LEADER 03616nam 2200445 450 001 9910483591203321 005 20230629231234.0 010 $a3-030-52711-5 024 7 $a10.1007/978-3-030-52711-2 035 $a(CKB)5460000000008762 035 $a(DE-He213)978-3-030-52711-2 035 $a(MiAaPQ)EBC6450890 035 $a(EXLCZ)995460000000008762 100 $a20210312d2021 uy 0 101 0 $aeng 135 $aurnn|008mamaa 181 $ctxt$2rdacontent 182 $cc$2rdamedia 183 $acr$2rdacarrier 200 10$a'Africa forms the key' $eAlex du Toit and the history of continental drift /$fSuryakanthie Chetty 205 $a1st ed. 2021. 210 1$aCham, Switzerland :$cPalgrave Macmillan,$d[2021] 210 4$dİ2021 215 $a1 online resource (XI, 271 p. 6 illus.) 225 1 $aCambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies,$x2635-1633 311 $a3-030-52710-7 320 $aIncludes bibliographical references and index. 327 $a1 Introduction -- 2 In the Beginning?: Geology in South Africa and the Early Years of Alex Du Toit.-3 A World in a Grain of Sand: A Brief History of Geology and the Origins of Continental Drift Theory -- 4 Bedrock: Geology and the Shaping of a Nation -- 5 On the Shoulders of Giants: Early Drift Theorists -- 6 Looking Through ? the Keyhole of Nature: Du Toit and Early Continental Drift -- 7 And Yet It Moves?: Du Toit?s South American Journey -- 8 The Cradle of Humankind: A Pivotal Decade for Science in South Africa -- 9 Our Wandering Continents: Du Toit?s Definitive Work, Controversy and Consensus -- 10 A Frozen History of the Past: Antarctica, Gondwana and an Unfulfilled Dream -- 11 The Final Years -- 12 Pale Blue Dot: Conclusions. 330 $aThis book examines the work of prominent South African geologist Alex Du Toit as a means of understanding the debate around continental drift both in segregation-era South Africa and internationally. It contextualises Du Toit?s work within a particularly formative period of South African science, from the paleoanthropological discoveries that sparked debates about the origins of humankind to Jan Smuts? own theory of holism. Beyond South African scientific discoveries, the book sets Du Toit?s work against a backdrop of ideological struggles over space, both domestically in terms of segregation and nationalism, as well as internationally as South Africa sought to assert its position within the Commonwealth. These debates were embodied by Du Toit?s work on the theory of continental drift, which put Africa ? and South Africa ? at the centre geologically and geographically. The author also focuses on the divisions in geology caused by drift theory, tracing the vigorous intellectual debate and dissent indicative of the ideological milieu within which scientific thought is constructed. It traces the history of continental drift from its inception in the nineteenth century and later work of Alfred Wegener, which was both elaborated upon and substantiated by Du Toit. The study further focuses on Du Toit?s research on continental drift in South African and South America, and the geological, fossil and climatological evidence used to bolster this theory. . 410 0$aCambridge Imperial and Post-Colonial Studies,$x2635-1633 607 $aSouth Africa$xHistory$yTo 1836 676 $a016.55113 700 $aChetty$b Suryakanthie$01216698 801 0$bMiAaPQ 801 1$bMiAaPQ 801 2$bMiAaPQ 906 $aBOOK 912 $a9910483591203321 996 $aAfrica forms the key$92813074 997 $aUNINA