One of the biggest challenges in the study of history is the unreliable nature of traditional archival sources which omit histories of marginalised groups. This book makes the case that quantitative history offers a way to fill these gaps in the archive.
Showcasing 13 case studies from the South African past, it applies quantitative sources, tools and methods to social histories from below to uncover the experiences of unchartered peoples. Examining the occupations of slaves, victims of the Spanish flu, health of schoolchildren and more, it shows how quantitative tools can be particularly powerful in regions where historical records are preserved, but questions of bias and prejudice pervade. Applying methods such as GIS mapping, network analysis and algorithmic matching techniques it explores histories of indigenous peoples, women, enslaved peoples and other groups marginalised in South African history.
Connecting quantitative sources and new forms of data interpretation with a narrative social history, this book offers a fresh approach to quantitative methods and shows how they can be used to achieve a more complete picture of the past.
Muu info
A collection that applies quantitative methods to South African histories from below to demonstrate their value in uncovering the experiences of marginalised people.
List of Figures
Foreword, Robert Ross
Preface
1. Quantitative History and Uncharted People, Johan Fourie (Stellenbosch
University, South Africa)
2. Bridal Pregnancy in the Mother City, 19001960, Laura Richardson
(University of Cambridge, UK) and Jan Kok (Nijmegen University, The
Netherlands)
3. Sex Ratios and Girl Preference in the Cape, 18942011, Johan Fourie
(Stellenbosch University, South Africa) and Francisco Marco-Gracia
(University of Zaragoza, Spain)
4. Khoe Households in Swellendam, 1825, Calumet Links (Stellenbosch
University, South Africa)
5. Race Reclassification in Cape Town, 19501984, Brittany Chalmers
(Stellenbosch University, South Africa), Johan Fourie (Stellenbosch
University, South Africa) and Kris Inwood (Guelph University, Canada)
6. Advertising the Enslaved for Sale: A Quantitative Approach to the
Zuid-Afrikaan, 18301834, Wouter Raaijmakers (Radboud University, The
Netherlands) and Kate Ekama (Stellenbosch University, South Africa)
7. Domestic Service in Cape Town Before the Second World War, Amy
Rommelspacher (Stellenbosch University, South Africa)
8. Female Investors at the Cape, 18921902, Lloyd Maphosa (Stellenbosch
University, South Africa) and Edward Kerby (Stellenbosch University, South
Africa)
9. Black Africans in Cape Town, 1890-1939, Nobungcwele Mbem (Stellenbosch
University, South Africa) and Michiel de Haas (Wageningen University, The
Netherlands)
10. Political Innovation in African Nationalist Organisations, 18801890,
Jonathan Schoots (University of Chicago, USA)
11. Petitions to the Cape Parliament, 1854-1909, Kara Dimitruk (Swarthmore
College, USA) and Kelsey Lemon (Stellenbosch University, South Africa)
12. Death During the Influenza of 1918, Jonathan Jayes (Lund University,
Sweden) and Johan Fourie (Stellenbosch University, South Africa)
13. Quantitative History in Practice, Johan Fourie (Stellenbosch University,
South Africa)
Johan Fourie is Professor of Economic History at Stellenbosch University, South Africa where he teaches quantitative and economic history. He is the principal investigator of the Andrew W. Mellon Foundation-funded Biography of an Uncharted People project.
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