About
Dr Laura Evans is a Senior Lecturer in History at Sheffield Hallam University, affiliated with the Sheffield Creative Industries Institute and Sheffield Institute of Social Sciences. Her research focuses on modern South African history, particularly the apartheid-era bantustans and political violence during the transition to democracy. She previously held fellowships at the University of the Western Cape and University of Cape Town. Her 2019 book Survival in the Dumping Grounds examines forced relocation into Ciskei bantustan. Recent work analyzes the 1992 mass action campaign and Bhisho massacre, challenging narratives of South Africa's 'peaceful' transition. She teaches modern African, colonial, and postcolonial history.
Research affiliations include the Humanities Research Centre and Culture & Creativity Research Institute at SHU, plus a Research Associate role at the University of the Free State's International Studies Group. Key research themes: bantustan socio-political dynamics, mass action movements, oral history methodologies, and transitional justice contexts.
Publications emphasize interdisciplinary approaches to understanding state coercion and community resilience under apartheid and its aftermath. Current projects likely expand on local dynamics of resistance and how marginalized voices shaped national political trajectories.
