Prof Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela is Professor and Research Chair for Historical Trauma and Transformation and SARChI Chair in Violent Histories and Transgenerational Trauma at Stellenbosch University. Her work focuses mainly on two strands of research: exploring intergenerational repercussions of oppression and institutional violence, and exploring what she terms “reparative humanism.” The latter builds on her earlier research on the psychoanalytic interpretation of remorse and forgiveness in the aftermath of human rights violations.
Prof Gobodo-Madikizela’s accolades include the Harry Oppenheimer Fellowship Award, the Harvard’s Radcliffe Institute Fellowship, the Alan Paton Award, the Eleanor Roosevelt Award, Distinguished African Scholar title at Cornell University’s Mario Einaudi Center for International Studies, and honorary doctorates from the Friedrich Schiller University Jena, Germany, and Rhodes University.