Biko's edge: reimagining black critique

Abstract

Tendayi Sithole shows just how original and radical Steve Biko's (1946–1977) thinking really was.

Sithole's Black Critique approach highlights how Biko's work tears apart comfortable liberal assumptions and forces us to think in new ways, to push boundaries and question what we take for granted. A focus of his analysis is what he calls Biko's generativity — how the South African activist's ideas keep sparking fresh insights and fresh challenges to conventional wisdom.

Examining Biko's edgy ideas of power and resistance, Sithole provides new insights into struggles in South Africa over land ownership, media control, shared resources, and even the historical record. Tendayi Sithole is professor of political science at the University of South Africa.