Course Description
South Africa's economic, political and military might has shaped other southern African societies (Namibia, Lesotho, Botswana, Swaziland, Zimbabwe, and Mozambique) in the twentieth century. Reform and revolution which Africans and Europeans employed to regain and maintain African independence in the region.
Additional Requirements for Graduate Students:
Additional research and/or paper(s) are normally required for graduate level coursework.
Athena Title
AFR CONFLICT 20TH C
Semester Course Offered
Offered every year.
Grading System
A - F (Traditional)
Course Objectives
The principal objective of the course is to teach students to think critically for themselves about the relationships between the past and the present, to learn to ask questions of the past that enable them to understand current relationships, conflicts and debates. The course seeks to acquaint students with the ways in which South African peoples have struggled under occupation and Apartheid and the different strategies that individuals and communities employed against the South African government through to the advent of free elections and majority rule in 1994. In general students will be expected to: 1. read a wide range of primary and secondary sources critically. 2. polish skills in critical thinking, including the ability to recognize the difference between opinion and evidence, and the ability to evaluate--and support or refute--arguments effectively. 3. write stylistically appropriate essays that make persuasive arguments regarding the student’s interpretation of evidence and the secondary literature. This process includes the presentation of the argument, the organization and presentation of evidence, as well as the importance of revision and editing.
Topical Outline
Schedule of Assignments (all assignments and due dates are subject to change) Week One: Introduction to the course and African History Week Two: Introduction to South African History Week Three: The European Conquest of the Cape and European Settlement Week Four: European Settlers and South African Resistance Week Five: The South African Colonial State, Settlers, and the Dispossessed Week Six: The Scramble for Africa and The Boer War Week Seven: The African National Congress (ANC) and African Political Resistance Week Eight: South Africa in World War I Week Nine: Urbanization and Segregation Week Ten: South Africa in World War II Week Eleven: The National Party and the Establishment of Legal Apartheid Week Twelve: Imperialism and African Nationalism Week Thirteen: Mandela Forms a Militant Wing of the ANC Week Fourteen: Race and Rebellion Week Fifteen: Mandela and the End of Apartheid