Welcome to AVReQ
The Centre for the Study of the Afterlife of Violence and the Reparative Quest (AVReQ) is established to fulfil the goals of the South African Research Chair in Violent Histories and Transgenerational Trauma. It aims to bring conceptual clarity to the concept of violence and its consequences in the lives of victim and survivor groups on the one hand, and perpetrators and their descendants on the other. As an interdisciplinary project, we will take an intersectional approach and engage with the physical and structural aspects of violence, as well as the more insidious and symbolic forms of its expression that manifest in dynamic ways.
Highlights
Reframing Gender-Based Violence: Decolonial Feminist Dialogues from Africa to the Global Stage
In opening the conversation, Professor Pumla Gobodo-Madikizela located the event within a longer history of struggle, solidarity and intellectual activism. Reflecting on her shared past with Professor Tamara Shefer as members of “psychologists against [...]
Celebrating Excellence: Dr Akuch Anyieth Named Among Stellenbosch University’s Top Postdoctoral Fellows
AVReQ proudly celebrates Dr Akuch Kuol Anyieth, who has been recognised among the Top 7 Postdoctoral Research Fellows at the 2025 Research and Innovation Excellence Awards, an event that honours academic brilliance, innovation, and social [...]
AVReQ Welcomes SU’s New Vice-Chancellor: A Meeting of Vision, Research, and Global Engagement
AVReQ recently had the honour of hosting Stellenbosch University’s new Rector and Vice-Chancellor (VC), Professor Deresh Ramjugernath, for a visit that brought together shared visions for research excellence, societal impact, and global collaboration. During the [...]
New thinking about SU’s past and future
By Desmond Thompson When a study on “Age- and education-related effects on cognitive functioning in Coloured South African women” was published in 2019, it sparked outrage over how racial bias can persist in academic research [...]