The study of South African society: A proposed agenda for comparative historical inquiry

Abstract

The goal of this paper is to outline an agenda for comparative historical inquiry, examine the comparative literature on South Africa in light of that agenda and explore the implications such an analytical program might have for our understanding of South African history. The last part of the paper attempts to suggest new directions (stimulate new questions and point at possible new answers) in South African studies. The comparative field is of particular importance in the context of this paper since it allows us to focus more clearly on the theoretical issues involved in the study of history, and evaluate the relations between the general and the particular in concrete historical investigations. The relevance of some of the issues discussed in a comparative context may go beyond the specific field of comparative history, however.