South Africa in the 20th Century

Centre of West African Studies, School of History and Cultures

College of Arts and Law

Details

Code 18766

Level of study Third/Final year

Credit value 20

Semester 1 or 2 depending on staff availability

Module description

This module studies South Africa from the late 19th century to the end of political apartheid in 1994. The emphasis falls equally on the consolidation of settler domination and on the varieties of African initiative and resistance that shaped and challenged white rule and accumulation. Topics include the causes and consequences of the Anglo-Boer War and their relationship to the gold mining industry; the segregationist institutions and policies of the settler dominion from 1910-1939; the meaning and making of apartheid after 1948; black nationalism at home and in exile; and the insurrections, states of emergency and negotiations that produced the new South Africa.

Teaching and learning methods

Lectures and classes