History Making and Present Day Politics - Stolten's African Studies ...

H i s t o r y i n t h e n e w S o u t h A f r i c a
African historians have shown that Africa had old kingdoms, mining and
trading centres, and a well-functioning infrastructure before the arrival of
the Europeans. 134 Some researchers have even suggested that the genuine
values in Africa’s history are to be found in stateless societies based on local
autonomy, cooperation and cooptation, rather than on discipline and competition.
135 Perhaps a new generation of black South African historians could
learn from these experiences without entirely renouncing universal, theoretical
understandings. 136
A growing demand for a closer connection to the rest of Africa is about to
be added to the agenda of the South African historians. If South Africa wants
to become a genuine African country, a stronger engagement with general
African history will prove to be necessary. 137 The South African government
recognises that such a change of mentality is required, but so far, only approximately
10 per cent of South Africa’s university researchers concentrate
a significant part of their work on other African countries. 138 As a minor,
but not unimportant, initiative, the former Minister of Education secured
copyright permission to UNESCO’s General History of Africa, so it can be
distributed to schools.
It is not easy to predict what direction black South African historiography
will take in the years to come. Even if South African society develops in the
best way possible, towards a reasonably stable, pluralistic system, the black
population will have to continue its struggle for rights and opportunities.
This also applies to the academic world.
134. Falola, Toyin (ed.), African Historiography. Essays in Honour of Jacob Ade Ajayi, Harlow,
Longman, 1993.
135. Curtin, P., “Recent trends in African historiography and their contribution to history
in general”, from Ki-Zerbo (ed.), General history of Africa, Vol. 1, UNESCO,
London, 1981, p. 58.
136. Newbury, David (ed.), “African History Research Trends and Perspectives on the
Future”, The African Studies Review, Vol. 30, No. 2, The African Studies Association,
Emory University, Atlanta, 1987; in same volume, Felix Ekechi, “The Future of the
History of Ideas in Africa”, p. 67; Mkandawire, Thandika (ed.), African Intellectuals:
Rethinking Politics, Language, Gender and Development, Zed Books, 2005.
137. On this debate, see works of John Illiffe, John Lonsdale, and Mahmood Mamdani
among others.
138. Bam, June, “Making history the South African way: Allowing the pieces to fall
together”, paper written in connection with the NAI/CAS conference “Collective
Memory and Present-Day Politics in South Africa and the Nordic Countries”,
Copenhagen 22–23 August, 2002.
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