Abstract:
Writing history in the African context demands commitment;
it must be contextual and integrally related
to the mission of Christianity. This necessitates a reconsideration
of historiography. The ‘old’ historiography
was premised on the positive value accorded to
missions and missionaries as well as a positive view of
colonialism. The ‘new’ approach is eclectic and focuses
on dispossessed communities. It predates the
arrival of Western European civilisation and focuses
on ‘black’ experience. All of this necessitates a consideration
of ideology which has both positive and
negative aspects.
