Streekgeskiedenis van die historikus.

Abstract

• Opsomming: Hoewel plaaslike en streekgeskiedenis die onderbou van ʼn integrale nasionale geskiedenis is, het dit as sodanig nog nie tot sy reg gekom in die Suid-Afrikaanse geskiedskrywing nie. Omdat hierdie leemte aangevoel is, is die Afdeling Streekgeskiedenis gestig om aandag daaraan te gee. Dringende vrae wat die aandag opgeëis het, het onder meer gehandel oor die wese, die terrein en die metodiek van streekhistoriese navorsing. In aansluiting hierby het die Afdeling Streekgeskiedenis daartoe oorgegaan om die RSA in streke te verdeel aan die hand van administratiewe, historiese en sosio-ekonomiese oorweginge wat as basis sou dien vir die Afdeling se navorsingsprogram. Twee projekte is reeds in hierdie program wat ʼn historiese voorstudie en bronneverkenning van al die streke van die RSA in die vooruitsig stel, geïnisieer, naamlik die studies oor die Oos-Vrystaatse Grensgordel en die Oos-Transvaalse Hoëveld. Met die doel om streekhistoriese navorsing te koördineer, belangstelling te kweek en tussentydse navorsingsresultate te publiseer, is die tydskrif Contree opgerig.

• Summary: Although local and regional history forms the basis for a composite national history, it did not come into its own in South African historiography until the Section for Regional History gave its attention to it. Some of the pressing issues that needed examination related to the substance, the field and the method of regional historical research. With these in mind the Section for Regional History divided the RSA into administrative, historical and socioeconomic Regions, on which the Section's research programme was to be based. In this programme, whose object is to make a preliminary historical study and to explore the regional sources of all the regions of the RSA, two projects are under way, i.e. the Eastern Free State Border Area and the Eastern Transvaal Highveld. In order to coordinate regional historical research, to promote interest in it and to create publication facilities for interim research results, the journal Contree was established.