Renaissances, African and modern: Gandhi as a resource?
Journal Article
2009
Permanent link to this Item
Authors
Journal Title
Historia: Journal of the Historical Association of South Africa
Link to Journal
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
Publisher
University of Cape Town
Department
Faculty
License
Series
Abstract
The purpose of this article is to understand the significance of Gandhi for the discussion about the African Renaissance. The article begins with the argument that the critical process of self-reflection begun in India about its past as a resource for imagining its future is central to any possibility of a renaissance in Africa. It draws on Gandhi in terms of what an examination of his central ideas might tell us about a future post-colonial Africa. Two of these ideas relate to the role of women in society and the attendant impact this view has on dominant masculinist tropes found in colonial historiography. Using these, the article looks at Gandhi not for the political and strategic choices he makes, but for understanding the kind of ethical identity or, the humanness which Gandhi's life represents.
Description
Reference:
Soudien, C. (2009). Renaissances, African and Modern: Gandhi as a resource?: Gandhi and Indian Nationalism in South Africa. Historia, 54(1), 92-111.