The sociological and political writings of Bernard Makhosezwe Magubane on African political history, political economy and political philosophy constitute a vital portion of a monumental legacy to later generations by an African intellectual who came to maturity through a historical consciousness that emerged in the decade of the 1960s. this was a period characterized by the radical contentious philosophies of history: African Marxism, African Nationalism and the reactionary ideologies aligned with imperialism and colonialism.

The essays of Bernard Makhosezwe Magubane stand at a fascinating intersection with the intellectual systems of Frantz Fanon, H. I. E. Dhlomo, Ngugi wa Thiong'o and Amilcar Cabral. They are first and foremost what Cabral and Fanon were clamoring for: an instrumentarium of the construction of a progressive African ideology or African ideologies. What enabled them to realize this remarkable breakthrough is that they are a continuation of the revolutionary thought of Fanon and Cabral. Magubane was among the first African academic scholars to have seen the historical significance of Fanon and Cabral, repetitively in the mid 1960s and in the early 1970s.

Written in exile during the Exile period in South African intellectual and cultural history, these essays until recently were not easily historically locatable within the genealogical structure of South African intellectual traditions. Undoubtedly, this had been due to the 'political philosophy' of apartheid and its ideological manifestations.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

The sociological and political writings of Bernard Makhosezwe Magubane on African political history, political economy and political philosophy constitute a vital portion of a monumental legacy to later generations by an African intellectual who came to maturity through a historical consciousness that emerged in the decade of the 1960s. this was a period characterized by the radical contentious philosophies of history: African Marxism, African Nationalism and the reactionary ideologies aligned with imperialism and colonialism.

The essays of Bernard Makhosezwe Magubane stand at a fascinating intersection with the intellectual systems of Frantz Fanon, H. I. E. Dhlomo, Ngugi wa Thiong'o and Amilcar Cabral. They are first and foremost what Cabral and Fanon were clamoring for: an instrumentarium of the construction of a progressive African ideology or African ideologies. What enabled them to realize this remarkable breakthrough is that they are a continuation of the revolutionary thought of Fanon and Cabral. Magubane was among the first African academic scholars to have seen the historical significance of Fanon and Cabral, repetitively in the mid 1960s and in the early 1970s.

Written in exile during the Exile period in South African intellectual and cultural history, these essays until recently were not easily historically locatable within the genealogical structure of South African intellectual traditions. Undoubtedly, this had been due to the 'political philosophy' of apartheid and its ideological manifestations.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Bernard Makhosezwe Magubane is a professor at the Human Sciences Research Council, University of Western Cape, South Africa. He is the author of several books, including (AWP 1996), The Making of a Racist State: British Imperialism and the Union of South Africa, 1875-1910 (AWP 1996), South Africa: From Soweto to Uitenhage (AWP 1989) and The Ties that Bind: African American Consciousness of Africa (AWP 1987).

CATEGORY

Sociology, Politics, Cultural Studies/AFRICA