Moralising the Agrarian Question: Concealed Meanings and Competing Master Narratives in the Construction of an Imagined South African Countryside
In: Journal of contemporary African studies, Band 14, Heft 1, S. 5-28
ISSN: 0258-9001
Examines the foundations of rival paradigms concerning agrarian studies in South Africa. Epistemological & methodological assumptions that set directions for research are evaluated, with a focus on the ordering principles used to create an image of the South African countryside. Historical writing & analysis are contextualized, & it is asserted that the choices of topics for investigations are made using normative judgments. The local history approach has deemphasized the wider context of various forms of production & obscured distinctions of specific time-place settings. 117 References. S. Jameson