CURRICULUM VITAE
NAME
LABAND, John Paul Clow
DEGREES
1991: Ph.D. University of Natal, South Africa
1981: M.A. cum laude, University of Natal, South Africa
1977: M.A. Cambridge University, United Kingdom
1972: B.A. (Historical Tripos) Cambridge University, United Kingdom
1970: B.A. cum laude (English & History) University of Natal, South Africa
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY AT WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY
July 2015 – to present: Professor Emeritus
July 2002 – June 2015: Tenured Professor of History
Adjunct Associate of the Laurier Centre for Military, Strategic and Disarmament Studies
ADMINISTRATIVE POSITIONS AT WILFRID LAURIER UNIVERSITY
2010 – 2012: Chair of History
2005 – 2007, 2010 – 2012: Member of Senate
2005 – 2006: Interim Chair of History
EMPLOYMENT HISTORY AT THE UNIVERSITY OF NATAL, SOUTH AFRICA
2000: Professor post level 7
1996: Professor post level 6
1990: Associate Professor
1982: Senior Lecturer
1974: Lecturer
1972: Temporary Lecturer
ADMINISTRATIVE POSTS, UNIVERSITY OF NATAL
2000 – 2001: Director of Heritage Studies Programme
1999 – 2001: Director of International Studies Programme
1999: Director of Discipline of History, School of Human and Social Studies
1996 – 1998: Head of the Department of Historical Studies, Pietermaritzburg
1995: Acting Head of Department of Historical Studies, Pietermaritzburg
EDITORIAL POSITIONS
2016 to present: Editorial board of the Journal of African History
2013 to present: Co-editor of The History of Military Occupations series for the University of Illinois Press
2003 to present: Editorial board of Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies
19992002: Editorial board of Contree
19972002: Joint editor of the South African Historical Journal
HONOURS AND AWARDS
Merit Awards, Wilfrid Laurier University:
2013: Merit Award
2010: Merit Award
2008: Merit Award
2005: Merit Award
Writing Awards:
2008: Awarded the Prince Mangosuthu Buthelezi Gold Medal for Life Service to the Zulu People for promoting Zulu history as an author and historian
1996: Runnerup in the Alan Paton Literary Awards
1996: “Honourable Mention” (runnerup) in Noma Award for Publishing in Africa
1996: Winner of the University of Natal Book Prize, 1996
1995: “Special Mention” (runnerup) for the CNA Literary Award
Honorary Appointments:
2014 to present: Appointed a Research Associate in the Department of History, Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences, Stellenbosch University, Stellenbosch, South Africa
2003-2005: Appointed an Honorary Research Associate in the School of Human and Social Sciences of the University of Natal, Pietermaritzburg, South Africa
2000 to present: Honorary President of the AngloZulu War Historical Society of Britain
2000: Elected a Fellow of the Royal Geographical Society
1997: Elected a Fellow of the University of Natal
1994: Elected by the Governing Body into Life Membership of Clare Hall, Cambridge University
1994: Elected a Visiting Fellow, Clare Hall, Cambridge
1994: Appointed a Research Associate, African Studies Centre, Cambridge University
PROFESSIONAL ASSOCIATIONS AND SOCIETIES
2005-2012, 2016: Member of the Society for Military History
19992001: Reappointed by the Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology in South Africa to the Council of the Voortrekker Museum and elected ViceChairperson
19981999: Member, South African Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology Inkosi Albert Luthuli Steering Committee
1998: Member, Department of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology Battle of Blood River Reinterpretation Committee
19961999: Chairperson, Voortrekker Museum Council, appointed by the Minister of Arts, Culture, Science and Technology, South Africa
1991: Member and Acting Chairperson, Executive Committee, Natal Association of Historical Societies
1987-1989: Member, Social Development (Quality of Life) Action Group, Pietermaritzburg 2000 Project
1987: Member, National Monuments Council Advisory Committee to the Pietermaritzburg 150 Project
1985-2002: Member of the South African Historical Society
1982-1993: Member, Editorial Sub-Committee, KwaZulu Monuments Council
PUBLICATIONS
Books (monographs or co-authored):
1. Laband, John. Zulu Warriors: The Battle for the South African Frontier. New Haven and London: Yale University Press, 2014, 345 pp.
