Applications are invited to fill a Postdoctoral Research Associate role in Latin American Studies. The post is part of a Leverhulme Trust funded projected on “Women Walkers in Latin America” led by Professor Matthew Brown. ‘Women Walkers in Latin America’ will investigate and analyse women’s walking experiences in Latin America from independence in the nineteenth century to the present day. Using a unique combination of cross-disciplinary methodologies – including archival, cultural studies, and peripatetic ethnographic methods – the project will address how, where and why women have walked in the region and what their heterogeneous pedestrianist practices mean to them. Women there are now walking more than ever as a means of transit, leisure and activism, while there has been a reciprocal upsurge in interest in walking’s potential as a collective, embodied expression of feminism. Given this public and political momentum, as well as the regional ascendency of the far right under which gender rights have come under greater threat, now is an opportune moment to examine women’s pedestrianist practices within a longer, more comprehensive cultural history of walking women in Latin America, which has not yet been written. ‘Women Walkers in Latin America’ pursues new historical and theoretical understandings of walking in urban, rural and border geographies, and it aims to establish the value of its diverse modalities for women’s history and politics in modern Latin America.
The successful candidate will carry out individual research into women walkers in leisure, tourism, and visual culture in Latin America, as well as contributing to the project’s broad investigation of women walkers through gathering written and visual materials in Spanish and Portuguese from archives in the region. They will be responsible for building a network of - as well as liaising and conducting walking interviews with - women walkers and walkers’ groups in at least two of the project’s case study countries, which include Argentina, Chile, Brazil and Mexico. They will also contribute to the project’s outcomes by engaging in an interdisciplinary dialogue with fellow members of the research team, which includes Professor Claire Lindsay (UCL), Dr. Liesbeth Francois (University of Cambridge) and Professor Patricia Anderson (Universidad de Belgrano), at regular team meetings and at seminars and conferences.
The PDRA will hold a PhD in a relevant subject area (e.g. Latin American cultural studies or history), be fluent in Spanish and/or Portuguese, and have some archival and/or fieldwork experience in Latin America. The successful candidate will have a record of peer-reviewed publications or other research outputs. They will be expected to demonstrate an openness to interdisciplinarity and collaboration and to undertake any training necessary for the successful carrying out of project duties, which may be reviewed and/or be subject to amendment in consultation with the post holder.
IMPORTANT: you must read the Further Particulars document to learn more about the project and required application materials. Please ensure you read the document before sending email enquiries.
Please include the following with your application:
- A detailed research proposal outlining a specific research design that you will undertake during the postdoc – including location, theme, research questions, analytical framework, methodology, safety measures, and list of references – in relation to the broader project aims and Research Questions (see more details below - no more than 4 sides of A4).
- A sample of your writing (no more than 12,000 words) either in the form of a published research article, chapter of a book or thesis, that demonstrates your research and analytical skills.
- A cover letter in which you state your interest in the position and how you fit the criteria, including any partnerships/collaborations you currently have in Latin America (no more than 2 sides of A4).
The research proposal:
The broad nature of Women Walkers in Latin America’s scope means that the PDRA will be able to conduct their own research project within the general trajectory and collaborative team work. The project looks at both historical (post-1800) and contemporary walkers, and adopts a wide and inclusive approach to the way in which walking intersects with gender. Projects will be welcomed that engage with any type of walking, from sports (endurance walking, mountaineering) to pilgrimage, from urban walking to rural walking. The project explores social, economic, cultural and political dimensions of walking, and will analyse the ways in which racialized and gendered bodies are constructed through walking (and how the meanings and representations of walking are produced by those bodies). Research proposals can engage with any aspect of walking as detailed in the further particulars.
Contract type: Open-ended with three years fixed funding from 01/09/2026
Work pattern: 35 hours/week
Grade: I
Salary: £39,906 – £44,746 per annum
School/Unit: Faculty of Arts, Law & Social Science, Department of Hispanic, Portuguese and Latin American Studies
This role is only available full-time, and you will be expected to be based in Bristol for the duration of the employment (except during fieldwork). The PDRA will be expected to start on 1 September 2026.
This advert will close at 23:59 UK time on 14th June 2026
For informal queries please contact: Professor Matthew Brown ([email protected])
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