Warring societies? Towards a community of historians HASA and SAHS (1956–2014)

Abstract

This address proposes to trace the history of the two leading historical societies in South Africa: the Historical Association of South Africa (HASA) and the South African Historical Society (SAHS). Having been founded as two separate organisations just after the mid-twentieth century, they represented historians with distinct – if not apparently opposing – ideological dispositions. This paper seeks to unpack how this initial polarisation has gradually transformed and eventually converged. Echoing the work by Karl Dietrich Erdmann and that of Robert Townsend it also briefly considers “cleavages, debates, and forging of ties among historians” as well as the existing division within the discipline, thus situating these local developments within the context of the broader global historical fraternity.

Hierdie voorlegging wil graag die geskiedenis van die twee voorste historiese verenigings in Suid-Afrika nagaan: die Historiese Genootskap van Suid-Afrika (HGSA) en die Suid-Afrikaanse Historiese Vereniging (SAHV). Gestig as twee afsonderlike organisasies net na die middel van die twintigste eeu, het hulle historici met bepaalde verskillende – indien nie blykbaar teenstrydige – ideologiese gesindhede verteenwoordig. Hierdie artikel het ten doel om uit te pak hoe hierdie aanvanklike polarisasie geleidelik verander en uiteindelik konvergeer het. Aansluitend by die werk van Karl Dietrich Erdmann en dié van Robert Townsend kyk dit ook kortliks na die "gleufies, debatte, en smee van bande onder geskiedkundiges" sowel as die bestaande skeiding binne die dissipline, en plaas dus die plaaslike ontwikkelings binne die konteks van die breër globale historiese gilde.