South African History and Culture
South African History and Culture is a research topic within Sociology and Political Science. Science Explorer counts 11k research works in it since 1950. 20.3% of them reached the world's top 10% most cited for their field and year.
This cluster of papers explores the complex social, economic, and political landscape of post-apartheid South Africa, focusing on service delivery protests, inequality, racial classification, gender-based violence, economic empowerment, and the impact of social movements. It also delves into the dynamics of the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and the challenges faced in the transition to democracy.
- South Africa
- protests
- inequality
- race
- gender-based violence
- economic empowerment
- post-apartheid
- social movements
- reconciliation commission
- racial classification
- Research works
- 11k fractional, since 1950
- In the world top 10%
- 2.3k per year above
- Top-10% rate
- 20.3% share of its works in the world top 10%
- Growth, 2013–17 → 2018–22
- -6% the tick is no change
Which countries lead South African History and Culture research?
By volume, South Africa and the United States publish the most (799 and 214 works in 2022–2025).
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 South Africa 799 works
- 2 United States 214 works
- 3 United Kingdom 132 works
- 4 India 50 works
- 5 Germany 40 works
- 6 Canada 40 works
- 7 Netherlands 29 works
- 8 Australia 28 works
- 9 France 26 works
- 10 China 18 works
How concentrated that is
The same countries as shares of everything the list above accounts for. A node where two countries do two thirds of the work and one spread evenly across twelve read alike as a ranking and not at all alike here.
Shares of the rows listed above, not of the whole node.
Which institutions lead South African History and Culture research?
By volume in 2022–2025, University of Johannesburg publishes the most South African History and Culture research, followed by University of South Africa and University of the Witwatersrand.
By volume, 2022–2025
- 1 University of JohannesburgSouth Africa 96 works
- 2 University of South AfricaSouth Africa 87 works
- 3 University of the WitwatersrandSouth Africa 74 works
- 4 Stellenbosch UniversitySouth Africa 72 works
- 5 University of PretoriaSouth Africa 70 works
- 6 University of Cape TownSouth Africa 51 works
- 7 North-West UniversitySouth Africa 51 works
- 8 University of the Free StateSouth Africa 48 works
- 9 University of KwaZulu-NatalSouth Africa 42 works
- 10 University of the Western CapeSouth Africa 37 works
Who are the leading researchers in South African History and Culture?
The most-cited researchers publishing on South African History and Culture include Peter Richardson and Gail M. Gerhart.
- 1 Peter Richardson United Kingdom 2.1k citations
- 2 Gail M. Gerhart United States 1.7k citations
Ranked by citations received across their whole record, among researchers with at least three works on this topic.
Where is South African History and Culture research done?
The largest centres of South African History and Culture research in 2022–2025 are Pretoria (South Africa), Johannesburg (South Africa), Stellenbosch (South Africa) and Bloemfontein (South Africa). Among places with at least 20 works in it, it is an unusually large share of all research in Polokwane, Grahamstown and Port Elizabeth.
Largest cities, 2022–2025
- 1 Pretoria South Africa 186 works
- 2 Johannesburg South Africa 178 works
- 3 Stellenbosch South Africa 72 works
- 4 Bloemfontein South Africa 52 works
- 5 Rondebosch South Africa 51 works
- 6 Durban South Africa 51 works
- 7 Potchefstroom South Africa 51 works
- 8 Cape Town South Africa 45 works
- 9 London United Kingdom 27 works
- 10 Polokwane South Africa 24 works
Where it is the local speciality
- PolokwaneZA · 24.3 works141×
- GrahamstownZA · 20.0 works135×
- Port ElizabethZA · 21.9 works125×
- PotchefstroomZA · 50.7 works112×
- BloemfonteinZA · 51.8 works110×
- StellenboschZA · 72.1 works106×
- RondeboschZA · 51.5 works99×
- PretoriaZA · 186.2 works95×
Location quotient: how much more of its research is in South African History and Culture than the world average.
Where is the best place to study South African History and Culture?
Among universities, judged by research, University of Johannesburg, University of the Witwatersrand and University of the Western Cape score highest, combining excellence, specialisation, size, growth and international reach. Research strength is one signal when choosing where to study; it does not measure teaching.
One dot per university in the table below. The upper left is the interesting corner: small places doing unusually strong work.
| # | University | Score | Top 10% | Specialisation | Works | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | University of JohannesburgSouth Africa | 87.1 | 21.1% | 95.3× | 96 | +38.5% |
| 2 | University of the WitwatersrandSouth Africa | 74.7 | 14.4% | 111.1× | 74 | +37.5% |
| 3 | University of the Western CapeSouth Africa | 74.6 | 20.6% | 152.6× | 37 | +22.5% |
| 4 | University of South AfricaSouth Africa | 73.0 | 16.2% | 123.4× | 86 | +24.4% |
| 5 | Stellenbosch UniversitySouth Africa | 72.1 | 16.6% | 119.0× | 72 | +1.5% |
| 6 | University of Cape TownSouth Africa | 68.9 | 14.2% | 99.3× | 52 | +2.1% |
| 7 | University of VendaSouth Africa | 66.3 | 24.5% | 87.1× | 9 | +25.0% |
| 8 | University of PretoriaSouth Africa | 64.2 | 11.3% | 102.4× | 70 | +9.1% |
| 9 | North-West UniversitySouth Africa | 63.3 | 13.7% | 111.6× | 51 | -3.4% |
| 10 | Rhodes UniversitySouth Africa | 63.1 | 18.9% | 146.0× | 20 | -10.5% |
Universities only. Score blends excellence (30%), specialisation (25%), size (20%), growth (15%) and international reach (10%), 2015–2022; growth compares 2010–14 with 2015–19.
Is South African History and Culture research growing?
Output in 2018–2022 was 6% lower than in 2013–2017, peaking in 2014. The fastest-growing topics are South African History and Culture.
The same series as a ribbon — one cell per year, darker for more. The line above answers how much; this answers when.
Which topics inside it are moving
Growth and decline on one axis around a shared zero. Two lists side by side hide the thing that matters: whether the growth dwarfs the decline, or the other way round.