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Overview

Dr Anne Heffernan

Associate Professor (Southern African History)


Affiliations
Affiliation
Associate Professor (Southern African History) in the Department of History

Biography

Anne Heffernan is a historian of modern South and Southern Africa. Her work has focused on the role of students and young people in influencing political trends and changes, particularly during apartheid. She is especially interested in protest politics and the development of new forms of political ideology and practice. Her book, Limpopo's Legacy: Students & Democracy in South Africa (Boydell & Brewer, 2019) explores many of these themes from a regional perspective.

Her new research explores the process of segregating university education in South Africa, and is particularly concerned with tracing networks within and between historically black universities in South Africa, and situating these within wider global networks. This work has been supported by a Visiting Research Fellowship with the University of Glasgow Library. Dr Heffernan is also part of the Histories of Universities in South Africa Research Project (based at the University of Free State, South Africa), and is a Research Associate with the History Workshop at the University of the Witwatersrand.  

Dr Heffernan welcomes applications and interest from postgraduate students interested in researching the history of South and Southern African politics, education, social and political movements, youth movements and other related topics.

Research interests

  • Black Consciousness
  • Protest
  • South African history
  • Youth & Student politics

Publications

Authored book

Chapter in book

  • Ideas and Political Mobilization in Africa
    Heffernan, A. (2019). Ideas and Political Mobilization in Africa. In Oxford research encyclopedia of politics.. Oxford University Press. https://doi.org/10.1093/acrefore/9780190228637.013.1353
  • The University of the North, a regional and national centre of activism
    Heffernan, A. (2016). The University of the North, a regional and national centre of activism. In A. Heffernan & N. Nieftagodien (Eds.), Students must rise : youth struggle in South Africa before and beyond Soweto ’76. (pp. 45-54). Wits University Press. https://doi.org/10.18772/22016069193.13

Edited book

Journal Article

Supervision students