2.---. Bringers of War: The Portuguese in Africa during the Age of Gunpowder and Sail from the Fifteenth to the Eighteenth Century. Barnsley, United Kingdom: Frontline Books, Pen & Sword, 2013, 262 pp.
3. ---.Historical Dictionary of the Zulu Wars. Lanham, MD, Toronto and Oxford: The Scarecrow Press, 2009. liv + 381 = 425 pp.
4. ---. Kingdom in Crisis: the Zulu Response to the British Invasion of 1879. Barnsley: Pen and Sword, 2007. 272 pp.
5. ---. The Transvaal Rebellion: The First Boer War 1880-1881.Harlow, England: Pearson Longman, 2005. 264 pp.
6. ---. The Atlas of the Later Zulu Wars 1883-1888. Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal Press, 2001. 140 pp.
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7. --- and Paul Thompson. The Illustrated Guide to the AngloZulu War. Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal Press, 2000. 216 pp.
8. Laband, John and Ian Knight. The War Correspondents: The Anglo-Zulu War. Stroud, UK: Sutton Publishing; Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball, 1996; reprint: Great Britain: Bramley Books, 1997. 192 pp.
9. Laband, John. Rope of Sand: The Rise and Fall of the Zulu Kingdom. Johannesburg: Jonathan Ball, 1995; British and American edition: The Rise and Fall of the Zulu Nation. London: Arms and Armour Press, 1997; New York, Sterling Publishing, 1997, 517pp.
11. ---. Kingdom in Crisis: The Zulu Response to the British Invasion of 1879. Manchester: Manchester University Press; New York: St Martin's Press; Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal Press, 1992. 272 pp.
12. Laband, John and Jeff Mathews. Isandlwana. Pietermaritzburg: Centaur Publications; Ulundi: KwaZulu Monuments Council, 1992. 98 pp. [A Zulu translation was published concurrently.]
13. Laband, John and Paul Thompson. Kingdom and Colony at War: Sixteen Studies on the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879. Pietermaritzburg : University of Natal Press; Cape Town: N & S Press, 1990. 358 pp.
14. Laband, John. The Battle of Ulundi. Pietermaritzburg: Shuter & Shooter; Ulundi: KwaZulu Monuments Council, 1988. 61 pp.
15. ---. Fight Us in the Open: The Anglo-Zulu War through Zulu Eyes. Pietermaritzburg: Shuter & Shooter; Ulundi: KwaZulu Monuments Council, 1985. 49 pp.
16. Laband, John and John Wright. King Cetshwavo kaMpande Pietermaritzburg: Shuter & Shooter; Ulundi: KwaZulu Monuments Council, 1983. 34 pp.
17. Laband, J.P.C. and P.S. Thompson with S. Henderson. The Buffalo Border 1879: TheAnglo- Zulu War in Northern Natal. Durban: University of Natal Research Monograph Series, no. 6, 1983. 140 pp.
18. Laband, J.P.C. and P.S. Thompson. Field Guide to the War in Zululand and the Defence of Natal 1879. Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal Press, 1983; reprinted with minor revisions, 1987. 124 pp.
19. Laband, J.P.C. and P.S. Thompson. War Comes to Umvoti: The Natal Zululand Border, 1878-9. Durban: University of Natal Research Monograph Series, no. 5, 1980. 138 pp.
Books (edited):
1. Carton, Ben, John Laband, and Jabulani Sithole, eds. Zulu Identities:Being Zulu Past and Present. New York: Columbia University Press; Pietermaritzburg: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press; London: Hurst & Co., 2008. 633 pp.
