David Beach (historian)
David Norman Beach (28 June 1943 – 15 February 1999) was a Zimbabwean historian.[2] He worked at the Ministry of Internal Affairs, and the University of Zimbabwe and pioneered the documentation of oral traditions in Zimbabwe.[1] In his work on Great Zimbabwe, Beach has promoted the interpretation of the different complexes as dwellings of successive rulers, opposing the structuralist tradition favoured by historians such as Huffman.[3] When Zimbabwe became independent in 1980 Beach took up Zimbabwean citizenship. When asked about his work, Nolan Chipo Makombe said "he is a comrade."[4] In 1983 when an interviewer from London referred to David Beach as British while interviewing Charles Utete, Utete responded dramatically saying "He (Beach) belongs to us, he does not belong to you. He is a Zimbabwean, period." Utete went on to say "He is not British, he is not Rhodesian, he is Zimbabwean. He is a comrade."[5]
David Norman Beach | |
|---|---|
| Born | 28 June 1943 Midlands, England, UK |
| Died | 15 February 1999 |
| Nationality | Zimbabwean |
| Citizenship | Zimbabwe |
| Alma mater | University of Cape Town |
| Known for | Precolonial history of the Mashona[1] |
| Scientific career | |
| Fields | History of Zimbabwe Oral history |
| Institutions | University of Cape Town University of Zimbabwe[2] |
References
- Pikirayi, I (1999). "David Beach, Shona history and the archaeology of Zimbabwe" (PDF). Zambezia. Harare: University of Zimbabwe. 26: 135–144. ISSN 0379-0622.
- Malaba, M.Z. (1999). "David Norman Beach, 1943—1999". Africa. Edinburgh University Press. 69 (3): 448–449. JSTOR 1161217.
- Beach, David (1998). "Cognitive Archaeology and Imaginary History at Great Zimbabwe". Current Anthropology. 39: 47–72. doi:10.1086/204698. S2CID 143970768.
- Nolan Chipo Makombe interview with ZBC TV, 1993
- Missionaries, Migrants, and the Manyika: The Invention of Ethnicity in Zimbabwe by T. O. Ranger