In the 1980s, the University of Cape Town's social anthropology department was predominantly oriented by an 'expos ' style of critical scholarship. The enemy was the apartheid state, the ethical imperative was clear and a combative metaphor for doing research motivated the department. Andrew David Spiegel, known affectionately as 'Mugsy' by his students and colleagues, has been a central, if understated, figure of this history and helped to frame the theoretical charge of a generation of students looking to counter apartheid from 'inside'. In a series of interviews between the senior professor and one of his students - Jessica Dickson - Spiegel offers a unique perspective from the centre of anthropology's recent history in South Africa. | South African Anthropology in Conversation. An Intergenerational Interview on the History and Future of Social Anthropology in South Africa