Persona

Edwards, Iain

20th century

Iain Edwards is South African historian with scholarly interests in oral history, historiography, and historical methods particularly as concerning life histories, public heritage, and history. In the early 1990s, he led the successful public campaign establishing the Kwa Muhle Museum in Durban and was a member of the African National Congress’ National Commission on Museums, Monuments and Heritage. Widely published, with key works including collaborating with Natoo Babenia, an early Umkhonto we Sizwe cadre and, for sixteen years, imprisoned on Robben, on his memoirs (1995); co-editing with Paul Maylam the first scholarly essays on African life in Durban (1996); editing the seminally important private political papers of Mewa Ramgobin, the long banned and house arrested Gandhian anti-apartheid and pro-democracy activist (2015); and, with Marc Epprecht, Working class homosexuality in South African history (2020) which includes his unique oral history interviews with the Izingqingili zaseMkhumbane. He was an historical expert on legal teams successfully representing previous African and Indian residents of Cato Manor Farm in Land Claims Court cases; was a special advisor for Civil Military Affairs to then Deputy Minister of Defence Ms Nozizwe Madlala-Routledge; and involved in the early stages of developing the historical narrative for the Freedom Park Heritage and Museum development in Pretoria. He has been a faculty member or fellow at universities in South Africa, Australia, Britain and the United States. He is currently researching South Africa’s post-1990 History Wars and related historical issues.