2. Laband, John, ed. Daily Lives of Civilians in Wartime Africa from Slavery Days to Rwandan Genocide. Westport, CT and London: Greenwood Press, 2007; Pietermaritzburg: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, 2007. 301 pp.
3.---.Member of Editorial Board. Dictionary of Sieges and Battles, edited by Tony Jacques. 3 vols. Westport, CA and London: Greenwood Press, 2007. 1,354 pp.
4.---, series ed. and Ian Knight, ed. Archives of Zululand: The AngloZulu War. 6 vols.London: Archival Publications International, 2000.
5. Laband, John, ed. Lord Chelmsford's Zululand Campaign, 1878-1879. Stroud: Alan Sutton for the Army Records Society, 1994. 360 pp.
6. ---, ed. Ashe, Maj. and Wyatt-Edgell, Capt. E.V. The Story of the Zulu Campaign. Cape Town: N & S Press, 1989. 418 pp.
7. ---, ed. Moodie's Zulu War. Cape Town: N & S Press, 1988. 293 pp.
8. Laband, John and Rob Haswell, eds. Pietermaritzburg 1838-1988. A New Portrait of an African City. Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal Press and Shuter & Shooter, 1988. 318 pp.
Chapters in books:
1. Laband, John.“Lord Chelmsford.” In Victoria’s Generals edited by Steven J. Corvi and Ian F.W. Beckett. Barnsley, United Kingdom: Pen & Sword Military, 2009: pp. 92-126.
2. Laband, John, and Paul Thompson. “African Levies in Zululand, 1838-1906.” In Soldiers and Settlers in Africa, 1850-1918, edited by Stephen M. Miller. Leiden: Brill, 2009: pp. 49-84.
3. Laband, John. “From Mercenaries to Military Settlers: The British German Legion, 1854-
1861.”InSoldiers and Settlers in Africa, 1850-1918, edited by Stephen M. Miller. Leiden: Brill, 2009: 85-122.
4. ---. “The Rise and Fall of the Zulu Kingdom.” In Zulu Identities:Being Zulu Past and Present, edited by Ben Carton, John Laband and Jabulani Sithole. Pietermaritzburg: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, 2007; London: Hurst & Co., late 2007, 83-92.
5. ---. “ ‘Bloodstained Grandeur’: Colonial and Imperial Stereotypes of Zulu Warriors and Zulu Warfare.” In Zulu Identities:Being Zulu Past and Present, edited by Ben Carton, John Laband and Jabulani Sithole, 168-176.
6. ---.“The British Way of War in South Africa, 1837-1902: New Approaches.” In Victorians at War: New Perspectives, edited by Ian F.W. Beckett. United Kingdom: The Society for Army Historical Research Special Publication No. 16, 2007, 10-22.
7 ---. “Introduction: African Civilians in Wartime.” In Daily Lives of Civilians in Wartime Africa from Slavery Days to Rwandan Genocide, edited by John Laband. Westport, CT and London: Greenwood Press, 2007; Pietermaritzburg: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press,1-16.
8.---.“Zulu Civilians during the Rise and Fall of the Zulu Kingdom, c. 1817-1879.” In Daily Lives of Civilians in Wartime Africa from Slavery Days to Rwandan Genocide, edited by John Laband. Westport, CT and London: Greenwood Press, 2007; Pietermaritzburg: University of KwaZulu-Natal Press, 51-84.
9. ---. “Zulus and the War.” In The Boer War: Direction, Experience and Image, edited by John Gooch. London and Portland, Oregon: Frank Cass, 2000, 10725.
10. ---. “War and Peace in South Africa to 1914.” In “Ashes and Blood.”The British Army in South Africa, 1795-1914, edited by Peter Boyden, Alan Guy and Marion Harding.London: National Army Museum, 1999, 819.
