Writing South African history: Trends and retrospect

Volume editor

Elize S van Eeden

Synopsis

‘While much good historical writing contains a historiographical aspect, and specialists often trace the history of historical writing in their particular field in “historiographically informed” texts, general surveys of the history of historical writing or the current state of historical writing in any country are rare. This is perhaps not surprising, given how difficult it is to assess a wide range of historical approaches over time. Few such assessments will appeal to general readers. The relative lack of such writing is also the case for South Africa: As we shall see, there are few overall surveys of general trends in the historiography of South Africa.’ – Christopher Saunders, p. 167.

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Writing South African history: Trends and retrospect presents the first comprehensive reassessment of South African historiography in nearly four decades. Across 18 original chapters by leading scholars, it examines how South Africa’s past has been written, debated and reimagined amid major political, intellectual and methodological shifts since the late 20th century. The book revisits established liberal, radical, revisionist and nationalist traditions, as well as frontier historiography, while engaging critically with debates on colonialism, settler colonialism, apartheid and decolonisation.

The volume broadens the scope of historical inquiry by addressing key thematic and methodological developments, including labour, economic and environmental history, the history of medicine and health, gender and masculinity studies, public and oral history, youth culture and multilingual archival practice. It revisits foundational debates on slavery, the Mineral Revolution, the Mfecane, the Great Trek and the 1976 Soweto Uprising, and analyses historiographical responses to apartheid, anti-apartheid scholarship, African nationalism, the African National Congress, the Black Consciousness Movement and recent student-led protest movements.

Moving beyond static historiographical ‘schools’, the collection interrogates the evolving craft of the historian through critical reflection on sources, method and interpretation. Particular attention is given to neglected and marginalised traditions, including indigenous, Indian and Coloured historiographies, as well as the histories of San and Khoekhoe communities and enslaved and indigenous Cape inhabitants. Situating South African historiography within global and transnational contexts, the book demonstrates how political change and contemporary movements have reshaped the production of historical knowledge. Written in an accessible style, it offers scholars a rigorous and forward-looking contribution to South African history, African studies and global historiography.

With contributions by: Carolyn Hamilton, Christopher Saunders, Jeff Peires, Nigel Worden, Clive Glaser, Mohamed Adhikari, Goolam Vahed, Grietjie Verhoef, Hans Erik Stolten, Jared McDonald, Johann Tempelhoff, John Wright, Clement Masakure, Gerald Groenewald, Robert Morrell, Thula Simpson & Wessel Visser.

Chapters

Preface

Elize S van Eeden
Chapter 1
History writing in South Africa in retrospect and with repurpose

Elize S van Eeden
Chapter 2
Before the conquest: The independent states of black southern Africa

Jeff Peires
Chapter 3
From periphery to protagonist: Historiographical trends in San and Khoekhoe histories

Jared McDonald
Chapter 4
Rediscovering the early Cape Colony

Nigel Worden
Chapter 5
The historiography of Cape slavery: A survey of trends, debates and achievements

Gerald Groenewald
Chapter 6
Ukuxoxa izindaba: Engaging with a neglected historiography

Carolyn Hamilton, John Wright
Chapter 7
Writing about Indian South Africans: A historiographical analysis

Goolam Vahed
Chapter 8
From mythologising miscegenation to mobilising indigeneity: Competing conceptions of coloured consciousness in South Africa

Mohamed Adhikari
Chapter 9
Writing on the historiography of South Africa: From apartheid to democracy

Christopher Saunders
Chapter 10
The left intellectuals and the incomplete revolution: Ideological debates over South African history

Hans Erik Stolten
Chapter 11
On decolonising South African historiography

Thula Simpson
Chapter 12
From early migrants to Fallists: The historiography of youth and generational conflict in South Africa

Clive Glaser
Chapter 13
South African labour historiography

Wessel Visser
Chapter 14
The history of the business of economic development

Grietjie Verhoef
Chapter 15
Coming to terms with men: Considering masculinity in South African history writing

Robert Morrell
Chapter 16
Environmental historiography in South Africa

Johann Tempelhoff
Chapter 17
A survey of South African medical and health history writing

Clement Masakure
Chapter 18
The shaping and broader impact of regional historiographies in and from South Africa

Elize S van Eeden

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978-1-997449-19-5

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170mm x 244mm