​​more about the lecture:

I want to start with the story (and visual illustration) of the book published by Monica Wilson and Archie Mafeje in 1963, in which my father appears on the book cover and in a photo inside the book without his name. Using this story as a starting point for my discussion, I will argue that the anonymity (“anonymity”) of participants in research reports—the silence about who the participants are—may produce unintended consequences. It may render them “invisible” as human subjects, as the focus is turned on methodological concerns and academic careers, throwing accountability—a reflection on how one is implicated—out the window.  

More about the presenter:

Prof Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela  is a Professor and Research Chair for Historical Trauma and Transformation in the Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences. Her interests focus mainly on two strands of research. The first is transgenerational transmission of trauma, exploring ways in which the impact of dehumanising experiences of oppression and violent abuse continues to play out in the lives of descendants of victims and survivors of historical trauma. Her second research draws on her experiences on South Africa’s Truth and Reconciliation Commission and expands her earlier work on remorse and forgiveness to engage a perspective that she refers to as reparative humanism.

*Please note you are not required to RSVP for this lecture.