Agony and Ecstasy at the End of the Rainbow

The three books are reviewed together because of their shared concern with public history. The review starts with a consideration of the Stolten volume because it incorporates a variety of diverse perspectives, reflecting the present state of South African historiography. Following a detailed discus...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:South African Historical Journal Vol. 61; no. 1; pp. 178 - 186
Main Author: Peires, Jeff
Format: Journal Article
Language:English
Published: Abingdon Taylor & Francis Group 01.03.2009
Taylor & Francis Ltd
Subjects:
African renaissance
African studies
Apartheid
heritage
Historiography
History
Mandela
Protest movements
public history
Public life
Rainbow Nation
Review articles
South Africa
ISSN:0258-2473, 1726-1686, 0258-2473
Online Access:Get full text
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Summary:The three books are reviewed together because of their shared concern with public history. The review starts with a consideration of the Stolten volume because it incorporates a variety of diverse perspectives, reflecting the present state of South African historiography. Following a detailed discussion, three major themes emerge: (1) whether or not South African historians are agreed on a single 'master narrative' (2) the relationship between History and Heritage (3) the role of university History Departments. The books by Coombes and Callinicos are both more coherent than that edited by Stolten but their very coherence, in the opinion of the reviewer, is only made possible by the omission of key areas of concern which are identified and discussed.
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ISSN:0258-2473
1726-1686
0258-2473
DOI:10.1080/02582470902812335