Sifiso Mxolisi Ndlovu

This volume critically examines sources of evidence and material from the archive that historically have been used to tell southern Africa's pre-colonial story.

This volume critically examines sources of evidence and material from the archive that historically have been used to tell southern Africa's pre-colonial story.

The post-apartheid era in South Africa has, in the space of nearly two decades, experienced a massive memory boom, manifest in a plethora of new memorials and museums and in the renaming of streets, buildings, cities and more across the country. This memorialisation is intricately linked to questions of power, liberation and public history in the making and remaking of the South African nation. Ali Khangela Hlongwane and Sifiso Mxolisi Ndlovu analyse an array of these liberation heritage sites, including the Hector Pieterson Memorial and Museum, the June 16, 1976 Interpretation Centre, the Apartheid Museum and the Mandela House Museum, foregrounding the work of migrant workers, architects, visual artists and activists in the practice of memorialisation. As they argue, memorialisation has been integral to the process of state and nation formation from the pre-colonial era through the present day.

This book examines the active role played by Africans in the pre-colonial production of historical knowledge in South Africa, focusing on perspectives of the second king of amaZulu, King Dingane. It draws upon a wealth of oral traditions, izibongo, and the work of public intellectuals such as Magolwane kaMkhathini Jiyane and Mshongweni to present African perspectives of King Dingane as multifaceted, and in some cases, constructed according to socio-political formations and aimed at particular audiences. By bringing African perspectives to the fore, this innovative historiography centralizes indigenous African languages in the production of historical knowledge.

This book examines the active role played by Africans in the pre-colonial production of historical knowledge in South Africa, focusing on perspectives of the second king of amaZulu, King Dingane. It draws upon a wealth of oral traditions, izibongo, and the work of public intellectuals such as Magolwane kaMkhathini Jiyane and Mshongweni to present African perspectives of King Dingane as multifaceted, and in some cases, constructed according to socio-political formations and aimed at particular audiences. By bringing African perspectives to the fore, this innovative historiography centralizes indigenous African languages in the production of historical knowledge.

The Soweto Student Uprising of 1976 was a decisive moment in the struggle against apartheid. It marked the expansion of political activism to a new generation of young activists, but beyond that it inscribed the role that young people of subsequent generations could play in their country’s future. Since that momentous time students have held a special place in the collective imaginary of South African history. Drawing on research and writing by leading scholars and prominent activists, Students Must Rise takes Soweto ’76 as its pivot point, but looks at student and youth activism in South Africa more broadly by considering what happened before and beyond the Soweto moment. Early chapters assess the impact of the anti-pass campaigns of the 1950s, of political ideologies like Black Consciousness as well as of religion and culture in fostering political consciousness and organisation among youth and students in townships and rural areas. Later chapters explore the wide-reaching impact of June 16th itself for student organisation over the next two decades across the country. Two fi nal chapters consider contemporary student-based political movements, including #RhodesMustFall and #FeesMustFall, and historically root these in the long and rich tradition of student activism in South Africa.2016 marks the 40th anniversary of the 1976 June 16th uprisings. This book rethinks the conventional narrative of youth and student activism in South Africa by placing that most famous of moments – the 1976 students’ uprising in Soweto – in a deeper historical and geographic context.

This much-awaited volume uncovers the long-lost pages of the major African multi-lingual newspaper, Abantu-Batho. Founded in 1912 by African National Congress convener Pixley Seme, with assistance from the Swazi Queen, it was published until 1931, attracting the cream of African politicians, journalists, and poets S. E. K Mqhayi, Nontsizi Mgqwetho and Robert Grendon. In its pages burning issues of the day were articulated alongside cultural by-ways. Comprising both essays on and texts from the paper, it explores the complex movements and individuals that emerged. The essays contribute rich, new material to provide clearer insights into South African politics and intellectual life. The Anthology unveils a judicious selection of never-before-published columns from the paper spanning every year of its life, drawn from repositories on three continents. Abantu-Batho also had a regional and international focus, and by examining all these dynamics across boundaries and disciplines the book transcends established historiographical frontiers to fill a lacuna that scholars have long lamented. Distinguished historians and literary scholars, together with exciting young scholars, plumb the lives and ideas of editors, writers, readers and allied movements. Sharing the considerable interest in the ANC centenary, this unique book will have a strong appeal and secure audience among all interested in history, politics, culture, literature, gender, biography and journalism studies, from academics and students to a general public interested in knowing about this early ANC newspaper, its people and the stories that once captivated South Africans.