Carolyn Hamilton is a South African

anthropologist An anthropologist is a person engaged in the practice of anthropology. Anthropology is the study of aspects of humans within past and present societies. Social anthropology, cultural anthropology and philosophical anthropology study the norms and ...

and historian who is a specialist in the history and uses of archives. She is National Research Foundation of South Africa chair in archive and public culture at the

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) ( af, Universiteit van Kaapstad, xh, Yunibesithi ya yaseKapa) is a public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university statu ...

Career

Hamilton was a professor of anthropology at the University of Witwatersrand. She was a member of the board of the

South African History Archive The South African History Archive Trust, better known as SAHA, is an independent archive dedicated to documenting, supporting and promoting greater awareness of past and contemporary struggles for justice through archival practice, outreach, and ...

and the inaugural Council of

Robben Island Robben Island ( af, Robbeneiland) is an island in Table Bay, 6.9 kilometres (4.3 mi) west of the coast of Bloubergstrand, north of Cape Town, South Africa. It takes its name from the Dutch word for seals (''robben''), hence the Dutch/Afrik ...

. She was a founder member of the Gay and Lesbian Archive. She is a former speech-writer for

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela (; ; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist who served as the President of South Africa, first president of South Africa from 1994 to 1 ...

and joined the Nelson Mandela Foundation's board of trustees in 2015. Currently, Hamilton is National Research Foundation of South Africa chair in archive and public culture at the University of Cape Town.

Research

Hamilton's research interests lie in the use of archives following graduate work she did in the 1980s that alerted her to issues relating to the reliability, completeness and objectivity of archival sources in South Africa.

Writing

Hamilton's 1998 book, ''Terrific majesty: The powers of Shaka Zulu and the limits of invention'', dealt with the

historiography Historiography is the study of the methods of historians in developing history as an academic discipline, and by extension is any body of historical work on a particular subject. The historiography of a specific topic covers how historians ha ...

of a particular episode in South African history. She was the editor, with Bernard K. Mbenga and Robert Rossof, of the first volume of ''

The Cambridge History of South Africa ''The Cambridge History of South Africa'' is a two volume history of South Africa published by Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VI ...

'' (2009).''The Cambridge History of South Africa''.
Cambridge University Press. Retrieved 5 March 2016.

Selected publications

* ''In the tracks of the Swazi past : a historical tour of the Ngwane and Ndwandwe kingdoms / compiled by Michael Westcott for the Swaziland Oral History Project''. Macmillan Boleswa, Manzini, 1992. (Editor) * ''The Mfecane aftermath: Reconstructive debates in South African history''. Witwatersrand University Press, 1995. (Editor) * ''Terrific majesty: The powers of Shaka Zulu and the limits of invention''.

Harvard University Press Harvard University Press (HUP) is a publishing house established on January 13, 1913, as a division of Harvard University, and focused on academic publishing. It is a member of the Association of American University Presses. After the retirem ...

, Cambridge, Mass., 1998. * ''Refiguring the archive''. Springer, Dordrecht, 2002. (Joint editor) * ''The Cambridge History of South Africa Volume 1: From early times to 1885.''

Cambridge University Press Cambridge University Press is the university press of the University of Cambridge. Granted letters patent by Henry VIII of England, King Henry VIII in 1534, it is the oldest university press A university press is an academic publishing hou ...

, Cambridge, 2009. (Editor With Bernard K. Mbenga and Robert Rossof) * ''Uncertain Curature: In and Out of the Archive''. Jacana Media, Johannesburg, 2014. (Editor with Pippa Skotnes)

References

Living people 20th-century South African historians South African anthropologists South African women anthropologists Academic staff of the University of Cape Town Year of birth missing (living people) Academic staff of the University of the Witwatersrand Historians of South Africa Johns Hopkins University alumni University of the Witwatersrand alumni 21st-century South African historians South African women historians {{Anthropologist-stub

Career

Research

Writing

Selected publications

See also

References