Overview
- Focuses on the work of prominent South African geologist Alex Du Toit
- Contextualises Du Toit’s work within a formative period of South African science and a period of ideological struggles over space, both nationally and internationally
- Traces the history of continental drift and the divisions caused by this theory within geology
Part of the book series: Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies (CIPCSS)
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Table of contents (12 chapters)
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Front Matter
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Back Matter
Keywords
About this book
This book examines the work of prominent South African geologist Alex Du Toit as a means of understanding the debate around continental drift both in segregation-era South Africa and internationally. It contextualises Du Toit’s work within a particularly formative period of South African science, from the paleoanthropological discoveries that sparked debates about the origins of humankind to Jan Smuts’ own theory of holism. Beyond South African scientific discoveries, the book sets Du Toit’s work against a backdrop of ideological struggles over space, both domestically in terms of segregation and nationalism, as well as internationally as South Africa sought to assert its position within the Commonwealth. These debates were embodied by Du Toit’s work on the theory of continental drift, which put Africa – and South Africa – at the centre geologically and geographically.
The author also focuses on the divisions in geology caused by drift theory, tracing the vigorous intellectual debate and dissent indicative of the ideological milieu within which scientific thought is constructed. It traces the history of continental drift from its inception in the nineteenth century and later work of Alfred Wegener, which was both elaborated upon and substantiated by Du Toit. The study further focuses on Du Toit’s research on continental drift in South African and South America, and the geological, fossil and climatological evidence used to bolster this theory.
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Authors and Affiliations
About the author
Suryakanthie Chetty is Senior Lecturer in History at Stellenbosch University, South Africa. Her current research interests are in the history of science, specifically geology. She has published in Historia, the African Historical Review, Kronos: South African Histories, the Journal of Natal and Zulu History and the South African Historical Journal.
Bibliographic Information
Book Title: ‘Africa Forms the Key’
Book Subtitle: Alex Du Toit and the History of Continental Drift
Authors: Suryakanthie Chetty
Series Title: Cambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-52711-2
Publisher: Palgrave Macmillan Cham
eBook Packages: History, History (R0)
Copyright Information: The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021
Hardcover ISBN: 978-3-030-52710-5Published: 05 January 2021
Softcover ISBN: 978-3-030-52713-6Published: 06 January 2022
eBook ISBN: 978-3-030-52711-2Published: 04 January 2021
Series ISSN: 2635-1633
Series E-ISSN: 2635-1641
Edition Number: 1
Number of Pages: XI, 271
Number of Illustrations: 6 b/w illustrations
Topics: History of Science, History of Sub-Saharan Africa, Imperialism and Colonialism, Intellectual Studies