History, Knowledge and Power in Southern Africa

This book honours the seminal contributions of William Beinart to southern African history and African Studies, with essays written by his former students and academic and professional colleagues. The scope of the essays in this volume speaks to the breadth of Beinart’s influence, bringing together a number of intellectual strands and themes that cut across disciplines, chronologies, and geographies. Key themes explored include environment and nature, rural agriculture, popular politics, political violence, land reform, and the relationship between academia and activism. Beinart's influence is highlighted in each chapter, but the essays here also represent new research and new ways of thinking about long-standing debates. The book intends to stimulate a robust interdisciplinary and intergenerational dialogue on these topics, and to highlight emergent debates and themes of interest to the study and understanding of Africa’s past.