Re-Viewing Resistance in Namibian History

Re-viewing Resistance in Namibian History brings together the work of experienced academics and a new wave of young Namibian historians – architects of the past – who are working on a range of public history and heritage projects, from late 19th century resistance to the use of songs, from the role of gender in SWAPO’s camps to memorialisation, and from international solidarity to aspects of the history of Kavango and Caprivi.

In a culturally and politically diverse democracy such as Namibia, there are bound to be different perspectives on the past, and history will be as plural as the history-tellers. The chapters in this book reflect this diversity, and combine to create a remarkable collection of divergent voices, providing alternative perspectives on the past.

Re-viewing Resistance in Namibian History writes ‘forgotten’ people into history; provides a reading of the past that reflects the tensions and competing identities that pervaded ‘the struggle’; and deals with ‘heritage that hurts’. If readings of the past provide the windows through which society addresses the present, then the ways in which the past is packaged will be indicative of the way the present is dealt with.