Narratives of progress: Zimbabwean historiography and the end of history

Abstract

This brief commentary takes its inspiration from the opening address delivered by John Hoffman, and printed in these pages; that is, progress is usefully understood as a contradictory, contested and ambiguous process. But rather than attempt a comprehensive survey of the past 40 or so years of academic analyses of Zimbabwe's pasts, what follows has as its focus the emergence of ‘patriotic history’ and particularly its nationalist antecedents. These are critically examined. Although not concerned with the generality of recent studies that are neither nationalist nor materialist in orientation, this paper sketches in outline the rise, fall and rise of radical accounts. It ends by suggesting how such analyses might be taken forward.

Keywords:

• Zimbabwe
• historiography
• patriotic history
• nationalism
• political economy
• Matabeleland

Acknowledgements

I am most grateful to David Moore and to an anonymous reviewer for their comments and suggestions.

Notes

1. For further discussion, see variously, Good (2002), Melber (2003) and Southall (2003).

2. The outstanding study in this regard is S. Ndlovu-Gatsheni, Do 'Zimbabweans' Exist? Trajectories of Nationalism, National Identity Formation and Crisis in a Postcolonial State (Bern 2009).

3. For pointed criticisms of these books and articles, see amongst others, Beach (1979), Cobbing (1977), Cross (1972), Kriger (1992), Robins (1996) and Phimister (2003).

4. See especially Raftopoulos (1995), and Scarnecchia (2008). For a notably prescient analysis, see Slater (1975).

5. Both criticisms are discussed further in chapter five of Beach (1986). See also Tsomondo (1977, 13).

6. What follows is taken in part from Phimister (2008).

7. See also Ranger (2006), where it is claimed that ‘human rights organisations did not publically condemn Zimbabwe in the 1980s’. This is contradicted by Lindgren (2005).

8. Amongst others, see Martin and Johnson (1981), Frederickse (1983), Lan (1985), Maxwell (1999), Ranger (1995, 1999).

9. Important materialist analyses written in this period on non-labour topics include Bond (1998), Bond and Manyanya (2002) and Mlambo (1997).

10. See also Moyo and Yeros (2005), Mamdani (2008), Chung (2006).