11. ---. “The Land of the Zulu Kings.” In Zulu Treasures: Of Kings & Commoners. A Celebration of the Material Culture of the Zulu People. Durban: KwaZulu Cultural Museum and the Local History Museums, 1996, 17-25.
12. ---. Laband, John and Paul Thompson. “The Reduction of Zululand, 1879-1904.” In Natal and Zululand from Earliest Times to 1910: A New History, edited by Andrew Duminy and Bill Guest. Pietermaritzburg: University of Natal Press and Shuter & Shooter, 1989, 193-232.
Articles in Refereed Journals2002 – 2015:
1. Laband, John. “‘Fighting-Stick of Thunder.’ Firearms and the Zulu Kingdom: The Cultural Ambiguities of Transferring Weapons Technology.” War and Society33, no. 4 (October 2014): 229–43.
2. ---.“‘The Direction of the Whole of the Forces Available”: The Disputed Spheres of Military and Civil Authority in the Eastern Cape (1877 - 1878), Natal (1879) and Zululand (1888).’Scientia Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies41, no. 2 (2013): 60-76.
3. ---.“A Critical Assessment of the War-Readiness and Military Effectiveness of the Zulu Forces Engaged in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879.”Natalia 39 (December 2009): 37- 46.
4. ---.“Beaten by the Boers.”Ancestors, 42 (February 2006): 606.
5. ---.“Burying the Union Jack: British Loyalists in the Transvaal during the First AngloBoer War 1880-1881.”History of Intellectual Culture, 4, 1 (2004): Special Issue: British World Conference, 2003, 19 pp. (online journal).
6. ---.“Colonial Flotsam: the Zululand Squatters and the Zululand Lands Delimitation Commission 19021904.”South African Historical Journal, 49 (November 2003): 5370.
7. ---. “‘The Danger of Divided Command’: British Civil and Military Disputes over the Conduct of the Zululand Campaigns of 1879 and 1888.”Journal of the Society for Army Historical Research, 81, 328 (Winter 2003): 33955.
8. ---. “‘War Can’t Be Made with Kid Gloves’: The Impact of the AngloZulu War of 1879 on the Fabric of Zulu Society.” South African Historical Journal, 43 (November 2001):17996.
9. ---. “An Empress in Zululand: The Pilgrimage in 1880 by the Empress Eugenie to the Site of the Death of her Son, the Prince Imperial of France.” Natalia 30 (December 2000): 4557.
10. ---. “Zulu Strategic and Tactical Options in the Face of the British Invasion of 1879.” Scientiae Militaria: South African Journal of Military Studies 28, 1 (1998): 1-15.
11. ---. “‘He Fought Like a Lion’: An Assessment of Zulu Accounts of the Death of the Prince Imperial of France during the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879.” Journal of the Society of Army Historical Research, 76, 307 (Autumn 1998): 194-201.
12. ---.“Longcast in Zululand: The Paradoxical Life of a Transfrontiersman, 1850-1909.” Journal of Natal and Zulu History, XV (1994-5): 17-39.
13. ---. “British Boundary Adjustments and the uSuthu-Mandlakazi Conflict in Zululand, 1879- 1904.” South African Historical Journal, 30 (May 1994): pp. 33-60.
14. ---. “‘Chopping Wood with a Razor’: The Skirmish at eZungeni Mountain and the Unnecessary Death of Lieutenant Frith, 5 June 1879.” Soldiers of the Queen: Journal of the Victorian Military Society, 74 (September 1993): 5-9.
15. ---. “Colin de Berri Webb (1930-1992): An Historian's Tribute.” Natalia, 22 (December 1992): 7-10.
16. ---. “Mbilini, Manyonyoba and the Phongolo River Frontier: A Neglected Sector of the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879.” Journal of Natal and Zulu History, X (1987):1-31.
17. ---. “G.H. Calpin and the Centenary of Pietermaritzburg.” Natalia, 17 (December 1987): 9- 14.
