Mongameli Mabona

His Life and Work
Erscheinungsjahr 2020
ISBN: 978-94-6270-255-4
Verlag: Leuven University Press

Buch, Englisch, 202 Seiten, Format (B × H): 157 mm x 233 mm, Gewicht: 321 g

The life and work of a remarkably versatile and
pioneering South African thinker
Mongameli Anthony Mabona
(1929) is a singular South African scholar with an exceptional life path. Yet, he is a wrongly forgotten figure today. British imperialism and apartheid shaped the world into which he
was born and, to a large extent, these powers carved out his destiny for him.
Nevertheless, a curious set of coincidences enabled him to obtain a tertiary
education as a priest, to pursue his doctoral studies in Italy and to befriend
Alioune Diop. He is one of the first published philosophers of Anglophone
Africa and holds doctorates in theology and anthropology. His opposition to
institutionalized racism – an opposition which included his co-authoring the
1970 “Black Priests’ Manifesto” – eventually led to his exile. This book is the first study of any kind devoted to Mabona. It documents his life and offers a synoptic reading of his
scholarly and poetic work.

Ebook available in Open Access.
This publication is GPRC-labeled (Guaranteed Peer-Reviewed Content).

Autoren/Hrsg.

Wolff, Ernst

Fachgebiete

• Geisteswissenschaften Geschichtswissenschaft Geschichtliche Themen Kolonialgeschichte, Geschichte des Imperialismus
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Nicht-Westliche Philosophie Afrikanische Philosophie
• Geisteswissenschaften Philosophie Geschichte der Westlichen Philosophie

Inhaltsverzeichnis

Preface
PART 1 - LIFE
1. Xhosaland: A history of confrontations 1. A snapshot of Xhosa life in the mid eighteenth century 2. Accelerated change: A typology of mounting conflict 3. A changing region in a changing world 3.1 Spread of Boers and British expansion 3.2 British domination and its effects on Xhosaland and beyond 3.3 Changes from the Xhosaland perspective 3.4 Changes from the broader South African perspective
2. (Dis)Union: The world of Mabona’s youth (1910 to the mid 1950s) 1. International and Union politics 2. The economy 3. Separation – reserves – labour 4. Transkei: Culture, religion, education 5. Resistance nationally and in the Transkei
3. Enter Mongameli 1. Birth and first years 2. Early childhood in Qombolo 3. Life in Zigudu – Catholic background (1)
4. Ixopo – Catholic background (2) 5. Pevensey – Catholic background (3) 6. Early priesthood
4. Italy 1. Italian society after World War II 2. Everyday life in Rome 3. Mabona, the student and researcher 4. Further intellectual work 5. Second Congress of Black Writers and Artists: Alioune Diop and Présence Africaine
Excursion: The journal Présence Africaine 6. Preparing for Vatican II
5. Back home? Apartheid, St. Peter’s, SPOBA 1. Apartheid 2. Apartheid education 3. The South African economy in the 1960s 4. Resistance 4.1 The ANC and the PAC 5. Life back in South Africa 5.1 Lumko 5.2 Independent ethnographic studies 5.3 Poetry 5.4 Lecturer at St. Peter’s in Hammanskraal
6. London and Switzerland: Politics or anthropology? 1. SOAS 2. The Azanian People’s Liberation Front and other politics 3. Family life 4. Continued research
PART 2 – WORK 1. Lux: The first impetus 2. Présence Africaine: Writing for a wide public 3. “The depths of African philosophy” and The outlines of African philosophy 3.1 General appraisal: South Africa’s first African philosopher? 14. Dissertatio ad lauream in Facultate Juris Canonici apud PontificiamUniversitatem Urbanianam 5. “The nuclear blast of spring”: Poetry 6. Writings of a South African priest 7. Anthropology and religion 8. Interlude: The publication spurt of 1996 9. Diviners and prophets: The last, incomplete, work 9.1 Final appraisal
Timeline Mabona primary bibliography Notes on the sources for interviews and biography References

Über Autor(innen)

Wolff, Ernst
Ernst Wolff is professor of philosophy at the Institute of Philosophy, KU Leuven.