Work

The Cape Radicals: intellectual and political thought of the New Era Fellowship 1930s-1960s

Year: 2026

Type: article

Abstract: In 1937 a group of young Capetonians, socialist intellectuals from the Workers' Party of South Africa and the Non-European Unity Movement, embarked on a remarkable public education and cultural project they called the New Era Fellowship (NEF). Through public debates, lectures, study circles and cultural events a new cultural and political project was born in Cape Town. Taking a position of non-collaboration and non-racialism, the NEF played a vital role in challenging society's responses to events ranging from the problem of taking up arms during the Second World War for an empire intent on stripping people of colour of their human rights, to the Hertzog Bills, which foreshadowed apartheid in all its ruthless effectiveness.

Source: Human Science Research Council SA

DOI: 10.14749/32379201

Author: Human Sciences Research Council

Language: English

Topic: South African History and Culture

Subfield: Sociology and Political Science

Field: Social Sciences

Domain: Social Sciences

Open Access status: green

Funder: Human Sciences Research Council

OpenAlex ID: W7162184788

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