Robert Carl-Heinz Shell (31 January 1949 – 3 February 2015) was a South African author, scholar, and professor of

African Studies African studies is the study of Africa, especially the continent's cultures and societies (as opposed to its geology, geography, zoology, etc.). The field includes the study of Africa's History of Africa, history (pre-colonial, Colonisation of Af ...

. He was born in the

Cape Province The Province of the Cape of Good Hope (), commonly referred to as the Cape Province () and colloquially as The Cape (), was a province in the Union of South Africa and subsequently the Republic of South Africa. It encompassed the old Cape Co ...

of South Africa and lived in the United States in the 1980s and 1990s. After the fall of apartheid he returned to South Africa. Toward the end of his life he lived in the

Western Cape The Western Cape ( ; , ) is a provinces of South Africa, province of South Africa, situated on the south-western coast of the country. It is the List of South African provinces by area, fourth largest of the nine provinces with an area of , an ...

with his wife Sandy Rowoldt Shell, who is the head of the African Studies Library at

University of Cape Town The University of Cape Town (UCT) (, ) is a public university, public research university in Cape Town, South Africa. Established in 1829 as the South African College, it was granted full university status in 1918, making it the oldest univer ...

. Professor Shell delivered papers on several topics but notably on

slavery Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

, Islam and

HIV/AIDS The HIV, human immunodeficiency virus (HIV) is a retrovirus that attacks the immune system. Without treatment, it can lead to a spectrum of conditions including acquired immunodeficiency syndrome (AIDS). It is a Preventive healthcare, pr ...

. In September 2004, he delivered the keynote address at the AGM of SANTA (SA National

Tuberculosis Tuberculosis (TB), also known colloquially as the "white death", or historically as consumption, is a contagious disease usually caused by ''Mycobacterium tuberculosis'' (MTB) bacteria. Tuberculosis generally affects the lungs, but it can al ...

Association) in

Port Elizabeth Gqeberha ( , ), formerly named Port Elizabeth, and colloquially referred to as P.E., is a major seaport and the most populous city in the Eastern Cape province of South Africa. It is the seat of the Nelson Mandela Bay Metropolitan Municipal ...

, South Africa with a talk entitled "Infectious diseases in South Africa: HIV/AIDS and TB, some statistical trends". He has also appeared in Washington, D.C., where he addressed both the House Select Committee on African affairs and the House Select Committee on

International Relations International relations (IR, and also referred to as international studies, international politics, or international affairs) is an academic discipline. In a broader sense, the study of IR, in addition to multilateral relations, concerns al ...

on the global Aids

pandemic A pandemic ( ) is an epidemic of an infectious disease that has a sudden increase in cases and spreads across a large region, for instance multiple continents or worldwide, affecting a substantial number of individuals. Widespread endemic (epi ...

Education

Professor Shell obtained his undergraduate and Honours degrees at

in the 1970s. He then went to the U.S. to complete his master's degree at

University of Rochester The University of Rochester is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York, United States. It was founded in 1850 and moved into its current campus, next to the Genesee River in 1930. With approximately 30,000 full ...

and in 1986 he completed his PhD at

Yale University Yale University is a Private university, private Ivy League research university in New Haven, Connecticut, United States. Founded in 1701, Yale is the List of Colonial Colleges, third-oldest institution of higher education in the United Stat ...

. For his doctoral studies at Yale, completed in 1986, Shell wrote the dissertation entitled "Slavery at the Cape of Good Hope, 1680–1731" under the advisership of famed South African historian, Leonard M. Thompson

Teaching positions

Professional Positions

Publications

Books

*''De Meillon's people of colour : some notes on their dress and occupations with special reference to Cape views and costumes'' (197

*''Cape slave trade, 1680 to 1731: Towards a census'' (198

* ''Religious conversion in 19th and early 20th century South Africa : some notes on the Horton thesis'' (198

*''Slavery at the Cape of Good Hope, 1680–1731'' (198

*''Children of Bondage: A Social History of the Slave Society at the Cape of Good Hope, 1652–1813'' (199

*''Agony of Asar: A Thesis on Slavery by the Former Slave, Jacobus Eliza Johannes 1717–1747'' * ''From diaspora to diorama : African slave trade routes and Southern Africa : the UNESCO Slave Trade Route Project (SA chapter) feasibility study.'' (199

* ''From Diaspora to Diorama : The Slave Lodge'' (2008) * ''Changing Hands : A Calendar of Bondage'' (2008)

Articles

*Shell, Robert Carl-Heinz. "Islam in southern Africa, 1652–1998." ''History of Islam in Africa''. (2000): 327–34

*Shell, Robert Carl-Heinz. "Between Christ and Mohammed : conversion, slavery, and gender in the urban Western Cape." ''Christianity in South Africa: political, social, and cultural history''. (1997): 268–27

*Shell, Robert Carl-Heinz. Hudson's descriptions of "Auctions – their good and evil tendency"’ in Quarterly Bulletin of the South African Library 39:4 June 1985 pp147-151 and 40:1 September 1985 pp 12–18, of 'SE Hudson on funerals' in Quarterly Bulletin of the South African Library 44:2 Dec 1989, pp56–6

*Shell, Robert Carl-Heinz. 'Hudson’s Cape Town' in Quarterly Bulletin of the South African Library 47:4 June 1993 pp133–14

*Shell, Robert Carl-Heinz. ''AIDS in the poorest province of South Africa, 1988 to 2001'' UWC Aids mini conference proceedings – Nov 2001 *Shell, Robert Carl-Heinz. "POSITIVE OUTCOMES: The chances of acquiring HIV/AIDS during the school-going years in the Eastern Cape, 1990–200

* Shell, Robert Carl-Heinz.''A second generation HIV/Aids surveillance protocol based on unlinked anonymized testing of trauma patients at selected hospitals in Southern Africa.

*Shell, Robert Carl-Heinz. ''How to write a research proposal for peer review

Reviews

*''Blacks in the Dutch World: The Evolution of Racial Imagery in Modern Society'' by Allison Blakely—Review author Robert Shel

Awards

*His book, ''Children of Bondage: A Social History of the Slave Society at the Cape of Good Hope, 1652–1813'' was the runner-up for the prestigious BJ Venter national book award in 1997.

Quotes

"Robert Shell's account is slightly different. He argues that Christianity's change of heart only applied to

baptized Baptism (from ) is a Christian sacrament of initiation almost invariably with the use of water. It may be performed by sprinkling or pouring water on the head, or by immersing in water either partially or completely, traditionally three ...

slaves, and the issue of whether

slaves Slavery is the ownership of a person as property, especially in regards to their labour. Slavery typically involves compulsory work, with the slave's location of work and residence dictated by the party that holds them in bondage. Enslavemen ...

should be baptized was very contentious as late as 1618 when it was raised at the

Synod of Dort The Synod of Dort (also known as the Synod of Dordt or the Synod of Dordrecht) was a European transnational Synod held in Dordrecht in 1618–1619, by the Dutch Reformed Church, to settle a divisive controversy caused by the rise of Arminianism. ...

, the last meeting of Protestant

theologians Theology is the study of religious belief from a Religion, religious perspective, with a focus on the nature of divinity. It is taught as an Discipline (academia), academic discipline, typically in universities and seminaries. It occupies itse ...

from Great Britain and the Continent. Although the delegates could not agree on a single policy, Shell maintains, their writings ended or limited the trade in Christian slaves.

'

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Shell, Robert Carl-Heinz Writers from Cape Town 2015 deaths 20th-century South African historians 1949 births University of Cape Town alumni 21st-century South African historians Historians of South Africa Yale University alumni