On 8 January 2012 the African National Congress (ANC) of South Africa, the oldest African nationalist organisation on the continent, celebrated its one hundredth anniversary. This historic event has generated significant public debate within both the ANC and South African society at large. There is no better time to critically reflect on the ANC’s historical trajectory and struggle against colonialism and apartheid than in its centennial year.
One Hundred Years of the ANC is a collection of new work by renowned South African and international scholars. Covering a broad chronological and geographical spectrum and using a diverse range of sources, the contributors build upon but also extend the historiography of the ANC by tapping into marginal spaces in ANC history.
By moving away from the celebratory mode that has characterised much of the contemporary discussions on the centenary, the contributors suggest that the relationship between the histories of earlier struggles and the present needs to be rethought in more complex terms. Collectively, the book chapters challenge hegemonic narratives that have become an established part of South Africa’s national discourse since 1994. By opening up debate around controversial or obscured aspects of the ANC’s century-long history, One hundred years of the ANC sets out an agenda for future research.
The book is directed at a wide readership with an interest in understanding the historical roots of South Africa’s current politics will find this volume informative.

FIRST KEYNOTE ADDRESS: Fragmentation and Cohesion in the ANC: The First 70 Years Philip Bonner
SECOND KEYNOTE ADDRESS: A Continuing Search for Identity: Carrying the Burden of History Joel Netshitenzhe
CHAPTER ONE: One Hundred Years of the ANC: Debating Struggle History After Apartheid Jon Soske, Arianna Lissoni and Natasha Erlank
CHAPTER TWO: Religion And Resistance In Natal, 1900–1910 Norman Etherington
CHAPTER THREE: Christianity and African Nationalism in South Africa in the First Half of the Twentieth Century Natasha Erlank
CHAPTER FOUR: Charlotte Maxeke: A Celebrated and Neglected Figure in History Thozama April
CHAPTER FIVE: Imagining the Patriotic Worker: The Idea of ‘Decent Work’ in the ANC’s Political Discourse Franco Barchiesi
CHAPTER SIX: Popular Movements, Contentious Spaces and the ANC, 1943–1956 Noor Nieftagodien
CHAPTER SEVEN: Unravelling the 1947 ‘Doctors’ Pact’: Race, Metonymy and the Evasions of Nationalist History Jon Soske
CHAPTER EIGHT: The Politics of Language and Chief Albert Luthuli’s funeral, 30 July 1967 Liz Gunner
CHAPTER NINE: Robben Island University Revisited Crain Soudien
CHAPTER TEN: Shishita: A Crisis in the ANC in Exile in Zambia, 1980–811 Hugh Macmillan
CHAPTER ELEVEN: Comrade Mzwai Vladimir Shubin
CHAPTER TWELVE: Revisiting Sekhukhuneland: Trajectories of Former UDF Activists in Post-Apartheid South Africa Ineke van Kessel
CHAPTER THIRTEEN: Regeneration of ANC Political Power, from the 1994 Electoral Victory to the 2012 Centenary Susan Booysen
CHAPTER FOURTEEN: The ANC: Party Vanguard of the Black Middle Class? Roger Southall
CHAPTER FIFTEEN: Globalisation, Recolonisation and the Paradox of Liberation in Southern Africa   John Saul

Arianna Lissoni obtained her BA and PhD in History from the School of Oriental and African Studies in London. She is currently a Postdoctoral Fellow at North-West University, Mafikeng. Jon Soske is Assistant Professor of Modern African History in the Department of History and Classical Studies at McGill University, Quebec. From 2009 to 2011, he was a Postdoctoral Fellow at the Centre for Indian Studies in Africa (CISA) and the Wits Institute for Social and Economic Research (WISER), both based at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. His most recent publication is Boundaries of Diaspora: African Nationalism and the Indian Diaspora in 20th Century South Africa. Natasha Erlank trained as an historian at the University of Cape Town. She has a doctorate from Cambridge University. Noor Nieftagodien is the Deputy Chair of the History Workshop and Senior Lecturer in the History Department at the University of the Witwatersrand, Johannesburg. Omar Badsha is a self-taught, award-wining artist and photographer. He is the founder and Director of South African History Online, a website and publishing venture on South African history and culture.