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25 May 2022
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Story Alicia Pienaar
The Dean of the Faculty of the Humanities, Prof Heidi Hudson, has the pleasure of inviting you to the inaugural lecture of Prof Paul Fouché in the Department of Psychology.
Event details:
Date: Wednesday 1 June 2022
Time: 17:30 SAST
Venue: Equitas Auditorium, UFS Bloemfontein Campus
RSVP before or on 27 May 2022 to Anneke Diesel, +27 51 401 9314 or email denobilia@ufs.ac.za
Subject:
Understanding Greatness: Dissecting the eminent personality from a psychobiographical approach
About the Speaker:
Paul Fouché has been employed at the UFS since 2007. Currently, he is a professor and a registered counselling psychologist with the HPCSA and an active member of the Psychological Society of South Africa. He is also an NRF C-rated researcher. As research supervisor/co-supervisor, he has graduated 115 postgraduate students.
He served on the editorial committee of Acta Academica, was guest editor of the Journal of Psychology in Africa, and co-editor of special issues on psychobiography for Europe’s Journal of Psychology and two books by Springer. Paul is the
coordinator of the BPsych Honours programme and lectures in the Applied Master’s programme.
Academic credentials:
PhD: 1999, Psychobiography, Nelson Mandela University, South Africa
MSocSc cum laude: 1993, Counselling Psychology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
BSocSc Honours cum laude: 1990, Psychology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
BSocSc: 1989, Psychology, University of the Free State, Bloemfontein, South Africa
Lecturer’s debut novel wins ATKV Prize for Fiction
2015-10-14
Dr Francois Smith
Photo: Johan Roux |
Kamphoer made its debut on the literary scene just over a year ago, and on 11 September 2015, it was declared the best novel by the Afrikaanse Taal en Kultuurvereniging (ATKV). This is not the first time Kamphoer has been recognised as literary gem. Earlier this year, the novel was shortlisted for the W A Hofmeyr Prize as well as the Huisgenoot Tempo Award.
Dr Francois Smith, the author, joined the University of the Free State (UFS) as a lecturer in the Department of Afrikaans and Dutch, German and French at the beginning of this year. Prior to entering the academic sphere, he dedicated about 11 years of his life to editing for a publishing house. Certainly, helping other people write and produce books thoroughly prepared him for authorship.
For three months, Smith spent eight hours a day creating his award-winning masterpiece. The secret of success lies in the ABC formula. “The ABC for writing is Apply Back to Chair. You have to go and sit down and start typing,” he says.
That is when passion meets imagination, albeit at times, one might also need inspiration. Smith applied this winning formula meticulously, and it has resulted in over 30 000 copies of Kamphoer being sold since July 2014.
He was taken aback by the novel’s warm reception. “I wrote a book, finished it, and knew that it wasn’t bad but I never for one moment imagined that it would be such a big commercial success,” he said.
About Kamphoer
The book which Smith describes as a good but not an easy read about a disturbing subject is the true story of a woman who was brutally raped during the South African War and left for dead. After the traumatic experience, she dedicates her life to helping others deal with similar ordeals, re-encountering her rapists in the process.
About the award
Kamphoer emerged as an exceptional contribution amongst two other finalists. Kerneels Breytenbach’s Ester as well as Harry Kalmer’s ’n Duisend stories oor Johannesburg were also competing for the prestigious award.