The Center for Peace and Conflict Studies, along with other sponsors, welcomed Ashraf Kagee, Ph.D. and his presentation on Trauma of South African Political Prisoners, on Monday, March 3, at the Letterman Building.   Dr. Kagee is an alumni of Ball State University's counseling psychology program, graduating with a doctorate in 1999.  He currently is a  Professor of Psychology at Stellenbosh University in South Africa. 

Dr. Kagee spoke about the history of political activism in South Africa during Apartheid and presented data related to the traumatic experiences of political prisoners detained in prison at that time.  The focus of his lecture was the issue of trauma and whether a Western conceptualization of "tramatization" is applicable to South African former political prisoners. 

The event was well attended, and questions from the audience included questions regarding the types of abuse experienced by the former political prisoners in Dr. Kagee's studies and what types of interventions might be needed to address the experiences of this population.