Prof.Dr. Jan-Bart Gewald
| Prof.Dr. Jan-Bart Gewald | |
|---|---|
 File:ASC Leiden - Professor Jan-Bart Gewald in the new library, August 2024.jpg | |
| Born | 12 January 1963 The Hague |
| 🎓 Alma mater | University of Amsterdam and University of Perugia |
| 💼 Occupation | Historian, researcher, author |
| Notable work | Herero Heroes: A Socio Political History of the Herero of Namibia, 1890–1923 (‘Herero Heroes: A Socio Political History of the Herero of Namibia, 1890–1923 ') |
Early Life and Education
Born in 1963 in the Netherlands, Jan Bart Gewald was raised across in Zimbabwe, DR Congo, Botswana, and Namibia, offering him a diverse early exposure to southern African societies.[1][2] He received his BA in African History and African Political Studies from Rhodes University in Makhanda (formerly Grahamstown), South Africa, in 1986 .[3][4][5][6] He earned his Masters in History from Leiden University in 1990, with exchange study periods at Cologne University and the University of Ghana, Legon [5][3] After extensive archival and field research in southern Africa and Europe, Gewald completed his PhD in History at Leiden University in 1996, supervised by Professors Henk Wesseling and Robert Ross.[3][5]
Academic Career and Positions
He held postdoctoral positions including involvement with Germany’s SFB 389 and Amsterdam’s International Institute of Social History (IISH), as well as research residencies in Niger, Eritrea, and Botswana.[7] In 2003, Gewald became a full-time researcher at the African Studies Centre Leiden (ASCL).[5][8][9] On 1 September 2013, he was appointed Professor of Southern African History at Leiden University’s Institute of History, in conjunction with the ASCL.[8][5] His title evolved to Professor of African History in 2017, at the newly constituted interfaculty African Studies Centre Leiden, where he also served as Director from 2017 to 2021. [5][3]
Research Focus and Projects
Gewald’s research spans socio-cultural and environmental history of southern Africa, with emphasis on the intersections of technology, society, and historical agency. [5] He has led or contributed to major projects such as: “ICE in Africa: the Relationship between People and the Internal Combustion Engine” (NWO Vidi, 2005–2010).[5][8] “From Muskets to Nokias: Technology, Consumption and Social Change in Central Africa from Pre Colonial Times to the Present”, co-led with Robert Ross under NWO’s open competition. [5][8] Gewald is currently leading the “Boom to Dust: The Environmental History of Three Industrial Mining Centres in Southern Africa, 1870–2020” project, funded by an NWO Open Competition grant in 2024. This initiative investigates the multi species impact of mining in South Africa, Zambia, and Namibia.[10] He also received a Fellowship in the Second Semester of 2022 from the Stellenbosch Institute for Advanced Study (STIAS) for his work on the multispecies environmental history of Kimberley, South Africa. [5]
Key Publications
Monographs:
Books
- Herero Heroes: A Socio Political History of the Herero of Namibia, 1890–1923, Jan-Bart Gewald, 1999, Oxford: James Currey; Cape Town: David Philip; Athens OH, Ohio University Press, ISBN 9780821412572 Search this book on
.
- “We Thought We Would Be Free”: Socio Cultural Aspects of Herero History in Namibia 1920–1940, Jan-Bart Gewald, 2000, Cologne, Rüdiger Köppe Verlag, ISBN 9783896450579 Search this book on .
- “"Forged in the Great War: People, Transport, and Labour, the Establishment of Colonial Rule in Zambia, 1890 1920", Jan-Bart Gewald, 2015, Leiden, African Studies Centre, ISBN 9789054481478 Parameter error in {{ISBN}}: Invalid ISBN. Search this book on .
Edited Volumes (selected):
- “"Living the End of Empire: Politics and Society in Late Colonial Zambia ", Jan-Bart Gewald, 2011, Leiden, Boston, Brill, ISBN 9789004209862 Search this book on .
- “"The Speed of Change: Motor Vehicles and People in Africa, 1890–2000", Jan-Bart Gewald, 2009, Leiden, Boston, Brill, ISBN 9789004177352 Search this book on .
- “"One Zambia, Many Histories: Towards a History of Post Colonial Zambia ", Jan-Bart Gewald, 2008, Leiden, Boston, Brill, ISBN 9789004165946 Search this book on .
- “"Transforming Innovations in Africa: Explorative Studies on Appropriation in African Societies", Jan-Bart Gewald et al., 2012, Leiden, Boston, Brill, ISBN 9004245235 Search this book on .
Perspectives and Teaching
Gewald advocates a holistic teaching approach — for instance, in his course “Africa: from Zero to Now”, which spans Africa’s geological origins to present-day developments. [1] He emphasizes African agency, cautioning against Eurocentric narratives and supporting the inclusion of multicultural African perspectives in African Studies. [1]
Academia and Leadership
Gewald chaired the Researchers’ Assembly of ASCL post its integration into Leiden University in 2016. [8] As ASCL Director (2017–2021), he helped steer its interfaculty merger, academic strategy, and partnerships.[8][3]
Recent Engagements
In June 2025, Gewald will deliver the keynote lecture at the HASA Biennial Conference in Kimberley titled “Kimberley my nou: The Complex Historiography of a Mining Town”, and present on firearms and labor in the diamond mines of South Africa (1865–1900).[11]
Summary
Professor Dr. Jan Bart Gewald is a distinguished socio-cultural and environmental historian specializing in southern African history. With a career rooted in extensive cross-regional upbringing and academic training, strongly interdisciplinary research, and institutional leadership at Leiden University, he has contributed significantly to how African histories—and their intersections with technology, environment, and agency—are understood. His extensive publication record, project leadership, teaching ethos, and future-oriented scholarship (particularly in environmental and multispecies histories) all mark him as a notable figure in contemporary African Studies.
Sources
Category:1963 births Category:Living people Category:Dutch historians Category:21st-century Dutch historians Category:Dutch writers Category:Dutch non-fiction writers Category:21st-century Dutch non-fiction writers Category:21st-century Dutch male writers Category: Rhodes University alumni
This article "Jan-Bart Gewald" is from Wikipedia. The list of its authors can be seen in its historical and/or the page Edithistory:Jan-Bart Gewald. Articles copied from Draft Namespace on Wikipedia could be seen on the Draft Namespace of Wikipedia and not main one.
- ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedmeetnew - ↑ Veldkamp, Fenneken. "Meet the new director: Jan-Bart Gewald". African Studies Centre Leiden.
- ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 3.4 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namednew director - ↑ University, Leiden. "Jan-Bart Gewald new director of Leiden's African Studies Centre". Leiden University.
- ↑ 5.00 5.01 5.02 5.03 5.04 5.05 5.06 5.07 5.08 5.09 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedpeople - ↑ University, Leiden. "People/Organisation: Jan-Bart Gewald". Leiden University.
- ↑ University, Leiden. "Jan-Bart Gewald, Professor of History". Leiden University.
- ↑ 8.0 8.1 8.2 8.3 8.4 8.5 Cite error: Invalid
<ref>tag; no text was provided for refs namedappointed - ↑ University, Leiden. "Jan-Bart Gewald appointed as professor of Southern African History". Leiden University.
- ↑ University, Leiden. "Jan-Bart Gewald receives NWO Open Competition grant". African Studies Centre Leiden.
- ↑ University, Sol Plaatje. "Heritage, History and Historiography Event". Sol Plaatje University.
