The Place of 'The Local' in History Workshop's Local History

This article discusses the evolution of the History Workshop (HW)'s engagement with local history from the late 1970s to the present. It reflects on the articulation between local history and social history, which collectively defined much of the HW's theory and practice. The proliferation in local histories was associated in the 1980s with the mounting anti-apartheid movement, especially in black working-class localities, which augmented the emancipatory impulses in the production of this kind of history. Although the triennial HW conferences during this period debated important questions related to the character of local communities and the contested meanings of 'the local', it is argued here that the HW did not systematically engage the emerging theoretical discussions on the production of space and place. Consequently, histories of 'the local' largely did not give appropriate attention to the importance of place. The final part of this article suggests that the resurgence in local history over the past few years, which has arguably been inspired by global and local protest movements, offers the HW an opportunity seriously to address theoretical questions about space, place and the local.