A history of race in Muslim West Africa, 1600–1960

Abstract

workers, some of whose stories are heart-wrenching. “Places”, Rodman (1992, 641) reminds us, “have multiple meanings that are constructed spatially” and calls for the need to appreciate such places, not simply as sites of research but as places that hold profound physical, emotional, and experiential realities for their inhabitants. Significantly, places are experienced differently by individuals even when they share the same space. Ginsburg’s narrative bears out this point to my satisfaction. At Home with Apartheid is significant in that it skilfully exposes the apartheid “backyard” to the world – reminding us that what we see may not always be what we get. This book is a worthy addition to the growing attempts by historians, sociologists and anthropologists to increase the tempo in the voices of those who occupied the lowest rungs of society during the great tragedy that was apartheid. This book is highly recommended to scholars interested in the history of apartheid and domestic service in South Africa, as well as to individuals committed to the pursuit of social justice the world over.