History Beyond Apartheid

This book brings leading historians of South Africa together to consider new methodological and theoretical approaches within the field. History beyond apartheid explores post-apartheid developments in history writing on South Africa, offering a corrective to charges that South African historiography has seen little in terms of innovation in the years since apartheid. With contributions from scholars involved at the cutting edge of research, the book highlights innovative approaches that have re-shaped the field, situating them in the context of the extant literature. In addition to offering fresh perspectives on the traditional themes of race, class and nation, the book covers histories of the environment, women, creative literature and the fine arts, and of South Africa’s global connections and transnational entanglements.The book offers critical reflections on the theoretical and methodological aspects that guide the contributors’ work, looking simultaneously backwards at the intellectual traditions on which their scholarship builds, and forward to potential future areas of inquiry informed by unresolved questions. The resulting collection offers an essential resource for emerging and established scholars involved in the practice of South African historiography. This edited volume encompasses a range of themes and approaches relevant to the field of South African history today, as viewed from the perspective of practicing historians at the cutting edge of research in the discipline. The collection features the historians offering critical reflection on the theoretical and methodological aspects of their work. This involves them both looking back at the inherited historiographical tradition in the respective areas of their research, while also pointing forwards to possible future directions for scholarly engagement.