Editorial, Vol 50 No 1

Abstract

This year marks the 50th anniversary of the Southern Journal for Contemporary History, previously known as the Journal for Contemporary History (Joernaal vir Eietydse Geskiedenis) until 2019. As noted by André Wessels in a detailed overview of the journal’s history for its 40th anniversary, in its first 40 years of existence, the journal primarily dealt with topics related to twentieth-century history or political science, and was published in English and Afrikaans (seldomly also in German and Dutch).1 Until the mid-2010s, there was, in practice, a strong focus on Southern African topics, with South African history and politics in particular gaining prominence amongst the studies published by the journal. In a bid to reach broader audiences and widen the scientific scope of the journal, by 2015, former Editor-in- Chief, Pieter Duvenage, redefined the journal as one that, “publishes academically outstanding articles of a contemporary historical or political nature in both English and Afrikaans.