Honours Level Courses

First Semester Courses

TOPICS IN THE ARCHAEOLOGY AND PRE-INDUSTRIAL HISTORY OF THE WESTERN CAPE.

 This course, offered jointly by the Archaeology and History departments, examines key issues in the historical development of the Western Cape. Topics will include a consideration of the impact of the environment on pre-historic human settlement in the area; interaction between hunter gatherers and pastoralists; frontiers of interaction between colonists and the Khoisan; the construction of colonial identities; slavery,racism and class formation in urban and rural settings; gender and sexually; historical archaeology and the historical record; ethnicity, culture and politics and religion to c1870.

 History convenor: Dr Nigel Penn

PLAGUES, PAST &PRESENT

Plagues and epidemics like AIDS are dramatic, life-threatening phenomena which, for that very reason, call forth sharp responses from all quarters of societies put at risk by them. This fact provides historians with unparalleled insights into those societies,exposing what one has called `the very nerve system of a society'. This course will examine a series of such epidemics from antiquity to the present (e.g. the plague of Athens, the Black Death, the Great Plague of London, smallpox and cholera in the 19thCentury, the Spanish Flu Epidemic, AIDS) as a means of understanding and comparing human responses to such crises, from the past until the present. Evidence to be considered will include literary works, visual evidence and oral testimony.  

Convenor: Associate Professor Howard Phillips

MUSEUMS(1) THE POLITICS AND ETHICS OF COLLECTING

This course examines the phenomenon of collecting and the development of institutions of collecting such as the curiosity cabinets, the museum , art gallery and world exhibitions. It then looks at contemporary critiques and responses, such as the eco--museum, the museum without walls and the post-modern challenge to curatorial authority.The course also examines issues in the ethics of collecting, such as the antiquities trade, plunder and repatriation and indigenous claims to artefacts. The course will be illustrated throughout with case studies from South Africa, Africa and other parts of the world.

The course is run over 9 weeks and is taught by Andy Smith, Anna Tietze, Nigel Worden and Sandra Klopper.

History convenor: Associate Professor Nigel Worden

FROM APARTHEID TO DEMOCRACY: NAMIBIA AND SOUTH AFRICA COMPARED

This course will compare the transition to democracy in South Africa and its colony,Namibia. The main focus will be on political transition in the two countries. In the Namibian case we will look at the role of international pressures for change, the war in southern Angola and the role of SWAPO. For South Africa we shall consider the events of the period 1984-1994 in detail: the township revolt, the beginnings of dialogue, the negotiation process itself, and the drawing up of the new constitution.

Convenor: Associate Professor Christopher Saunders

ANALYSING THE HISTORICAL DOCUMENTARY

There are two main components to this course.

1) Analysing existing historical documentaries within the existing theoretical literature on film and written history. There will be a particular focus on South African documentaries, but we make use of documentaries from other parts of the world when appropriate. Themes studied may include the following:

• Documentaries made on periods before the existence of contemporary film footage;

• Documentaries on contemporary or near contemporary topics (eg Robben Island);

• Cinema verite;

• Contested or controversial documentaries (eg Robben Island);

• The unconventional documentary (eg The Leader, The leader’s driver and the leader’s driver’s wife).

2) Learning how to make a documentary, including pre-production, script-writing, camerawork and editing.

Students doing this course would normally be expected to make a documentary as the"thesis" component or their Honours year.

Convenors: Associate Professor. Vivian Bickford-Smith and Associate Professor Richard Mendelsohn

Second Semester Courses

 

VIETNAM

This course explores verbal, visual and aural representations of the Vietnam War.Themes will include the nature of combat, protest and popular culture, the effect of the war on US society, gender and representations of "the other". The course is open to students doing History or English Honours. Students doing Honours in other departments may apply to the convenors for admission.

Film screenings will take place on Tuesday afternoons. Seminar discussions on Wednesdays.

Convenors: Associate Professor Vivian Bickford-Smith and Associate Professor Richard Mendelsohn

TOPICS IN THE MODERN HISTORY OF THE WESTERN CAPE.

This course will examine issues in the history of the Western Cape from c 1870 onwards.Topics will include: themes in the history of Cape Town, British imperialism, Afrikaner nationalism, coloured identity, the South African war, the growth of working class consciousness; rural transformation and agricultural development; the struggle against apartheid; District Six and urban aggregation; street politics, crime and the 1994elections in the Western Cape.

