Abstract
The first Southern African Historical Society meeting outside the Union or Republic of South Africa is an opportunity to look wider than national histories, and forward as well as back. This paper raises nine points for the production of public as well as scholarly history. The need for historical studies to burst out of national barriers. What is or has been Southern Africa as a region? The need for caution in using overly-fixed categories of identity such as ethnicity. The need to embrace and historicise the remote past of ‘prehistory’. The importance of Eastern African and Indian Ocean connections. The continuing salience of imperial as well as colonial history. The importance of ‘native agency’ in brokering mass Christianity and modern society. Seeing history as multiple-biography and even daring to write semi-fictionalised biography. The need for responsible use of entertainment media in publicising scholarship.
Sign-in/Register to access full text options 
Free) 
Talk to us
Join us for a 30 min session where you can share your feedback and ask us any queries you have
Schedule a call
