THE UNIVERSITY OF CHICAGO
Yale University, PhD '20
BIOGRAPHY
Thuto Thipe is an Assistant Professor of African History in the Department of History. Her research focuses on social and legal history, with an emphasis on the role of land in producing and shaping the categories of race, gender, and class in 19th and 20th century South Africa. Thipe’s manuscript in progress, Buying Back Ancestral Land: Black Landownership and Settler Colonialism in 20th Century South Africa, tells the story of how black people became land owners in Johannesburg during a time when the city was designed and legislated for white people’s exclusive permanent residence. It traces over seven decades the institutions, homes, and lives that black landowners built in the city. Thipe has published several journal articles and book chapters, published in popular media outlets, and has contributed to research in legal cases, including cases in South Africa’s Constitutional Court.
She holds a PhD in History and African American Studies from Yale University, Masters in Gender Studies from the University of Cape Town, where she also held positions as a lecturer and researcher, and BA from Macalester College. Her PhD dissertation was awarded the Yale Afro-American Cultural Center’s “Award for Outstanding Graduate Research in the African Diaspora.”
Recent Research / Recent Publications
- “Black and White Title Deeds: State Compensation to Freehold Landowners According to Race” in Unsettling Apologies: Critical Writings on Apology from South Africa. Eds Melanie Judge and Dee Smythe. Bristol University Press. 2022.
- “Photographing Home Life in Alexandra between the 1930s and 1970s,” in Foundational African Writers: Peter Abrahams, Noni Jabavu, Sibusiso Nyembezi, Es’kia Mphahlele. Eds. Bhekizizwe Peterson, Khwezi Mkhize and Makhosazana Xaba. University of the Witwatersrand Press, 2022.
- “Land and reparation politics and policy after apartheid,” in The Oxford Handbook of South African History Ed. Daniel Magaziner. Oxford University Press, 2020.
- With de Souza, Monica and Luwaya, Nolundi. “‘The Advert Was Put Up Yesterday’: Public Participation in the Traditional Courts Bill Legislative Process.” New York Law Review 60(2) (2015/2016): 431-463.
- “The Boundaries of Tradition: An examination of the Traditional Leadership and Governance Framework Act.” Harvard Human Rights Journal, Online Symposium (2014).
- “Defining Boundaries: Gender and Property Rights in South Africa’s Traditional Courts Bill.” Laws 2(4) (2013): 483-511.