Historical Association of Tanzania

Abstract

This is a description of activities of the Historical Association of Tanzania, which was founded in 1966 at the University College, Dar es Salaam. It is divided into six sections. Section One dwells on how higher education institutions around the world enabled their history departments to form historical associations that connected them with the masses of people in the respective countries. Section Two describes the most successful beginnings for the Historical Association in Tanzania marked by, among other things, setting up of an Executive Committee elected through meetings of representatives of history teachers from various regions in the country; production of reading materials for schools; and holding of annual conferences that resulted in publication of books based on papers presented during the conferences. The third section gives a picture of decline in the years from the late 1970s, as manifested in the ceasing of production of paper series, irregularity of meetings and a major drawback in publication of books. Section Four discusses some aspects of revival as witnessed in the period from1983 to 1986, including the resumption of the annual conferences that had stopped for a number of years. The fifth section looks at the period from 1998 to 2001, during which an aspiration for growth was signaled although no practical outcomes were registered. Despite the registration of HAT as an NGO in 1999 the state of ‘dementia’ continued till 2015, when the Department of History at the University of Dar es Salaam started taking promising measures that were still continuing at the time of writing of this article.