Higher education and universities in South Africa underwent a period of significant
development and expansion in the period following the South African War (1899 -1902). At
the same time, one of the significant facets of this era was the dramatically changing nature
of white identities in South Africa. A new unified white identity known as broad South
Africanism was promoted in a number of quarters by the successive administrations of the
Transvaal and South African Union. For the purposes of this project, institutions for higher
learning were viewed by both the public and the country‘s authorities as critical places where
the country‘s youth could be welded together into a new broad South African nation, learning
tolerance and broad-mindedness. This article considers how these ideals were related to
higher education, by looking at the official and public view of the purpose of higher
education at this time. It will begin by briefly reflecting on the way these notions were
evident in higher education prior to the South African War. Under each administration
following the War, the perceived unifying and nationalising function of universities is then
explored, paying particular attention to the relationship between broad South Africanism and
aspirations regarding South African higher education.http://www.tandfonline.com/loi/rshj202017-10-31hb2016Historical and Heritage Studie
