Unit name | Post-Apartheid South Africa: Rainbow Nation and Insurgent Citizens |
---|---|
Unit code | HISTM0083 |
Credit points | 20 |
Level of study | M/7 |
Teaching block(s) |
Teaching Block 2 (weeks 13 - 24) |
Unit director | Dr. Rob Skinner |
Open unit status | Not open |
Pre-requisites |
none |
Co-requisites |
none |
School/department | Department of History (Historical Studies) |
Faculty | Faculty of Arts |
This unit examines the contemporary history of post-apartheid South Africa. The twenty five years following the country's first democratic elections has been marked by optimistic visions of reconciliation and national reconstruction, along with the realities of continuing poverty and social inequality, and a more recent resurgence of protest and social unrest. Using a wide range of sources including novels and film, as well as the extensive literature on the history, politics and culture of post-apartheid South Africa, the unit will address a series of questions that explore the nature of a society in transition.
Unit aims:
On successfully completing the unit, students will be able to:
Teaching will be delivered through a combination of synchronous and asynchronous sessions, including group seminar-style discussion and self-directed exercises.
One 5000-word essay (100%). [ILOs 1-4].
Saul, John S. 2014. South Africa -- the Present as History: From Mrs. 'Ples' to Mandela & Marikana. Woodbridge, Suffolk: James Currey.
Brown, Julian. 2015. South Africa’s Insurgent Citizens: On Dissent and the Possibility of Politics. London: Zed Books.
Gumede, William. 2007. Thabo Mbeki and the Battle for the Soul of the ANC. New York: Zed Books.
Booysen, Susan. 2016. Fees Must Fall: Student Revolt, Decolonisation and Governance in South Africa. Johannesburg: Wits University Press.
Coombes, Annie E. 2003. History after 'Apartheid :' Visual Culture and Public Memory in a Democratic South Africa. Durham: Duke University Press.