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South African historiography has always been haunted by the fact that 'academic debate about the South African past is covert argument about the future shape of South African society' (Bromberger and Hughes, 1987, p.203). The consequences of this politicisation of South African history have been largely unfortunate, including an opprobrious and polemical style of discourse and a tendency to manufacture discord rather than consensus. However, a fortuitous result has been a pronounced inclination to identify and engage opponents in a manner that serves to distinguish between alternative approaches to common phenomena and thus sharpen the terms of debate. |
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