In the Spotlight: Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela

Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela is a Senior Research Professor in Trauma, Forgiveness and Reconciliation Studies at the University of the Free State. Since her work on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC), her research has focused on the reparative elements of victims-perpetrator dialogue in the aftermath of mass trauma and violence. Her current research applies the insights emerging from her study of forgiving to explore the dimensions of empathy in the context of perpetrators’ remorse and victims’ forgiveness. Her interests in relation to empathy focus on the web of feelings and the transformative shifts that open up in dialogue processes between former enemies in the aftermath of historical trauma.