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Shula Marks

b. 1938

British historian

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About Shula Marks

Born 1938. Shula Marks is a South African historian, university teacher, author, journalist and scholar.

Shula Eta Marks, OBE, FBA (born 14 October 1938, in Cape Town) is a South African-British historian and author. She is a emeritus professor of history at the School of Oriental and African Studies of the University of London. She has written at least seven books and a WHO monograph on Health and Apartheid, concerning experiences and public health issues in South Africa. Some of her current public health work involves the fight against the spread of HIV/AIDS in contemporary South Africa.

She was born Shula Eta Winokur in Cape Town and was educated at the University of Cape Town (BA) and the University of London (PhD). She also holds three honorary doctorates. She is married to Professor Isaac Marks, emeritus professor at King's College London. She has two children: Lara, a historian of medicine, and Raphael, an architect.

Career Lecturer in the history of Africa, Institute of Commonwealth Studies and SOAS (jointly) 1963–1976 Reader in the history of Southern Africa, 1976–84; Professor of Commonwealth history 1984–93 and Director, 1983–1993, Institute of Commonwealth Studies Hon DLitt, University of Cape Town, 1994 Hon DSocSci, University of Natal, 1996 Professor of history of Southern Africa SOAS 1993–2001 (professor emeritus 2001–, honorary fellow 2005) Douglas Southall Freeman professor, University of Richmond 2005 Hon DLitt et Phil, University of Johannesburg, 2012

Other positions and honours Consultant, World Health Organization, 1977–1980 President, African Studies Association of the UK (ASAUK), 1978–1979 Chair, World University Southern African Scholarships Committee, 1981–1992 Council Society for Protection of Science and Learning (now Council for Assisting Refugee Academics (CARA)), 1983–2013 (chair 1993–2004) Governor, Institute of Development Studies, University of Sussex, 1988–1991 Chair, The International Records Management Trust, 1989–2004 Advisory Council on Public Records, 1989–1994 Governing Body Queen Elizabeth House Oxford, 1991–1994 Commonwealth Scholarships Commission, 1992–1998 Fellow of the British Academy (FBA), 1995 OBE, 1996 7th Annual Bindoff lecture, "Rewriting South African history, or, The hunt for Hintsa's head", Queen Mary and Westfield College (University of London), delivered 12 March 1996 Humanities Research Board 1997–98, a Non-Departmental Government Body of the British Research Council Arts and Humanities Research Council (AHRB), 1998–2000 Vice-president, Royal African Society, 1999– Distinguished Africanist Award, African Studies Association of the UK, 2002 Trustee, Council Member, Canon Collins Educational & Legal Assistance Trust, 2004–2014

Publications Reluctant Rebellion: An Assessment of the 1906–08 Disturbance in Natal (1970) Economy and Society in Preindustrial South Africa (edited jointly with Anthony Atmore, 1980) Industrialisation and Social Change in South Africa: African class formation, culture, and consciousness, 1870–1930 (Edited jointly with Richard Rathbone, 1982), London and New York: Longman, 383 pages WHO monograph on Health and Apartheid, co-authored, 1983 Ambiguities of Dependence in South Africa: Class, Nationalism and the State in Twentieth Century Natal (1986) The Politics of Race, Class and Nationalism in Twentieth Century South Africa (edited jointly with Stanley Trapido, 1987) Not Either an Experimental Doll: The Separate Worlds of Three South African Women (1987) Divided Sisterhood: Race Class and Nationalism in the South African Nursing Profession (1994)

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Important facts

Birth century
Nationality
Education
University of London, University of Cape Town
Employers
University of London, Institute of Commonwealth Studies, SOAS, University of London, School of Oriental and African Studies
Awards
Fellow of the British Academy; Officer of the Order of the British Empire
Also known as
Shula Eta Marks

Family & relationships

Spouse
Isaac Marks

People in Shula Marks's life

Named in this biography and alive at the same time

Contemporaries

People whose lives overlapped Shula Marks's

Frequently asked questions

Who is Shula Marks?

British historian

When was Shula Marks born?

Shula Marks was born on 14 October 1938 in Cape Town.

What is Shula Marks's occupation?

Shula Marks is a historian, university teacher, author, journalist and scholar.

What nationality is Shula Marks?

Shula Marks is South African.

Sources & further reading

Β· Wikipedia: Shula Marks

Β· Wikidata: Q7504882

Β· DBpedia: Shula Marks

Cite this page

APA: Biography.guide. (2026). Shula Marks. https://biography.guide/shula-marks/

MLA: "Shula Marks." Biography.guide, https://biography.guide/shula-marks/.

Chicago: "Shula Marks." Biography.guide. https://biography.guide/shula-marks/.

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