THE STUDY OF SOUTH-AFRICAN SOCIETY - TOWARDS A NEW AGENDA FOR COMPARATIVE-HISTORICAL INQUIRY

This paper seeks to outline a new research agenda for the comparative historical study of South African society. It argues that the existing work in the field exhibits several limitations, expressed in particul ar in its adoption of a top-down approach to the study of history and its focus on class and state to the exclusion of identity. The paper s eeks to overcome these limitations by adopting a new approach that foc uses on identity formation and indigenous capacities. It does that fro m a comparative perspective which combines historical specificity with theoretical elaboration. After offering theoretical reflections on th e relations between history and theory, the paper illustrates the new approach by addressing two fields of particular concern from a compara tive perspective: (1) the study of class formation, economic developme nt and identity formation; (2) the role of indigenous capacities in th e historical formation of racial and national identities. The paper co ncludes by considering the production of knowledge in South African st udies, arguing that social, political and theoretical concerns combine to effect changes in scholarly trends in an on-going process of parad igm shifts.