Lion's Historian

Sandra Swart is a professor and chair of the Department of History at Stellenbosch University. She received her DPhil in modern history from Oxford University while simultaneously obtaining an MSc in environmental change and management, also at Oxford. She studies the socioenvironmental history of southern Africa, focusing on the shifting relationship between humans and animals.

Swart has written a wide-ranging, empathetic, and compelling account of the complex entanglements of humans and other animals throughout African history. She argues that human history is incomplete without acknowledging the participation of nonhuman actors, and she shows that the stakes are high for all of us.- Harriet Ritvo, Massachusetts Institute of Technology There are very few historians who are capable of writing as passionately and well as the self-proclaimed feral ape, Professor Sandra Swart of Stellenbosch University. The Lion’s Historian is an astonishing, delightful, occasionally deeply depressing, but always highly enlightening, read detailing animal histories in Africa. Dr. Swart has set the benchmark high for a subject that is only set to grow in our contemporary world.- Jan-Bart Gewald, Leiden University Drawing upon oral history, ethology, and paleontology, as well as a veritable Noah’s ark of animals, from the okapi to the quagga, Swart compels us to recognize our shared predicament. Written with erudition, verve, and wit, this book makes an urgent and ethical call to our better selves. A tour de force!- Dilip M. Menon, University of the Witwatersrand A book that obliterates so many boundaries, human and animal, through narratives layered with meaning and riveting all at once. Lions animate the past in complex ways interwoven with different sets of humans. No account of the human condition can be complete without animals we regard as important. This one sets the bar pretty high. South Africa may be the site of inquiry, but the work has implications well beyond.- Mahesh Rangarajan, Ashoka University The Lion’s Historian offers a treasure of fresh thinking about the African past. With creativity, insight, and an inimitable voice, Sandra Swart demonstrates, repeatedly and richly, the rewards of taking animal actors seriously.- Nancy Jacobs, Brown University A book with both a deep understanding and a vitally needed critique of the historian’s craft. Swart’s lively, original, and needed voice is always astonishing!- Nigel Rothfels, University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee