My latest article on the expulsion of British farmers and journalists from Kenya is out in The English Historical Review EHR on first view! doi.org/10.1093/ehr/ce…

James La Guma addressing an African National Congress rally in Cape Town 1959.

Barbara Tuchman's book 'A Distant Mirror' about 14th century Europe captures something of the historian's delight at finding a completely unknown topic: "I like finding my own way"

The International Studies Group UFS in South Africa is advertising funded PhD positions in history. This is a research-intensive department focusing on Southern Africa history. It's also a place where I spent three happy years working.

If you have a master's in history & are interested in a PhD particularly on #Angola, #Mozambique or transnational histories of liberation in southern Africa, I'd be interested in seeing your research proposal.

Edson Sithole would have turned 90 today; Zimbabwe's second black advocate after Herbert Chitepo. My book project to recover more than two dozen of his writings & speeches and tell his biographical story will hopefully see publication this year.

I am delighted to share that my PhD dissertation has been selected as the winner of the 2025 Indiana University Graduate School Distinguished Ph.D. Dissertation Award in the Humanities and Fine Arts category.

Bruh.

Okay so let's talk about the Beast of Soweto, Theuns Swanepoel who died on this day in 1998. Trained by the French who dealt with the Algerian liberation movement, he was a skilled torturer, founding member of Koevoet. He ordered the shooting of children on 16 June.

The medieval Knights of Ethiopia: a history of the Horse in the northern Horn of Africa (1000-1900CE) africanhistoryextra.com/p/the-medieval…

This week in Lusaka I had a private history lesson on Cold War politics, frontline states war on Apartheid, Africa-Israel relations, and Mobutu's engagement in African politics. My teacher was none other than the legendary Vernon J. Mwaanga. I am grateful to him. #zambia #africa

The Bantu Men's Social Centre, established in 1924 in Johannesburg, was a recreational & social hub for Black South Africans. It served as a gathering place for the Black urban community's social, political & cultural elite during the period from the 1920s to the 1950's.

A collection of Tunisian stamps 🇹🇳

An amazing #history and #art collaboration by Chris Conz and Christina Balch on #mining, #migration, and the complicated relationship between #Lesotho and #SouthAfrica. Check it out! edgeeffects.net/migrants-and-m…

Not really using Twitter/X these days, but think I still have a few followers on here interested in Southern African history who might want to read my recent open access publication on UK/Bophuthatswana relations: academic.oup.com/tcbh/article/3…

WEEK COVER 15 AUG I RWANDA🇷🇼 From exile to prison. Victoire Umuhoza’s fight for democracy exposes Kagame’s repression and inspires African youth. Her journey is far from over ➡️xtraf.link/4oDgX2N

How did 3M’s “forever chemicals” end up in all of us? Sharon Lerner reports the inside story of the corporate scientists who discovered—then helped to conceal—the dangers of its chemicals. nyer.cm/W0YskTJ

Why I left SWAPO: Namibia celebrates independence heroes, but glosses over a painful history theconversation.com/namibia-celebr… via The Conversation Africa

Personal Update: Pig Farm Murders - Maria Makgato’s Children Maria Makgato’s eldest son, Ranti (23), who is now the caregiver for his three younger siblings (6, 14, and 17), asked if I would come through to Polokwane to support him in court. I was there on Monday and Tuesday

I spoke to Bloomberg News for this great article about the grim consequences of South Africa's abandoned mines at a time when gold prices are soaring: bloomberg.com/news/features/…