2011 Conferences
HOMELANDS CONFERENCE
In the 1980s, scholarship on the homelands was defined by the necessity to delegitimise the ‘bantustans’ as instruments of apartheid repression and control, and historiographies of the homelands produced a univalent reading of their political logics - mostly based on studies of the Cape and Natal (Transkei, Ciskei and KwaZulu, for instance).
Despite the end of the era of the ‘bantustans,’ there remains to date very little scholarship on the variety of homeland formations produced by different regional traditions of administration, independent versus self-governing status, contiguous versus non-contiguous territories, and the historicity of different homelands in the long duree of their establishments, dissolutions, and afterlives. In particular, there is very little on the homelands of the former Transvaal and Free State.
Moreover, the homelands were significant as incubators of new elites, especially bureaucracies and state connected processes of accumulation - often involving gross corruption. These realities in turn shaped novel forms of patrimonialism. The practices, networks and cultures of these institutions are a vital element in shaping the nature of the post-1994 state and its associated forms of stratification.
Papers were specifically invited in the following themes:
- Homelands – the long duree (rise, demise, and legacies)
- Political elites and the chieftaincy
- Class formation, patrimonialism, nepotism
- Land and Labour
- ‘Bantustans’ as states and bureaucracies
- Ethnic logics and legacies
- ‘Bantustan’ media(s)
- ‘Bantustans’ and education
COLLOQUIUM ON THE LOCAL
The History Workshop organised – in collaboration with representatives of other departments and disciplines within the University – a workshop on ‘the local’ in July 2011. This workshop involved 25 invited participants. It aimed to begin the process of developing a conceptual framework for continuing research on ‘the local’ and local studies in general. The focus of this workshop was on studies emerging from the global South, although the contribution and participation of a number of scholars from the academies of Northern America and Europe were also be welcomed.
Over the course of a three day residential workshop, participants discussed pre-circulated papers. These papers focussed on theoretical and conceptual questions, rather than on purely empirical case studies. These emphasised the comparative and interdisciplinary aspects of ‘the local’ and provided the conceptual foundation for a new series of local studies.
We hope that this workshop will provide a model for future interactions between the academies of the global South, and between these academies and those of the global North. It will also encourage interdisciplinary conversations between historians and others. The workshop will provide the space for both young and established scholars from these academies to interact and discuss issues deriving from their local studies in the South itself.
100 Years of the ANC
The conference, held from 20-23 September, was jointly organized by the History Workshop (University of the Witwatersrand), History Department of UJ and South Africa History Online. It was attended by approximately 100 delegates, with 60 papers presented in the formal sessions. In addition, four public events were held (two at UJ), which received considerable media coverage. One of the main objectives of the conference was to introduce a critical intellectual discussion on the history of the ANC (and liberation history generally) into the public domain prior to major celebrations that will take place from January 2012. In our view this was achieved. As a result, the University has re-affirmed its reputation as a space of critical engagement.
The two opening plenary addresses by Professor Phil Bonner (History Workshop) and Mr Joe Netshitenze (Mapungubwe Institute and former head of policy in the office of the presidency) were widely reported and generated some public debate. The second public plenary was addressed by Jeremy Cronin (Deputy Minister of Transport and Deputy General Secretary of the SACP, who replaced Minister Blade Nzimande). Both these plenary events were held at our university’s Professional Development Hub. The public debate held at UJ was addressed by key public intellectuals, including John Saul, Shireen Hassim, Ronnie Kasrils and Prishani Naidoo, and was chaired by Dilip Menon (CISA). The latter event was opened by Professor Tawana Kupe, Dean of Humanities.
Leading local and international scholars in the field of South Africa’s liberation history presented papers at the conference. Some of the prominent international scholars at the conference were John Saul, Paul Landau, Hugh MacMillan, Vladimir Shubin, Stephen Ellis, Norman Etherington, Franco Barchiesi and Alan Cobley. Several local scholars from our own university and the universities of Cape Town, Johannesburg, Western Cape, Fort Hare, North-West and Pretoria also presented papers. The main conference was also held at the Professional Development Hub.
The main publication outcome will be a book based on papers presented at the conference, which will be published by Wits Press in mid-2012. Several other papers from the proceedings have been accepted by the South African Historical Journal. These publications are likely to make important contributions to debates both about the history of the ANC and the use or mobilization of history in contemporary society.
