Die begrip "people's history" en die betekenis en toepassing daarvan in die Suid-Afrikaanse konteks
Abstract
English: People's history as part of radical social history is part of a movement known as the
"new history". The "new history" is a reaction against traditional historical writing that
deals particularly with the political aspects of the past and the lives of so called
important persons. In reaction to traditional historical writing, people's history deals
with the subjective life experience of ordinary people in the past. Who and what the
ordinary people are, depends on the country and context in which people's history
is written, but includes groups like workers, women and blacks. Ordinary people are
usually those who have either little power or no power and who are frequently being
exploited or oppressed. People's history is a rather vague term, but this vagueness
brings about freedom in the writing of history.
Influences on the development of "people's history" include: the rise of the mass
political movements especially sine the nineteenth century, radical-liberal and Fabian
interest in the livelihood of ordinary people, and the French "Annales"-school's
emphasis on total history. In spite of influences from many countries, people's
history developed to its full potential in Britain, under the guidance of Marxist inspired
historians. From 1966 with the establishment of the first History Workshop in Britain,
people's history spread to countries like the USA, Germany, where "people's history"
is called "Alltagsgeschicte", and to South Africa. In all of these countries people's
history shows a distinctive character.
A debate over the role of structuralism versus human agency divided Marxist
historians in various countries into two groups. The structuralists were of the opinion
that the real life experience of ordinary people in the past is of no importance to the
study of history. People's history accuse structuralists of placing too much emphasis
on abstract impersonal factors. Writers of people's history advocate an empirical
method through which human agency will be acknowledged.
In South Africa, people's history developed, in the late seventies, as on the one side
a reaction against structuralist radical history and on the other side as a reaction
against Liberal and Afrikanernationalist history writing. The revolutionary climate of
the eighties helped to establish "people's history as a historiographical tradition in
South Africa.
People's history is of the opinion that historians are always influenced by their
personal ideological beliefs and value systems and will therefore reflect wittingly or
unwittingly on their work. The emancipation of ordinary people from exploitation and
oppression is a political aim to which "people's history" would like to make a
deliberate contribution. Presentism is often the result of people's history's
involvement with contemporary political issues.
Certain postmodernist tendencies like the rejection of the grand narratives and the
modernization theory as well as the need to decentralise history, are all part of
people's history. Particularly the rejection of the base-superstructure model, through
the prominence given to n-on-class factors such as culture, ideology et cetera, is a
rejection by people's history of rigid Marxism.
Except for people's history's political motives within the broader society, it also aims
at democratising the subject of History and its writing. The history workshops,
attempts to decentralise knowledge of the past and the encouragement of different
groups to write people's history, is an important contribution towards the
democratisation of History.
Creativity and imagination, for instance the use of oral history, is necessary for
people's historians to discover sources on the past of ordinary people. People's
history makes use of qualitative rather than quantitative sources and methods to
show best what role the ordinary people played in the past.
In essence people's history is a rejection of the idea of objectivity, and therefore
rather advocates radical plurality in history as a starting point for a discourse on the
complexity of the human past. Afrikaans: "People's history" as deel van radikale sosiale geskiedskrywing vorm deel van 'n
beweging bekend as die "nuwe geskiedenis". Die "nuwe geskiedenis" is 'n reaksie
teen tradisionele geskiedskrywing wat veral handel oor die politieke aspekte van die
verlede en die lewe van sogenaamde belangrike persone. In reaksie teen
tradisionele geskiedskrywing, handel "people's history" oor die subjektiewe lewens
van die gewone mens in die verlede. Wie en wat gewone mense is hang af van die
land en konteks waarin "people's history" geskryf word, maar sluit onder andere
groepe soos werkers, vroue en swartes in. Gewone mense is gewoonlik diegene
wat weinig of geen mag het nie en dikwels uitgebuit of onderdruk word. "People's
history" is 'n betreklike vae begrip maar hierdie vaagheid bied juis vryheid in hierdie
geskiedskrywing.
Invloede op die ontwikkeling van "people's history" is onder andere: die opkoms van
die politieke massa bewegings veral sedert die negentiende eeu, radikaal-liberale
en Fabiaanse belangstelling in die lewensomstandighede van gewone mense en die
Franse "Annales"-skool se klem op In totale geskiedenis. Ten spyte van invloede uit
vele lande het "people's history" tot sy volle potensiaal in Brittanje onder leiding van
Marxisties geïnspireerde historici ontwikkel. Vanaf 1966 met die totstandkoming van
die eerste geskiedeniswerkswinkel in Brittanje, het "people's history" versprei na
lande soos die VSA, Duitsland - waar "Alltagsgeschicte" die ekwivalent van "people's
history" is, en na Suid-Afrika. In al hierdie lande het "people's history" In eiesoortige
ontwikkeling getoon.
'n Debat oor die rol van strukturalisme versus menslike agentskap het die
Marxistiese historici in verskeie lande in twee groepe geskeur. Die struktruraliste
was van mening dat die ware lewenservaringe van gewone mense in die verlede
onbelangrik is vir die bestudering van die verlede. "People's history" beskuldig die
strukturaliste daarvan dat hulle te veel klem op abstrakte onpersoonlike faktore
plaas. Beoefenaars van "people's history" bepleit 'n empiriese benadering waardeur
menslike agentskap erken word.
In Suid-Afrika het "people's history" in die laat sewentigerjare ontwikkel enersyds in
reaksie teen strukturalistiese radikale geskiedskrywing en andersyds teen liberale en
Afrikanernasionalistiese geskiedskrywing. Die tagtigerjare se rewolusionêre
klimaat het "people's history" in Suid-Afrika help vestig.
"People's history" is van mening dat historici altyd deur hulle persoonlike ideologiese
oortuigings en waardestelsels beïnvloed word en dit sodanig bewustelik of
onbewustelik in hulle werk reflekteer. Emansipasie van die gewone mens teen
uitbuiting en onderdrukking is 'n politieke doelwit waartoe "people's history" in hulle
werke 'n bewuste bydrae willewer. Presentisme is dikwels die gevolg van "people's
history" se betrokkenheid by kontemporêre politieke kwessies.
Bepaalde postmodernistiese tendense soos die verwerping van die metanarratief en
die rnoderniserinqsteorie asook die behoefte om geskiedenis te desentraliseer is
deel van "people's history". Veral die verwerping van die basis-superstruktuur
model, deur prominensie aan nie-klasfaktore soos kultuur, ideologie, ensovoorts te
verleen, is 'n verwerping van rigiede Marxisme deur "people's history".
Behalwe dat "people's history" politieke motiewe in breër sarnelewinqsverband het,
stel "people's history" sigself ook ten doel om die vak Geskiedenis en die beoefening
daarvan te demokratiseer. Die geskiedeniswerkswinkels, pogings tot desentralisasie
van kennis oor die verlede en die aanmoediging van verskillende groepe om
"people's history" te skryf, lewer 'n belangrike bydrae tot die demokratisering van
Geskiedenis.
Kreatiwiteit en verbeeldingrykheid, soos die gebruik van mondelinge geskiedenis, is
'n vereiste vir "people's"-historici om bronne oor die verlede van gewone mense op
te spoor. "People's history" maak veral van kwalitatiewe eerder as kwantitatiewe
bronne en metodes gebruik om die rol wat gewone mense in die verlede gespeel het,
die duidelikste na vore te bring.
"People's history" is in wese 'n verwerping van die gedagte van objektiwiteit, maar
bepleit veel eerder radikale pluraliteit in geskiedskrywing as 'n vertrekpunt vir 'n
diskoers oor die komplekse menslike verlede.