Buczynski received the Ford prize for the best Master\u2019s Degree by Dissertation: Social Sciences and Humanities, for her thesis titled \u201cAn analysis of the fictional representations of trauma in Elias Canetti\u2019s \u2018Auto-Da-Fe\u2019\u201d.<\/p>\n
\u201cI would like to thank Ford Motor Company<\/a> for taking an interest in the academic achievements at NMMU<\/a>,\u201d Buczynski states. \u201cThis award is an acknowledgement of my hard work and my contribution to a valuable field of research, and is an encouragement to continue the pursuit of excellence.\u201d \u201cTo a certain extent, South Africa\u2019s impasse with development and moving forward hinges on the difficulty of putting the trauma of our past to rest. I believe that my study of literary representations of violence on individuals and society offers valuable insight into understanding the nature of trauma and the consequences of not coming to terms with the past.\u201d<\/p>\n She argues that there is a desperate need for trauma of individuals and communities to be constructively addressed so that South Africa can develop into a functional democracy where violence is contained and people and communities thrive in a safe society.<\/p>\n \u201cI am convinced that my study may contribute to this process by telling the stories of traumatic experience, a method embraced by well-known South Africans such as Desmond Tutu and Mampela Ramphele, which could create some common ground for acting in new ways that are more inclusive and less violent.\u201d The Commonwealth Commission has acknowledged the value of Buczynski\u2019s study, and has offered her a Commonwealth Split-Site Scholarship. This entitles her to continue the research at Swansea University in Wales for one year, thus enabling her to complete her PhD.<\/p>\n
\nHer dissertation explores how trauma theory can elucidate Elias Canetti\u2019s Nobel Prize winning and most disturbing novel, Auto-da-F\u00e9. \u201cAn analysis of Auto-da-F\u00e9, in the light of trauma, reveals an enigmatic testimony not only to the nature of violent events, but to the way trauma resists simple comprehension,\u201d Buczynski says.<\/p>\n
\nAlthough Buczynski currently teaches English at Pearson High School in Summerstrand, Port Elizabeth, she intends on extending this field of study for her doctorate.<\/p>\n
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