18. ---. “Humbugging the General? King Cetshwayo's Peace Overtures during the Anglo-Zulu War.” Theoria, 67 (October 1986): pp. 1-20.
19. ---.”‘The Cohesion of the Zulu Polity under the Impact of the Anglo-Zulu War: A Reassessment.” Journal of Natal and Zulu History, VIII (1985): 33-62.
20. ---. “British Fieldworks of the Zulu Campaign of 1879, with Special Reference to Fort Eshowe.” Military History Journal, 6, 1 (June 1983): 1-5.
21. ---. “The Establishment of the Zululand Administration in 1887: A Study of the Criteria behind the selection of British Colonial Officials.” Journal of Natal and Zulu History, IV (1981): 62-73.
23. ---. “Bulwer, Chelmsford and the Border Levies: The Dispute over the Defence of Natal, 1879.” Theoria, 57 (October 1981): 1-15.
24. ---. ‘The Battle of Ivuna, or Ndunu Hill.’ Natalia,10 (December 1980): 16-22.
25. ---. “The Zulu Army in the War of 1879: Some Cautionary Notes.” Journal of Natal and Zulu History, II (1979): 27-35.
26. ---. “The Nature of the Indian Mutiny: A Changing Concept.” Theoria, 46 (May 1976): 27- 37.
Shorter Refereed Articles:
1. Laband, John. “Ethiopian Military Culture (Fifth century CE–1941).” In Philosophers of War: The Evolution of History’s Greatest Military Thinkers. Volume 1, The Ancient to Premodern World, 3000 BCE–1815 CE. Edited by Daniel Coetzee and Lee W. Eysturlid. Santa Barbara, California: Praeger, 2013, 344–50.
2. ---. “Forest Kingdoms of West Africa (ca. 1500–1900).” In ibid., 350–55.
3. ---. “Indigenous Southern African Military Cultures.” In ibid., 364–68.
4. ---. “Sub-Saharan Military Responses to European Invasion (1500–1900).” In ibid., 382–89.
5. ---. “Warfare in the Western and Central Sudan (14th to 20th centuries CE).” In ibid., 402–9.
6. ---. “Zulu Wars.” Oxford Bibliographies Online: Military History. Ed. Dennis Showalter. New York: Oxford University Press, February 2012. Revised 2015.
7. ---. “Anglo-Zulu War (1879),” “Mfecane (1815-1840),” and Shaka kaSenzangakhona (ca.
1787 – 1828)” in Gordon Martel, ed., The Encyclopedia of War (Oxford: Wiley-
Blackwell, 2011). The Wiley Online Library version was launched in November 2011.
The DOI of the three entries are 10.1002/9781444338232. wbeow27, …400 and …568.
8. ---. “Zulu War.”Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern World. Ed. Peter N. Stearns. © Oxford
University Press 2008. Oxford Encyclopedia of the Modern Word: (e-reference edition).
9. ---. “Zulu (amaZulu) War Rituals.” In The Encyclopedia of Religion and Nature. Edited by Bron R. Taylor and Jeffrey Kaplan. London and New York: Thoemmes Continuum, 2005, 1824-5.
10. ---. “Frederic Augustus Chelmsford, second Baron Chelmsford.”In Oxford Dictionary of National Biography. Oxford: Oxford University Press, 2004.
11. ---. “John North Crealock.” In Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.In ibid.
12. ---. “Anthony William Durnford.” In Oxford Dictionary of National Biography.In ibid.
13. ---. “Blood River (1838),”“Cetshwayo (18271884),” “Isandlwana (1879),” “Ndlela (17801840),” “Rorke’s Drift (1879),”“Shaka (d. 1828)’”“Zibhebhu (d. 1890),” “Zulu Civil Wars (18791888),” and “Zulu War (1879).” In Ground Warfare: An International Encyclopedia. Santa Barbara, edited by Sandler, S.L. Denver, Oxford, ABCCLIO, 2002.
