Indigeneity and Assimilation in Southern Africa: The Khoe-San

Catalog description

South Africa is infamous for apartheid, the starkest form of settler colonialism. Yet 20th-century segregation reversed centuries of assimilationist policies against South Africa’s First Peoples: the Khoe-San. From the mid-17th century, this distinctive cultural group endured environmental and epidemiological shocks, conquest, and genocide. Their descendants only survived within a Dutch-speaking underclass. This seminar traces their survivance: from early encounters and violent subjugation to claims-making against 19th century British liberalism, ending with recent assertions of indigeneity among “Coloured” descendants in decolonizing South Africa. Khoe-San history—trauma, adaptation, and endurance—forms a crucial chapter in African history and comparative colonial history. P