Colin James Bundy (born 4 October 1944) is a South African historian, former principal of
Green Templeton College, Oxford and former director of
SOAS University of London. Bundy was an influential member of a generation of historians who substantially revised understanding of South African history. In particular, he wrote on South Africa's rural past from a predominantly
Marxist perspective, but also deploying Africanist and
underdevelopment theories. Since the mid-1990s, however, Bundy has held a series of posts in university administration. Bundy is also a trustee of the
Canon Collins Educational & Legal Assistance Trust
Canon or Canons may refer to:
Arts and entertainment
* Canon (fiction), the conceptual material accepted as official in a fictional universe by its fan base
* Literary canon, an accepted body of works considered as high culture
** Western can ...
.
Education
He received his
secondary education at
Graeme College,
Grahamstown in the
Eastern Cape Province.
Bundy was educated at the
University of Natal (B.A.) and the
University of the Witwatersrand (B.A. (Hons)). He was then a
Rhodes Scholar
The Rhodes Scholarship is an international postgraduate award for students to study at the University of Oxford, in the United Kingdom.
Established in 1902, it is the oldest graduate scholarship in the world. It is considered among the world' ...
at
Merton College, Oxford
Merton College (in full: The House or College of Scholars of Merton in the University of Oxford) is one of the Colleges of Oxford University, constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Its foundation can be traced back to the ...
(1968–70) and a
Beit Senior Research Scholar at
St Antony's
St Antony's College is one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford in England. Founded in 1950 as the result of the gift of French merchant Sir Antonin Besse of Aden, St Antony's specialises in international relations, economic ...
(1970–72), graduating as an M.Phil. and D.Phil. of the
University of Oxford with a thesis entitled
Career
Bundy was director and principal of the
School of Oriental and African Studies (2001–06); deputy vice-chancellor of the
University of London (2003–06); vice-chancellor and principal of the
University of the Witwatersrand (1997-2001); and director of the Institute for Historical Research (1992–94) and vice-rector (1994-97),
University of the Western Cape.
He returned to
Oxford as a research fellow at
Queen Elizabeth House (1979–80) and in the
Department for External Studies (1980–84), subsequently being elected an honorary fellow of
Kellogg College. From 2006 until 2008 he was
warden of
Green College, Oxford
Green Templeton College (GTC) is a constituent college of the University of Oxford in the United Kingdom. The college is located on the previous Green College site on Woodstock Road next to the Radcliffe Observatory Quarter in North Oxford and ...
, becoming the first principal of
Green Templeton College on 1 October 2008, when Green College merged with
Templeton College
Templeton College was one of the constituent colleges of the University of Oxford, England. It was an all-graduate college, concentrating on the recruitment of students in business and management studies. In 2008, the college merged with Green ...
. He retired from this position on 1 October 2010.
National Life Stories
National Life Stories is an independent charitable trust and limited company (registered as the ‘National Life Story Collection’) based within the British Library Oral History section, whose key focus and expertise is oral history fieldwork. S ...
conducted an oral history interview (C1149/14) with Colin Bundy in 2010 for its Oral History of Oral History collection held by the British Library.
[National Life Stories, 'Bundy, Colin (1 of 4) National Life Stories Collection: Oral History of Oral History', The British Library Board, 2010]
Retrieved 9 October 2017
He is an Honorary Fellow of
St Edmund's College, Cambridge.
Publications
His publications include:
*
*
* ''Remaking the Past: New Perspectives in South African History'' (Cape Town: University of Cape Town, 1987)
* (with William Beinart)
*
*
References
External links
Guardian profile, 2004Talk by Bundy on Globalisation and universities, 1999Article by Bundy on truth and reconciliation in South Africa, 1999* Two-part video of Professor Bundy discussing the implications of the collapse of the Soviet Union on the prospects for global Marxist revolution
**
**
{{DEFAULTSORT:Bundy, Colin
1944 births
University of Natal alumni
University of the Witwatersrand alumni
Alumni of Merton College, Oxford
South African emigrants to the United Kingdom
People associated with SOAS University of London
People associated with the University of London
Living people
South African historians
Marxist historians
South African Marxists
University of the Western Cape faculty
South African Rhodes Scholars
Alumni of Graeme College
Academics of the University of Oxford
Fellows of Green Templeton College, Oxford
20th-century South African historians
Wardens of Green College, Oxford
Principals of Green Templeton College, Oxford
Historians of South Africa
Vice-Chancellors of the University of the Witwatersrand
21st-century English historians