CONFERENCE PAPERS PRESENTEDAND DISCUSSANT PARTICIPATION
1. Laband, John. Paper, “The Slave Soldiers of Africa.” Society for Military History’s 83rdannual meeting, Ottawa, Canada, April 2016.
2. ---. “‘The direction of the whole of the forces available’: the disputed spheres of military and civil authority in the Eastern Cape (1877-1878), Natal (1879) and Zululand (1888).”Society for Military History’s 79th annual conference,Arlington, VA, USA, May 2012.
3.---. Commentator on the panel, “Victorian Culture and Identity during the South African
War.” The North American Conference on British Studies Annual Meeting, Denver, Colorado, USA, November 2011.
4. ---. Keynote address, Anglo-Zulu War Celebrity Speaker Day. National Army Museum, London, England, February 2012
5. ---. Keynote address, “Firearms and the Zulu Kingdom: The Cultural Ambiguities of Transferring Weapons Technology” at the New Zealand Defence Force conference, Tutū te Puehu: New Zealand’s Wars of the Nineteenth Century, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand, February 2011.
6. ---. Panel discussant, “The Future of New Zealand Wars Historiography,” New Zealand Defence Force conference, Tutū te Puehu: New Zealand’s Wars of the Nineteenth Century, Massey University, Wellington, New Zealand, February 2011.
7. ---. Keynote address, “Hunting Forts in Zululand” at the Tri-U Undergraduate Conference, Wilfrid Laurier University, March 2011.
8. ---. Panel discussant, “Into Africa: Zulu War,” National Army Museum, London, England,
April 2010.
9. ---. Paper, “An Examination of the Battle-Readiness of the Zulu forces that Fought in the Anglo-Zulu War of 1879, and an Assessment of the comparative Military Effectiveness of the amaButho and the Irregular forces Engaged” at the South African Military History Society Conference to Commemorate the 130th Anniversary of the Anglo-Zulu War, Dundee, South Africa, January 2009.
10.---. Paper, “Lord Chelmsford: A General Caught Captive by his Social and Professional Environment” at the South African Military History society Conference to Commemorate the 130th Anniversary of the Anglo-Zulu War, Dundee, South Africa, January 2009.
11. ---. Paper, From Mercenaries to Military Settlers: The British German Legion, 1854-1862.” Society for Military History 2007 Annual Meeting, Frederick, MA, USA, April 2007.
12.---.Keynote address, “The British Way of War in South Africa, 1795-1902: New Approaches.” Britons at War: New Perspectives conference at the University of Northampton (United Kingdom), April 2006.
13. ---. Keynote address, “‘Pulling the General out of the Mire’: an Examination of Lord Chelmsford’s Generalship in the Zululand Campaign of 1879.” Anglo-Zulu War Weekend, National Army Museum, London (United Kingdom), February 2005.
14. ---.Paper, “A Clash of Military Cultures. The British and Boer Military Systems during the Transvaal War (First Boer War) of 1880–1881.” Society for Military History’s 72nd Annual Meeting, The Citadel, Charleston, SC, February 2005.
15.---.Paper, “Burying the Union Jack: British Loyalists in the Transvaal during the First Anglo- Boer War, 1880–1881.” Second British World Conference, University of Calgary, July 2003.
16. ---.Paper. “Zulus and the War.” The Boer War Centennial Conference: The Boer War: Image, Experience and Direction arranged by the School of History and the Centre for Military History, University of Leeds, United Kingdom, in October 1999.
17. ---. Paper. “The Pilgrimage in 1880 by the Empress Eugenie to the Site of the Death of her Son, the Prince Imperial of France.” 3rd Annual Symposium of the French Presence in South Africa. Voortrekker Museum, Pietermaritzburg, June 1999.
18. ---. Paper. “Tourism and History in KwaZulu-Natal.” Workshop on Heritage, History and Tourism, University of Natal, Durban, November 1998.