Ruth First: lessons for a new generation of African scholars

Abstract

The 17th of August 2012 marked the 30th anniversary of the untimely passing of South African sociologist Ruth First. Ruth First the investigative journalist and anti-apartheid activist is well-recognised as a celebrated and honoured figure in South Africa. This paper narrates the often untold story of First, the scholar, and the valuable scholastic contributions that she made. The paper also documents some of the lessons that can be drawn from her scholarship by a new generation of African scholars. As an academic, teacher and scholar First regarded her work as promoting a more just world; her scholarly work was informed and sharpened by her political activism. In allying herself with political movements such as the African National Congress (ANC) in South Africa, the Anti-Apartheid Movement in London and the Mozambique Liberation Front (Frelimo), First developed a kind of rationale for her intellectual labour. Engaging with her work as an intellectual and inserting her intellectual contributions which like those of many African scholars have given way to debates from the global North into curricula would perhaps be the real refutation of the assassin's bomb. This engagement is also crucial because it extends much further than the prominent accolades which take the form of buildings and lectures established in her memory.