Danille Elize Bester (nee Arendse) is currently funded under the NIHSS/SU prestigious postdoctoral fellowship. She obtained a BA (psychology), BA Honours degree (Psychology) and MA (Research Psychology) degree from the University of the Western Cape. She joined the SANDF in 2011 as a uniformed member and became employed as a Research Psychologist at the Military Psychological Institute (MPI). She completed her PhD in Psychology at the University of Pretoria in 2018. She holds a Major rank and was the Research Psychology Intern Supervisor and Coordinator at MPI. She is also a Research Associate for the Department of Psychology at the University of Pretoria and an Accredited Conflict Dynamics Mediator. In 2022, Dr Bester was awarded the Diverse Black Africa research grant and travel grant that is affiliated with Michigan State University. She is currently a postdoctoral fellow at the Centre for the Study of the Afterlife of Violence and the Reparative Quest at Stellenbosch University. She has presented and published papers both locally and internationally. Her research interests include ‘Coloured’ identity, mentoring, psychometric assessments, cognitive psychology, psycholinguistics, military, wellbeing, gender and sexuality and decolonial research.

Current Research Project

Dr Bester will be involved in two research projects this year, namely: The South African ‘Cape Coloured Corps’ (this name has changed over the years, but this is the name that the researcher will be using) which presents an opportunity to explore the afterlife of violence and how transgenerational trauma persists in the veterans and dependents of the South African Cape Coloured Corps today. This project will allow the researcher to explore some of the forgotten and silenced histories of Coloured soldiers during the colonial and apartheid era. This project is conceptualised as both a community engagement and an academic project. Secondly, Race and National identity: The comparative cases of South Africa and the USA. This is a collaborative project with Michigan State University. This research seeks to explore South African and American responses to nationalism and national identity as well as exploring their feelings towards race.

Address: arendse.danielle@gmail.com

Recent Publications

Book Chapters

Arendse, D. E. (2020). A psychosocial wellbeing model for South African military students. In N.M. Dodd, P.C. Bester & J. Van der Merwe (Eds.), Contemporary issues in South African military psychology. (pp.51-71). Stellenbosch, South Africa: African Sun Media.

Arendse, D. E., Bester, P. C. & Van Wijk, C. H. (2020). Exploring psychological resilience in the South African Navy. In N.M. Dodd, P.C. Bester & J. Van der Merwe (Eds.), Contemporary issues in South African military psychology (pp.137-160). Stellenbosch, South Africa: African Sun Media.

Arendse, D. E. (2022). Soldier and psychologist by day, PhD student by Night. In R. Murambadoro, J. Mashayamombe & B. Wenkosi (Eds.), The PhD experience in African higher education (p115-128). Rowman and Littlefield.

Bester, K.J. & Arendse, D.E. (2024). A Trojan horse: Critically exploring data as a colonial instrument during the COVID-19 pandemic in South Africa. In I. Moyo & S. J. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, The COVID-19 pandemic and the politics of life (pp. 90-108). Routledge India. https://doi.org/10.4324/9781003415121

Journal Articles

Arendse, D.E. (2023). Advancing Black solidarity in South Africa while Coloured and Black: reflections during COVID-19. African Identities. DOI: 10.1080/14725843.2023.2227351

Arendse, D. E. & Maree, D. (2019). Exploring the factor structure of the English Comprehension Test. South African Journal of Psychology, 49(3), 376-390.

Arendse, D. E. (2020). The Impact of different time limits and test versions on reliability in South Africa. African Journal of Psychological Assessment, 2(14), 1-10.

Arendse, D. E. (2021). Addressing Gender discrimination in Cognitive Assessment using the English Comprehension Test. South African Journal of Industrial Psychology, 47(0), 1-10.

Arendse, D. E. (2021). ‘Coloured’ Consciousness: Reflecting on how Decoloniality facilitates belonging. Alternation Special Edition, 33(2020), 267-289.

Arendse, D. E. (2021). Culture as a colonial hub: My reflections as a ‘Coloured’ [Woman] in post-Apartheid South Africa. Journal of Intercultural Studies, 42(4), 515-527.

Arendse, D.E. (2022). Colonial hotspots: Reflecting on my conditional citizenship as a Coloured woman in post-Apartheid South Africa. Journal of International Women Studies, 24(1), 23 (1-12).

Arendse, D.E. (2022). Safe and optimistic: Exploring the experiences of military members after South Africa’s first repatriation during the COVID-19 pandemic. Scientia Militaria, 50(2), 155-176.