IPSU Summer School

General 4 – Week Programme June / July 2013

Coordinators: Various

Programme Description

Students following the General 4 – Week programme enroll for 3 courses during their period of study in Stellenbosch. The

courses cover a variety of study fields, which includes: Philosophy, Political Science, Economics, Literature, Art, History and

HIV/AIDS.

Course 1 is mandatory for all students; the two remaining courses are selected from Courses 2 to 8. As some courses run

concurrently, only certain combinations of courses are possible. Each course is worth 2 USA (4 ECTS) credits, giving a total of 6

US (12 ECTS) credits.

Course Information

Here follows the abbreviated descriptions of the 8 courses on offer during the General 4 – Week Programme:

Course 1: Introduction to South Africa’s Political History (Mandatory for all students attending the IPSU Summer School)

During this course, you will be introduced to South Africa’s unique 20th century history, and the interplay between the

country’s political, social and economic issues. In particular, the focus is on South African identities, and how these were and

continue to be shaped by the country’s past. At the root of the apartheid project was a sustained attempt to manipulate social

identities. Almost 50 years of social engineering cannot be dismissed easily, and continues to influence the future of our

democracy. Understanding how the past impacts on the present allows us to better understand the issues and challenges

currently facing the country. We therefore commence by exploring South Africa’s political history, focusing on the apartheid era

and the transition to democracy. A field trip to Robben Island will contribute to making this history come alive. An assessment

of the process of reconciliation following the 1994 elections provides the bridge to a discussion of the project of nation-building,

including the debates around national identity construction.

Main Course Objectives:

To expose students to the complex issues facing South Africa as it rebuilds its economic, political, social, and cultural

structures in keeping with a democratic post-apartheid society.

To deepen intercultural and interpersonal awareness, understanding, and respect, and thus enhance students’ abilities to

interact sensitively and responsibly with other cultures.

Course 2: Bio – Diversity: Plants for the People in the Western Cape

During this course, you will be introduced to South Africa’s incredible biological diversity, with special focus on the plants of the

Cape Floristic Region. After a solid theoretical and practical introduction to the diversity and richness of this flora, the focus will

shift to the role and responsibility of people in conserving and benefiting from these botanical riches. This leads on to a full day

of exploration of the benefits currently being reaped from commercialization of indigenous plants for especially the cut flower

industry. Indigenous plant use by local people, especially traditional healers, constitutes the final topic of discussion, and will be

followed by a visit to traditional medicinal markets. The course will close with verbal presentations by students on topics

researched during the course of the module.

Main Course Objectives: To introduce students to the spectacular botanical diversity of South Africa, and to the challenges around the sustainable

utilization of this flora for both commercial and cultural benefit.

Course 3: Apartheid and After: Representations of South Africa in Art and Media

In this course we will track major developments and changes in South African art and media from the Union years (1910 – 48),

through the Apartheid era (1948-1994) and after (1994-present). The point of this broad historical perspective is not so much

to provide a condensed history of South African art and media, as it is to explore the relationship between South Africa’s

turbulent socio-political landscape and its visual culture. In particular, we aim to explore the notion of national identity as it

manifested and still manifests in art and visual culture. The first part of the course deals with the concurrent rise of Afrikaner

and African nationalism in the early 20th century, and the role of visual culture in the construction of these competing national

identities. The second part of the lecture series deals with the years of the ‘struggle’, when the dominant white construct of

nation came into conflict with the rising tide of militant African nationalist aspiration. The final part of the series looks at ‘new’

South African nationalism, and the often conflicted art and media it produces.

Main Course Objectives: To develop a sense of the unique relationship between the visual arts, media and national identity in South Africa.

To deepen students’ awareness of the complexity of South African history and it’s changing socio-political environment and

how the shifting tides of South Africa’s turbulent history affected the concept of a South African identity.

To inculcate a greater understanding of issues around nationalism and the postcolony in general.

Course 4: HIV and AIDS: A South African Perspective

This module aims to nurture and develop the necessary knowledge, skills and attitudes in students as leaders and future

professionals to manage HIV prevention and care in the workplace, both locally and abroad. This module will aim to develop a

global understanding of HIV and AIDS through a South African experience of the HIV epidemic.

The module will aim to provide students with an understanding of:

The impact of the HIV epidemic in South Africa.

The biomedical facts of HIV and Aids.

The influence of personal worldview, values and beliefs on an educational approach to HIV.

The role, context and function of treatment for HIV with reference to the influence of stigma and discrimination in SA.

Course 5: Growth, Unemployment and Inequality in South Africa

South Africa is a unique country in many ways. First-time visitors often find it difficult to comprehend the immense inequalities

that seem to permeate South African society. This course takes the student on a broad but intense overview of the South

African economic dilemma, using the past to better understand the future. The attentive student will not find easy answers. We

strictly follow the creed: “If the answers were so simple, why would we still have problems, stupid?” But the course does offer

the student a more nuanced understanding of how the South Africa of today confronts the major economic problems of

poverty, unemployment and inequality. And what South African society (government, business, and civil society) is doing to

confront these challenges. Central to these discussions is South Africa’s important role in Africa; the future success of the

continent is highly dependent on the success of strong economies such as South Africa. And finally, we delve into the crystal ball

of scenario planning to map a future for South Africa that might either be good or bad – but certainly, unique.

