NUS calls Food Politics & Society postdoc

The National University of Singapore’s Asia Research Institute has opened a call for postdoctoral and research fellows in its Food Politics and Society cluster, with applications running from Sept. 1 to Oct. 9, 2026. The institute says the positions are for scholars proposing humanities or social-science research on Asia. The call appears on the institute’s opportunities page and on a dedicated listing for the cluster. ### When did the call actually open, and who posted it? Sept. 1, 2026 is the opening date listed by NUS’s Asia Research Institute for the Food Politics and Society fellowship call. The institute’s appointments page shows the application period as Sept. 1 to Oct. 9, 2026, alongside other cluster-based hiring rounds. Sept. 8, 2026 is when the opening circulated on social media in at least one post flagged in the source briefing, but the institute’s own website shows the vacancy had already been live for a week. (ari.nus.edu.sg) The employer is the Asia Research Institute, a research institute at the National University of Singapore. ### What kind of scholar is NUS looking for? The Asia Research Institute says it is inviting “ambitious scholars” to conduct humanities or social-science research on Asia under the Food Politics and Society cluster. (ari.nus.edu.sg) The dedicated vacancy page says selections will depend not only on research quality and publication plans, but also on how closely a proposal fits the priorities of the relevant cluster. The Food Politics and Society cluster describes itself as an interdisciplinary forum examining food and food systems at the level of the individual, household, community, society, nation and international system. The cluster says it welcomes methods including ethnographic and archival work as well as visual and textual approaches. ### How narrowly is the research agenda defined? Asia is the geographic anchor in the listing. (ari.nus.edu.sg) The vacancy page says the institute is seeking research on Asia, while the cluster page frames food as a subject spanning politics, society and policy across multiple scales. Comparative work also appears to fit the brief if it remains tied to Asia. The cluster’s own description emphasizes interdisciplinary research on food systems and their effects across social and political settings, and the institute’s fellowship framework says applicants are judged on their fit with cluster themes and priorities. (ari.nus.edu.sg 1) (ari.nus.edu.sg 2) ### Who is running the cluster? Jamie Davidson is listed on the cluster members page as leader of Food Politics and Society. The page describes his research areas as including comparative politics of Southeast Asia, food and rice politics, regulation and governance, development politics and land politics. Emma Willoughby is also listed as a member, with research areas including comparative political economy, global public health, food regulation and health security governance. (ari.nus.edu.sg) The members page also lists associated scholars from other parts of NUS. ### What does the cluster’s recent work look like? April 23, 2026 is one recent example on the cluster events page: “The Future of Land in Asia: Decolonial Perspectives on Agriculture, Food Sovereignty, and Conservation.” Other recent events listed include a March 17, 2026 talk on food produce supply chains in Singapore and a May 28, 2024 seminar on “The International Politics of Food Securitization.” (ari.nus.edu.sg) Those event listings give applicants a clearer picture of the cluster’s active themes, including food insecurity, supply chains, migration, land, sovereignty and international politics. That description is drawn from the institute’s own public programming rather than any separate statement attached to the vacancy. ### What happens next for applicants? Oct. 9, 2026 is the application deadline listed on both the institute’s opportunities page and the Food Politics and Society vacancy page. (ari.nus.edu.sg) The broader ARI fellowship page says successful candidates can start in mid-2026 or early 2027 depending on the hiring round, and this cluster-specific call is part of the institute’s FY2026/27 recruitment cycle. (ari.nus.edu.sg)