Dr. Wilhelm Verwoerd, two-times a graduate in Masters in Philosophy and in Philosophy, Politics and Economics at Stellenbosch University and the University of Oxford respectively, he has a doctorate in Applied Ethics. His research focuses mainly on reconciliation, forgiveness and apology, with extensive research publications in these areas. He served as a researcher in the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and went on to work as a programme coordinator and a co-facilitator at the Glencree Centre for Peace and Reconciliation’s Survivors and former Combatants Programme in Northern Ireland. His role as senior researcher in Historical Trauma and Transformation includes facilitation of dialogues to address racism, and dialogues on change and transformation of relationships between different racial groups. His books include the co-edited Truths drawn in Jest: Commentary on the TRC through Cartoons and Looking back, Reaching Forward: Reflections on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission of South Africa, and the single authored books Equity, Mercy, Forgiveness: Interpreting Amnesty within the South African Truth and Reconciliation Commission and Verwoerd: My Journey through Family Betrayals, which has been translated into Afrikaans.
E-mail: wilhelm.verwoerd@gmail.com Call: +27 21 808 4047
Recent Publications
Books
Verwoerd, Wilhelm (2019) Verwoerd: My Journey through Family Betrayals, Cape Town: Tafelberg.
Book Chapters
Van der Riet, L. R., & Verwoerd, W. (2022). Intergenerational ‘white work’ within the Dutch Reformed Church: Settling conflict, unsettling continuity. Faith, race and inequality amongst young adults in South Africa.
Verwoerd, W.J. (2018). Towards hospitality between enemies. In D.P. Veldsman & Y. Steenkamp (Eds.), Debating Otherness with Richard Kearney: Perspectives from South Africa, Cape Town: AOSIS, Cape Town https://doi.org/10.4102/aosis.2018.BK94.14
Verwoerd, W.J. & Little, A. (2018). Beyond a dilemma of apology: Transforming (veteran) resistance to reconciliation in Northern Ireland and South Africa. In B. Kröndorfer (Ed.) Reconciliation in global context, SUNY (State University of New York) Press.
Verwoerd, W. J. (2020). Transforming (christian) Apartheid. In M. J. Nel, D. A. Forster, & C. A. Thesnaar (Eds.), Reconciliation, forgiveness and violence in Africa: Biblical, pastoral and ethical perspectives, SUNMedia.
Verwoerd, W.J. & Edlmann, T. (2021) ‘Why did I die?’: South African Defence Force conscripts pre- and post-1994. In J. D. Brewer & A. Wahadin (Eds.), Ex-combatants’ voices: Transitioning from war to peace in Northern Ireland, South Africa and Sri Lanka, Palgrave studies in compromise after conflict, Palgrave Macmillan: Springer, Switzerland.
Verwoerd, W.J. (2021). Social justice, white beneficiaries and the South African TRC. In S. Guðmarsdóttir, P. Regan & D. Solomon (Eds.), In Trading justice for peace? Critical perspectives on the truth and reconciliation commissions in South Africa, Canada, and Norway. AOSIS.
Verwoerd, W.J. (2021). The Black Christ and white South African responsibility after 1994. In Gobodo-Madikizela, P., Ndushabandi, E., & Ratele, K. (Eds.) Historical trauma and memory: Living with the haunting power of the past – Conference proceedings. SUNMedia.
Journal Articles
Fourie, M. & Verwoerd, W.J. (2021). Covid-19 as natural intervention: Guilt and perceived historical privilege contributes to structural reform under conditions of crisis’, Affective Science. https://doi.org/10.1007/s42761-021-00073-7
Fourie, M. M., & Verwoerd, W. J. (2022). Covid-19 as natural intervention: Guilt and perceived historical privilege contributes to structural reform under conditions of crisis. Affective Science, 3(1), 34-45.
Van der Riet, L. R., & Verwoerd, W. (2022). Diagnosing and dismantling South African whiteness: ‘white work’ in the Dutch Reformed Church. HTS Teologiese Studies/Theological Studies, 78(4).
Verwoerd, W. (2022). Liberated by Tutu’s undomesticated inclusivity. Anglican Theological Review, 104(3), 328-329.
Verwoerd, W. J. (2020) ‘Black Christ and cross-roads Jesus for white South African christians’, HTS Theological Studies, 76(3), 1-10.
Verwoerd, W.J. (2021) “Building” and “cultivating” peace: Practitioner reflections on The Sustainable Peace Network Project’, Dealing with the legacy of conflict in Northern Ireland through engagement and dialogue, Glencree Journal, 238-248.
Verwoerd, W. (2022). Blessed are the peacemakers? Enemy love, family hate and the dynamics of betrayal. Spiritus: A Journal of Christian Spirituality, 22(2), 212-231.
Verwoerd, W., Little, A., & Hamber, B. (2022). Peace as betrayal: On the human cost of relational peacebuilding in transitional contexts. International Journal of Transitional Justice, 16(2), 204-219.