Teaching

South Africa in the Twentieth Century

Race: Difference and Power in the Modern World

Empires and Encounters

Making History

Dissertation

Laura Evans

laura.evans@shu.ac.uk

My research focuses on apartheid-era South Africa. Before joining Sheffield Hallam in 2014, I held research fellowships at the University of the Western Cape and the University of Cape Town. At SHU I teach modern South African, African, colonial and postcolonial history. I am most interested in social history, histories of land and labour, and social movements.

My 2019 book Survival in the ‘Dumping Grounds’ examines the social history of forced removals in apartheid-era South Africa. It is based primarily on oral history interviews and explores the - often very difficult - experiences of people who were relocated to rural ‘dumping grounds’ in line with the apartheid government’s policies of racial segregation. As well as publishing in academic books and journals, I have written about my research for A level students (Modern History Review). My current research focuses on the politics of the transition to democracy in South Africa (c.1990-4) and the mass action campaign that was crucial to bringing about the end of apartheid.

Outside work, I love being outdoors: walking, running, swimming in the sea when I can, and playing outside with my 1 year old daughter.