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11 February 2022
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Story Leonie Bolleurs and Rulanzen Martin
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After two years of lockdown, online meetings, and limited contact with colleagues, academy at the University of the Free State (UFS) is gradually returning to normal. This month (February 2022), staff, students, and members of related industries will convene on three different occasions to learn about cutting-edge scholarship, to reconnect with each other, and to discuss issues impacting society in the fields of theology, the humanities, and agriculture.
Seminar on ‘The Limits of Decolonisation’ with Prof RW Johnson
Date: 24 February 2022
Time: 09:00-16:00 SAST
Venue/Platform: Equitas Auditorium, UFS Bloemfontein Campus, and Microsoft Teams
Decolonisation has been a heated point of discussion for some time now, but have you ever wondered if there could be limitations hindering the decolonisation project? The Departments of Political Studies and Governance and Philosophy and Classics at the UFS will host an array of academics and experts for a hybrid seminar on the topic The Limits of Decolonisation.
If decolonisation is an important issue for you or if you are interested in the topic and its relevance and influence in the world and academia, you should join or attend the seminar – either online via Microsoft Teams or in person in the Equitas Auditorium – on 24 February 2022 from 09:00.
The keynote speaker is political scientist
Prof RW Johnson from the University of Oxford. Prof Johnson is an emeritus fellow at Magdalen College and is the author of several acclaimed political books. The other speakers are all from the Departments of Political Studies and Governance, and Philosophy and Classics. Terrence Corrigan from the
South African Institute of Race Relations will speak on The relationship between critical race theory and decolonisation.
RSVP: Alice Stander StanderAFM@ufs.ac.za (please specify dietary requirements, as a light lunch will be served)
Trauma, Forgiveness, and Reconciliation Studies attracts global attention
2016-06-27
Lerato Machetela is on her way to
Ghent University in Belgium where
she will spend 10 months working
alongside experts in the field of
historical trauma.
Photo: Eugene Seegers
Research excellence is one of the major driving forces at the core of the University of the Free State (UFS). This striving for academic distinction has found embodiment within Trauma, Forgiveness, and Reconciliation (TFR) Studies. Headed by Research Fellow and Senior Research Professor Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela, the research unit is raking in achievements consistently.
Cornell University Distinguished African Scholar Award
Leading by example, Prof Gobodo-Madikizela received the prestigious 2016 Distinguished African Scholar Award from Cornell University recently. Being honoured with this award affirms an unusual depth of knowledge and experience in a field related to the recipient’s own work. Through this award, Prof Gobodo-Madikizela is now also affiliated with the Institute for African Development and the Psychology Department at Cornell University.
Ghent University fellowship in historical trauma
Another member of TFR has caught international attention. Lerato Machetela – a PhD student at the research unit – received an invitation from scholars at Ghent University in Belgium. Machetela will leave in September, where she will spend ten months in Ghent with experts in the field of historical trauma. She will be affiliated to their university’s Cultural Memory Studies Initiative and the Psychology Department. When Machetela submitted her PhD proposal on transgenerational transmisison of trauma among the youth in Jagersfontein to the UFS Psychology Department panel, “it was hailed as a unique project, and a first for the department,” Prof Gobodo-Madikizela says.
Naleli Morojele conducting the research
in Rwanda that has formed the basis of
her new book, Women Political Leaders
in Rwanda and South Africa: Narratives
of Triumph and Loss.
Book explores triumph and loss of female political leaders
TFR cultivates thriving authors actively, the latest being Naleli Morojele, who is pursuing a PhD in the field of Political Studies. Soon, Morojele will be launching her book, Women Political Leaders in Rwanda and South Africa: Narratives of Triumph and Loss. Through the stories of significant female Rwandan and South African leaders, the reader gains insight into these women’s early-life experiences, struggles, and successes. Perhaps even more pertinently, Morojele’s book also exposes the ways in which gender inequality still works to smother their roles as citizens and politicians.