This book explores the profound intellectual legacy of the late Ntongela Masilela, a groundbreaking literary historian whose analytical significance surged following his death in 2020. Part biography and part scholarly dialogue, the book examines Masilela's extensive unpublished online archive alongside his published works and lectures, contextualisng his revolutionary identification of the New African Movement (1880s-1960s).
The volume illuminates how Masilela documented the critical contributions of New African intellectuals and litterateurs who navigated early modernity during the formation of the Union of South Africa in 1910 and thereafter. By analysing Masilela's unfinished historical project and interpretive framework, the volume reveals his far-reaching multidisciplinary influence across literature, film studies, African studies, and sociology.
Opening with personal reflections that showcase the extraordinary empathetic relationships Masilela cultivated with each editor, this essential work brings overdue attention to a scholar whose insights continue to reshape our understanding of South African cultural and intellectual history. It serves as an essential resource for students and researchers of African studies, literary criticism, cultural theory, and decolonial thought.
Most chapters in this volume were originally published in Critical Arts: South-North Cultural and Media Studies and are presented here with a new Preface and personal reflections from the editors.