HASA2020 Call For Papers

Convergences, Complications and Contestations: Hindsight, Insight and Foresight in Southern African Histories

30 June to 2 July 2020, Sol Plaatjie University – Kimberley

Sol Plaatje University in Kimberley will host the biennial conference of the Historical Association of South Africa in 2020. Named after Sol Plaatje, a South African luminary, intellectual, politician, journalist, linguist, translator and writer, it is the first university established in the post-apartheid era. In many ways a cradle for colonialism, Kimberley is an integral node in the development of the Southern African imperial network. Yet it also represents efforts at mapping a post-colonial intellectual project, not least through the establishment of SPU. The 2020 HASA conference gives us a platform to reflect on the history of Southern Africa from the combination of a new academic institution emerging from a complex history of oppression, struggle and liberation and its location in a city from which the colonial political-economy of the region was founded. If history is indeed “an unending dialogue between the present and the past”, this conference will provide us with a unique opportunity to examine the history of Southern Africa within the leitmotifs of hindsight, insight and foresight. 

The conference aims to broaden our understanding and perspective of the past by interrogating new modes of knowledge and frameworks of historical analysis. The nature of the discipline of history is that it is dynamic, characterised by convergences, complications and contestations. It constantly demands revisiting and reimagining the past. In this and other ways, it encourages us to continue establishing new collaborative fields of scholarly discussion and interaction between international, regional and local specialists on the history of Southern Africa. Thus within the broader confines of the multifaceted themes of historical inquiry, we welcome papers on all aspects of Southern African history.

The aims of the conference include:
  • opening up, expanding and strengthening collaborative fields of scholarly discussion and interaction between international, regional and local specialists on the history of Southern Africa;
  • establishing cooperation between international and local institutions to broaden the network of engagement between scholars of Southern African history;
  • widening our understanding and perspective of the past by interrogating new modes of knowledge and frameworks of historical analysis;
  • providing a platform where the complex history of Southern Africa can be revisited in a space that embodies the emergence of a new post-colonial project;
  • encouraging interdisciplinary cooperation and research with cognate disciplines within the broader social sciences;
  • creating an environment for collaborative engagement between emerging and established scholars; and
  • promoting the objectives of the Historical Association of South Africa that aim at stimulating the furtherance of history as a scholarly discipline at South African Universities, museums and archival institutions.
Proposals:

We welcome the submission of individual abstracts or a coordinated set of abstracts as part of a panel proposal submission.

Conference Fees:
Academic Scholars ZAR 2 500.00
Postdoctoral FellowsZAR 2 200.00
Postgraduate StudentsZAR 1 800.00
A late registration fee of ZAR 500.00 will be added to the conference fee amounts listed above for delegate registrations after 30 April 2020.
Important Dates:
Proposal submission closes28 February 2020
Registration commences1 February 2020
Registration ends30 April 2020

 For more information, please contact the conference organisers at

hasa2020@spu.ac.za