*Although it is not a requirement, a background in business studies or economics is a recommendation.

Course 6: Apartheid and After: Negotiating Identities in Literature and Film

This course focuses on the way in which literature and film in South Africa have registered and reflected the social and political

conflicts and tensions of the Apartheid years, and how, since the first democratic elections in 1994, these fields of cultural

production have served—and continue to serve—as a means of questioning and negotiating identity, not only nationally, but also

at the level of the community and the individual.

The primary aim of this course is therefore to identify currently prevalent thematic trends – for example, the ongoing interest in

and engagement with the fact or metaphorics of crime – while also thinking about South Africa’s cultural landscape as

constituted in the interplay between, on the one hand, the country’s history and socio-economic realities, and, on the other

hand, a range of global trends and developments.

A secondary aim of the course is to establish the shifts or continuities in the particular formal codes used in South African

literature and film to represent these thematic trends. Over the course of the week, we will engage with both classic and

current South African poems, short stories, a contemporary novel, as well as three films: one from the apartheid era and two

more recent South African releases.

At the end of the course, students should be equipped with a basic understanding of the manner in which particular stylistic

features are deployed in the representation of questions of identity in South Africa.

Course 7: Challenges for Democratic Consolidation

This course builds on some of the issues introduced in Course I. Its focus is on contemporary South Africa – a society in

transition, characterised by elements of both change and continuity. Present challenges for democratic consolidation are situated

within the unfinished history of human rights in South Africa, and specifically the demand for economic justice and the

democratic participation of all sectors of society in the running of the country. We explore some of the most urgent policy

challenges currently facing the country (including continuing underdevelopment, high crime rates, and chequered service

delivery), asking questions about the violent nature of crime in South Africa, and extent to which South Africa’s transition to

democracy is actually over.

The impacts of half a century of social engineering do not disappear overnight, and so we further investigate the politics of

identity, race and nation-building. In particular, we explore government’s efforts to promote a sense of unity, and the tensions

between national unity and the dominance of one party, the African National Congress, at the polls. We focus on the implosion

of the party in the post-Mandela period as well as on the outcomes of the ANC's national elective conference in Mangaung. We

specifically focus on sport as a driver of national identity and social reconciliation. Finally, we also take a look at the role the

South African state plays in Africa and internationally, with specific focus on the tension between the different identities it tries

to project at regional and international levels, and between domestic and foreign policy priorities. The overarching question will

be, given the immense challenges, what are the prospects for the future of democracy in South Africa?

Course 8: Ethics, Science and Culture in Philosophical Perspective

This course examines a number of key problems and discussions in contemporary science, ethics and culture.

Science: We will discuss the question of what science is and why it matters to answer this question. We will focus on the

different answers that Popper and Kuhn gave to this question.

Ethics: We will discuss utilitarianism, deontology and virtue ethics as three prominent ethical theories. We will also look at the

relation between selfishness and altruism, the relation between ethics and science and the relation between ethics and

evolutionary theory.

Culture: Culture is largely a matter of the institutions that a society adopts. We will look at the nature of institutions and discuss the status of questions like ‘capitalism v. socialism’.

Presentation

The courses will be conducted through interactive lectures, discussions, group work, video material, and field trips to places of

specific importance for the respective field of study.

Course Programme & Dates

*A well-organized social programme supports the academic programme of the summer school.

Week 1: Monday, 17 June – Friday, 21 June (Mandatory for all students attending the IPSU Summer School.)

Introduction to South Africa’s Political History

Week 2: Monday, 24 June – Friday, 28 June (Choose one of the following four courses.)

Bio-Diversity: Plants for the People in the Western Cape

Apartheid and After: Representations of South Africa in Art and Media

HIV and AIDS: A South African Perspective

Growth, Unemployment and Inequality in South Africa

Week 3 / 4: Tuesday, 2 July – Friday, 5 July; Tuesday, 9 July (Choose one of the following four courses.)

HIV and AIDS: A South African Perspective

Apartheid and After: Negotiating Identities in Literature and Film

Challenges for Democratic Consolidation

Ethics, Science and Culture in Philosophical Perspective

Evaluation

The evaluation of each course is determined by the academic coordinator of the respective course. In general each of the above

courses includes a substantive writing assignment, a written test and in some cases class presentations. Class attendance is

compulsory for all courses; 10 % of the total mark of each course is based on class participation and attendance.

Admission Requirements

These are the admission requirements for the General 4 – Week Programme:

2.8 GPA

Second or further year of study

Some of the respective courses have additional recommendations and requirements

The application form is available on the summer school website: www.sun.ac.za/summerschools/ipsu

More Information

Contact Jan Willem van der Westhuizen: janwillemvdw@sun.ac.za