Study Abroad in Stellenbosch: Courses

Course selection

The following course outlines are based on the 2009 program. Each year the course content and program is adjusted slightly, but this should give students a good idea of what to expect.

University course numbers are first, with the American equivalent (one level higher) after. Recommended credits are in parentheses.

Students must take course 1 (for 2 credits) and course 5 (for 2 credits), and then choose one additional course from courses 2 to 4 (for 2 credits each), providing a maximum total of 6 credits.

Course 1 Introduction to History, Politics and Economics (2)
Course 2 Botanical Diversity of South Africa: Cape Flora-plants for the people in the Western Cape (2)
Course 3 Apartheid and After: Representations of South Africa in Art and Literature (2)
Course 4 Understanding the HIV/AIDS Epidemic (2)
Course 5 Social, Cultural and Legal Landscapes of South Africa (2)
Important: A minimum of 5 students must register for a course before it can be offered. 

Course descriptions

Course 1 (Mandatory): Introduction to History, Politics, and Economics — SSA 201/301 and SSA202/302 (2)
Faculties: Arts and Humanities, Economic and Management Sciences. Departments of Political Science, Economics; Institute of Future Studies.
Examines the recently-evolved political and economic systems and the manner in which South Africa’s colonial legacy and apartheid past still influence the present systems. The concept of future studies is introduced against the background of South Africa’s particular economic, political, social and cultural factors.
Field trips: Robben Island Prison Museum, Parliament and Drumming Workshops

Course 2: Botanical Diversity of South Africa: Cape Flora – Plants for the People in the Western Cape— SSA203/303 (2)
Faculty: Science. Departments of Geology, Zoology and Botany
Students are introduced to and explore various geological sites, and the indigenous flora found in the Western Cape called Fynbos. The course also discusses South Africa’s enormous mineral wealth that has been influential in shaping the social and political environment in the country for the past 150 years.
Field trip: Discovering the Karoo, Cape Point and Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden
Exposure to the Afrikaans culture. Students will visit a working
farm near Prins Albert in the Karoo where they will engage in farm activities, game viewing, hiking, campfire gatherings, “braaing,” etc.

     OR

Course 3: Apartheid and After: Representations of South Africa in Art and Literature — SSA 204/304 (2)
Faculty: Humanities. Departments: English and Fine Arts
This course focuses on art and the way in which literature in South Africa registered and reflected the social and political conflicts and tensions of the apartheid years. Students view the art produced in the first ten years of democracy and discuss post-apartheid literature through the genres of poetry, novels, drama, and selected texts.
Field trip: Discovering the Karoo, Cape Point and Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden
Exposure to the Afrikaans culture. Students will visit a working farm near Prins Albert in the Karoo where they will engage in farm activities, game viewing, hiking, campfire gatherings, “braaing”, etc.

     OR

Course 4: Understanding the HIV/AIDS Epidemic — SSA 207/307 (2)
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 course will aim to develop a global understanding of HIV and AIDS through a South African experience of the HIV epidemic.

Course 5 (Mandatory): Social, Legal and Cultural Landscapes of South Africa SSA 205/305 (2) Institute of Justice and Reconciliation, Cape Town
Department of Industrial Psychology: African Centre for HIV/AIDS Management; JL Zwane Community Centre, Gugulethu; Habitat for Humanity House Building project
This course analyses the theoretical background of reconciliation, and focuses on the reconciliation problems facing South Africa in the post-apartheid era. It also discusses reconciliation problems faced in post-conflict societies elsewhere in Africa. Students go on field trips to the JL Zwane community center in Gugulethu – one of the oldest townships in South Africa; spend a day on a building project with Habitat for Humanity, receive an introduction to the Cape Muslim Society by the Imam of the Stellenbosch Mosque and visit the Malay Quarters or “Bo-Kaap” in Cape Town. The week concludes with a debate in which all students participate: “Facing challenges of reconciliation
in Africa”.
Includes visits to places for cultural understanding: Cape Muslim Community, Gugulethu and Habitat for Humanity House Building project.

Service Learning

The Service Learning option is now a separate program. This course runs for 5 weeks and does not give students the option to participate in any other course. The aim of the program is to provide students from abroad with the opportunity to demonstrate and develop their global citizenship through service-learning. They will develop an understanding of the historical background and current issues impacting on community life and problems in South Africa and experience it first hand through service to a South African community while earning academic credits.