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Michigan State University
South African History Online http://www.sahistory.org.za includes
some
valuable texts and images on the history and culture of South Africa. The
site is still under construction, but there is now sufficient data present
for it to be a potential tool, especially for schools.
The site is arranged according to the following categories: people, town
and country, arts and culture, classroom, special projects, chronology, and
'lives of courage'.
'Chronologies' cover events in the lives of individuals, such as Nelson
Mandela, Sisulu, Gandhi (which ends inexplicably in 1909) and Paul Kruger,
as well as themes such as 'Chronology of African Independence' and
'Chronology of Passive Resistance.'
"People" includes the sub-categories Politics, Labour, Community, Arts,
Media & Culture, Science & Medicine, and Sport. "Labour" currently
covers
only: Gwala, Harry; Nair, Billy; Mokgatle, Naboth; Murray, Thomas;
Scheepers, Joey--mainly entries from _The new dictionary of South Africa
biography_ Volume 2, 1999. There are many more entries under "Politics,"
with many of these simply texts from the books _From Protest to Challenge_,
Volume 4 (Political Profiles) and Sheila Gastrow, _Who's Who in South
African Politics_, 3rd edition (which means that some entries are rather
out of date).
Under "town and country" there are some interesting images, for instance in
the project on "Grey Street, Durban," which also includes useful texts such
as "Champion & the ICU" by Paul Tichman.
Under "arts and culture" there are the categories of Fine Art (Gallery),
Architecture (Rural Architecture), Literature (History of Black South
African Literature; Poetry; Newspapers (New Age), Music and Dance (Kwaito),
Popular Culture (Kwaito), Museums & Monuments (The New Group, Pretoria Art
Museum), Archives (List of South African Archives), People (Important
People in South African Arts & Culture),
SPECIAL PROJECTS listed are:
The Dutch East India Company
The South African Wars (article by S.B. Spies)
The Great Trek
Garveyism
Rand Rebellion of 1922
Sharpeville
June 16 - Youth Day
June 26 - Freedom Day;
09 August - Womens' Day;
1956-1961 - Treason Trial;
ONLINE WALL OF REMEMBRANCE;
KwaMsiza - a Ndebele village;
Grey Street
'Publications' on the site include texts and photographic images from books
by Omar Badsha, _Amulets and dreams: war, youth & change in Africa_ (which
includes galleries on Sierra Leone, Angola, Mozambique, Eritrea, Burundi
and Ethiopia) and _Imperial Ghetto - Ways of seeing in a South African
city_, as well as_With Our Own Hands_, on poverty in South Africa.
South African History Online, funded by the Ford Foundation and Ireland
Aid, comprises a website and a community and schools programme. It is a
non-profit NGO, "a peoples' history and internet-based project that
consists of an open, non-partisan website linked to a schools' and
community based outreach programme, which sets to build a comprehensive
database on South African history and arts." It was established to "realise
the long held goals of our democratic movements to: "break the silence" on
the historic and cultural heritage and achievements of the country's black
communities; celebrate the achievements of all those who helped foster and
who fought for the realisation of a common humanity, the building of a
non-racial democracy and the celebration of our cultural diversity." (from
the home page).
On this basis, the site should be judged a success. It is good to see these
texts online. They often are presented in a creative fashion likely to
appeal to youth. However, some of the essays are without attribution and
students making use of the pages will need some advice on evaluating
sources. There are no links to History Departments or to many of the other
useful resources on South African history. At present, students are not
encouraged to see or consider the plurality of views on the topics covered.
Some of the sections appear rather eclectic and incomplete, no doubt partly
due to the ongoing nature of the project, but perhaps also due to limited
consultation with specialists. It would be nice to know _who_ is directing
things and writing the pages. Nevertheless, the creators of the site have
already achieved a lot and the potted biographies in particular will be a
handy source for users from diverse callings.
 Humanities & Social Sciences Online 
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