Books The Origins of the South Afri, Combat Flying Clothing, The Emin Pasha Relief Ex, Blood and Iron: The German, United States Army Avi | ||
Iain Robertson Smith (born July 1939) is emeritus reader in history at the University of Warwick. He is a specialist in the history of South Africa and the South African War in particular. Smith was a member of Council of The Historical Association from 1980 to 1995 and editor of the New Appreciations in History series.
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Early life and education
Iain Smith was born in July 1939. He received his advanced education at the University of Edinburgh (M.A.) and the University of Wisconsin (M.A.) where he was a Fulbright Scholar. He earned his D.Phil. from St. Antony's College, University of Oxford.
Career
Smith is emeritus reader in history at the University of Warwick. He is a specialist in the history of South Africa and the South African War in particular. His book on The origins of the South African War, 1899-1902 (1996) was welcomed in Afrikaans circles but criticised by some English speaking scholars as too limited in scope. Kobus du Pisani in H-Net praised it for its "old-fashioned approach, maintaining a strong narrative line" but also criticised the book as "one-sided" and for failing to examination contemporary Boer sources. Smith recently contributed to a reappraisal of the Siege of Mafeking and is researching the concentration or internment camps, established for Boer and Black civilians in South Africa by the British.
He was a member of Council of The Historical Association from 1980 to 1995 and editor of the New Appreciations in History series. He has held visiting academic positions at the University of Cape Town (1989), University of Pretoria (1993, 2001), Institute of Commonwealth Studies London (1987), Mansfield College Oxford (1997), University of Tbilisi, Georgian Republic (1991), and the Institute of Historical Research, Helsinki (1998).