROCHE project – Provenance Research, the University of Kinshasa and the Royal Museum for Central Africa inform the public of the launch of a recruitment session for three doctoral students in provenance research of ethnographic and musicological objects in a museum context.
The PROCHE project is part of the numerous social and political discussions questioning the modes of acquisition of ethnographic and musicological objects during the colonial period.
Its aim is to develop a research method on the provenances of objects present in the collections of the Africamuseum in Tervuren, Belgium.
The successful candidate will be responsible for completing a doctoral thesis in the field of provenance research under the supervision of UNIKIN professors in collaboration with researchers from the Africamuseum.
The selection of candidates will be made after a 6-day information workshop and the completion of a written assignment.

Training objectives

The training aims to understand the challenges of provenance research in order to develop a methodology applicable to objects acquired during the colonial period. This work requires archival research combined with fieldwork to multiply sources and develop a critical perspective on so-called ethnographic and musicological collections in museums.
This archival and field research will allow doctoral students to provide new data on the acquisition of ethnographic objects during the colonial period. Three-month research internships per year at the Africamuseum will offer candidates the opportunity to train with provenance researchers and document the museum's collections.
At the end of the three-year research period, the candidate will defend a doctoral thesis at the University of Kinshasa. These results must be presented within the timeframe of the PROCHE project.

Access conditions

• Hold a DEA in history, art history, law or anthropology.
• Have an interest in the heritage sector: knowledge of collections work, heritage law, archival research.
• Be attached to a research, university or heritage institution in the Democratic Republic of Congo.

Interested researchers must send a complete file in a single PDF file, consisting of:

• An updated CV
• A cover letter
• A two-page summary of the DEA thesis
• Copies of all transcripts of grades and the DEA diploma legalized by the University that issued them.

The entire application must be sent no later than midnight on January 6, 2023 to the following two addresses: celia.charkaoui@africamuseum.be and sangerfr@yahoo.fr
A one-week workshop to discover provenance research and practical exercises will be offered to 12 selected individuals. At the end of this workshop, a written research paper will be requested to assess the candidates' skills and interests. The three individuals selected to pursue their doctoral theses at the University of Kinshasa will receive a scholarship and will spend a three-month annual internship at the Royal Museum for Central Africa.
For more information, please contact Ms. CELIA CHARKAOUI: celia.charkaoui@africamuseum.be and Professor Placide MUMBEMBELE SANGER: sangerfr@yahoo.fr