Launched by the Centre for the Study of the Afterlife of Violence and the Reparative Quest (AVReQ)

Stellenbosch University | First intake: January 2026

Stellenbosch University offers the first interdisciplinary Master’s degree programme designed to provide students with critical decolonial approaches to studying and addressing the transgenerational impact of violent histories and their traumatic transgenerational continuities. The MPhil in Violent Histories and Repair aims to educate, train and mentor emerging scholars and engaged young researchers to contribute to the much-needed decolonising development of knowledge on the multi-dimensional and transgenerational legacies of violent histories, and critical examination of psychosocial processes of repair to explore new imaginaries of what it means to repair or heal violent pasts. The programme focuses on the scope of research on the contemporary and continuing transgenerational legacies of violent histories (such as genocide, slavery, colonial-era violence, apartheid, etc.) and examines reparative practices and peacebuilding approaches adopted in selected postcolonial and post-conflict contexts. The programme is shaped by the key thematic research areas of the Centre for the Study of the Afterlife of Violence and the Reparative Quest (AVReQ). The course responds to the growing focus in higher education on memory studies, peacebuilding practice, and decolonial studies on the enduring impact of violent histories.

Through five compulsory modules that include a research methodology module and a thesis, the programme will provide students with a comprehensive introduction to research committed to decolonising knowledge and engagement with global scholarly debates on transgenerational trauma and examining peace-building and transitional justice strategies from selected postcolonial contexts, critically evaluating their inherent complexities and ambiguities in confronting violent histories and their pursuit of repair and transformation. Each module will require students to be based in Stellenbosch and its surrounding areas and to attend all lectures and seminars in person. For the completion of the thesis in the second year of the programme, the structure of supervision sessions may be arranged with the supervisors of a student’s thesis.

Leading scholars from different disciplines around the world have already recognised the MPhil’s contribution to memory, trauma, repair and decolonial knowledge production. See their endorsements HERE.