A Social History from Below: Life stories from Wentworth, South Africa
A Social History from Below: Life stories from Wentworth, South Africa, is a collection of edited interviews conducted with 25 current and past residents of Wentworth, Durban, in KwaZulu-Natal. Their life stories illustrate the social history of this historically ‘coloured’ township, documenting its formation in the late 1950s and its history through the life experiences of the 25 residents during various periods.
The members of this black South African community are diverse, among others, in terms of origin, ancestry, class, educational qualifications, political outlook, self-identification, primary concerns, political activism, contribution to society, and social impediments suffered, refuting generalisations made about the ‘race’ to which they are deemed to belong. Their stories also illustrate the impact of major transformations, such as the advent of democracy, on members of this community.
Full title: A Social History from Below
Subtitle: Life stories from Wentworth, South Africa
Authors: Gregory Houston, Heidi van Rooyen, Bronwynne Anderson, Darian Smith, Theresa Saber Jnr, Maree Harold and Marilyn Couch
Publication: HSRC Press
ISBN: 978-0-7969-2675-3
Format: 240mm x 168mm
Extent: 392pp
Price: R295
African Literature and Intellectual Histories: Reflecting on Ntongela Masilela’s Work
Professor Ntongela Masilela (1948–2020) is recognised as one of South Africa’s most eminent scholars. His highly respected and meticulous contributions to local and global intellectual discourse, most significantly via his historical archive, offer essential insights into disciplines such as literature, film, arts, and political and intellectual history.
The book comprises essays by Masilela, each prefaced by an introduction by the volume editor. The essays contain Masilela’s most significant writings and illuminate the essence and breadth of his gifted mastery of the aforementioned disciplines. He also worked to elucidate the intellectual contributions of others – most notably members of the New African Movement – and the interconnectedness of people, body politics, events and ideologies across time and space. The book befittingly presents Masilela as a widely read and travelled scholar, who scoured the national archive to unpack the most intricate aspects of our history and its interconnectedness with the history of the world.
The essays further showcase Masilela’s historical-biographical approach in exploring three key periods: the diaspora (exile), the interregnum, and post-apartheid South Africa. They offer us an advanced understanding of the locus that drove the works of others, such as Bernard M. Magubane, H.I.E. Dhlomo and Nadine Gordimer.
Masilela brings to life prominent and lesser-known African intellectuals by engaging with their archives in a manner that empowers the reader to appreciate also the value of biographical sketches. His treatment of race, language, culture, and literature is not just theoretical but verges on the dramatic, giving these paths of inquiry life and contemporaneity. Further, there is ongoing debate in contemporary Africa about the definitions of South African literature, national liberation, and the markers of a successful postcolonial state. This book will enrich these debates, which are sometimes stylised and conducted without historical context.
The book’s transdisciplinary nature enables it to serve as reference material across various disciplines in the global south and the global north. It will be of interest to readers of political and intellectual history, cultural (arts and film) studies, literature, political science and diaspora studies.
Full title: African Literature and Intellectual Histories
Subtitle: Reflecting on Ntongela Masilela’s Work
Editor: Busani Ngcaweni
Publication: HSRC Press
ISBN: 978-0-7969-2673-9
Format: 168mm x 240mm
Extent: 416pp
Price: R695
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