Julie Partsch

Research Topic

Children of the Struggle: An Analysis of the Lives of Children of the Early Generation Anti-Apartheid Activists 

I am interested in questions of personal histories, memory, gender, transnationality, memorialisation, and legacies of (de-)colonisation, particularly in Southern Africa.

My DPhil focuses on the children of the early generation of anti-apartheid activists in South Africa and how they experienced, remember and interpret their parents’ political actions and commitment.  It seeks to analyse how various factors affected experiences of persecution, detention, exile, and homecoming, as well as what narratives and interpretations children have created around these experiences. Alongside using archival sources, my research primarily builds on an oral history project with interviewees in South Africa and the UK. As such, it represents an exploration of memory and its intersection with interpretation, time, public and private histories, and trauma.

Alongside my DPhil, I am also interested in public history projects, particularly aimed at difficult and painful historical legacies, as well as secondary school education. I am a Senior Guide and Manager for Uncomfortable Oxford, a social enterprise committed to discussing the ‘uncomfortable’ histories of colonialism, elitism, and sexism in Oxford. Additionally, I work as a Graduate Outreach Tutor for the History Faculty, providing workshops to school-age pupils.

I completed my undergraduate degree in History and International Relations at the University of Exeter, and my Master’s degree in African Studies at Wolfson College, Oxford. Before commencing my DPhil, I spent a year working in the heritage and charity industry, with a strong topical focus on Southern Africa.

Supervisor: Professor Andrew Thompson