Jeff Peires

The view from the Toposcope

Introduction

The view from the toposcope. Discover key revisions to 'The House of Phalo' from its author, correcting historical errors and sharing new insights for the Lower Albany Historical Society. Explore Xhosa history.

Abstract

It is now more than forty years since the publication of my first book, The House of Phalo (1981), during which time I have done a little more research and discovered many more mistakes. A revised edition is in the pipeline (but it’s a very long pipeline), and I greatly appreciate the kind opportunity offered by the Lower Albany Historical Society to air some of my revisions via PowerPoint, which I will now attempt to clarify and substantiate. I append a short Bibliography for readers who would like to investigate further and, rather than lumping everything together into one long and tedious chronological narrative, propose to present you with a sort of highlights package, which you should be able to follow with the assistance of Margaret Snodgrass’s excellent genealogical table.

Review

This paper, titled "The view from the Toposcope," signals a deeply personal and reflective engagement with historical scholarship spanning over four decades. The author, an established figure in the field, revisits their seminal work, *The House of Phalo* (1981), acknowledging the passage of time, the accumulation of new research, and the inevitable discovery of past inaccuracies. Presented initially to the Lower Albany Historical Society via PowerPoint, this piece serves as an insightful "highlights package" of revisions destined for a forthcoming, albeit long-anticipated, new edition. The author's candid admission of previous errors and commitment to correction underscores a valuable scholarly humility and dedication to accuracy. A significant strength of this contribution lies in its demonstration of ongoing scholarly evolution and the dynamic nature of historical interpretation. The author's willingness to openly discuss and disseminate revisions prior to a full publication offers a unique opportunity for immediate engagement with the academic and public spheres. The proposed use of Margaret Snodgrass's genealogical table suggests a structured and accessible approach to conveying complex historical relationships, while the appended bibliography indicates a commitment to guiding readers toward further investigation. This approach promises to enrich understanding and stimulate discussion around a long-standing historical narrative. However, as an abstract for a journal publication, the text functions more as an introduction to a presentation than a concise summary of findings. While it clearly outlines the author's intent to air revisions, the specific nature, scope, and impact of these revisions remain largely undefined. Readers are left to infer the particular historical areas or interpretations that have been significantly altered. Future iterations of this work, particularly for a formal academic publication, would benefit from a more explicit detailing of the key revised arguments, the new evidence supporting them, and their broader implications for the field, moving beyond the descriptive format of a presentation outline to a more analytical summary of historical re-evaluation.

Full Text

Comments

You need to be logged in to post a comment.