Convenor: Dr Nigel Penn

ASPECTS OF THE DEVELOPMENT OF SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORIOGRAPHY

This course will consider trends in the development of South African historical writing from the early nineteenth century to the present. It will do so through a discussion of key historical and/or historiographical debates and a focus on the work of certain major historians (such as Theal, Macmillan, Legassick). A final seminar will consider tensions in the discipline today and ask whether history in South Africa is `in crisis'.

Convenor: Associate Professor Christopher Saunders

MUSEUMS(2)PUBLIC HISTORY AND TOURISM

This course focuses on exhibitions and presentations of history and culture through tourism, monuments and festivals. We will examine ways in which history and images of society are presented in each of these forms, their relationship with popular and academic arenas of knowledge production and their association with the changing nature of the state. Each theme will draw on both South African and international experiences.

The course is run over 9 weeks in the 2nd semester. It is taught by Leslie Witz, Ciraj Rassool and Nigel Worden. It will probably be offered on the UWC campus.

INTERPRETING THE FRENCH REVOLUTION

The French Revolution is probably the most studied `event' (in fact series of events)in world history. It is a focus for new historical methodologies and vividly contrasting interpretations. The bi-centenary of the revolution in 1989 produced a tidal wave of new studies on the subject. The object of this course is to examine those debates around the revolution. Students are expected to have a basic knowledge of the forces, events and personalities of the time (1789-1795). The course looks at the new methods employed to reassess the role of the monarchy, aristocracy, church, intellectuals, the `middle class' and the `crowd'. Why did the democratic revolution of 1789 turn into the Terror of 1793-4?How did events in the provinces differ from those in Paris? Why did the revolutionaries reject federalism in favour of a highly centralised state? Did the revolution modernise France or bankrupt and bleed the country? To what extent did the revolution achieve its aims of liberty, equality and fraternity? What roles did individuals play in the revolution? How has the revolution been portrayed cinemategraphically? These are some of the many points we examine as we look at the way a country, dislocated by the sudden fundamental changes of 1789, hovered uncertainly between democracy and dictatorship.

Convenor: Associate Professor Patrick Harries

GREEN IMPERIALISM

The course introduces students to the theory and practice of environmental history through case studies of environmental themes in European colonial expansion. Alfred Crosby's influential "biological imperialism" thesis will provide the organising idea for an examination of the following topics in an eight seminar programme:

• Biological Imperialism: The Crosby thesis and its critics.
• Firestick History: The role of human fire in shaping the Australian pre-colonial and colonial environment.
• Dust Bowl: The agrarian transformation of the Great Plains of the United States and its implications.
• A Plague of Sheep: The impact of domestic stock on the Central Valley of Mexico.
• The Handmaiden of Imperialism: Science's role in furthering European colonial expansion.
• Trypanosomiasis & Colonialism: The contentious debate about the role of colonialism in spreading "sleeping sickness" in Africa.
• Hydraulic Empires: The control of water in the conquest of the American West.
• The Gateway City: The environmental impact of urbanisation in the United States.

The course aims to encourage students to pursue environmental history ideas and concerns in their own research and, for those interested, assistance will be provided in identifying potential local projects as well as in research and write up.

Convenor: Dr Lance van Sittert

Either First or Second Semesters

HST 407Z: FROM APARTHEID TO DEMOCRACY IN SOUTH AFRICA AND NAMIBIA

4th year Honours course open to INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS

This course is - not listed in the Handbook but is offered EVERY SEMESTER.

(It may not be offered in first semester 2001, if the convenor is on study leave.)

The transfer of power. Was the Revolution betrayed? The `big event' of the 1990s in southern Africa was the transition from apartheid to democracy. Why did apartheid come to an end? How did the transition occur? What kind of democracy emerged?

Admission to this exciting seminar-based course is subject to the approval of the convenor, but Honours and MA by coursework students in Historical Studies and Political Studies are encouraged to apply, AS ARE INTERNATIONAL STUDENTS WHO ARE THIRD YEAR MAJORS IN HISTORY AND/OR POLITICS.

There are no lectures as such, but regular double-period seminars. A number of papers will be written during the semester. Papers are circulated before seminars by email. You are encouraged to read as widely as possible.

Examination: Course-work (mainly a long paper) counts 50%, a 2 hour examination 50%.

This course will analyse the transitions to democracy in South Africa and its colony, Namibia. We will consider, inter alia, the nature of United Nations involvement in the Namibian transition, the role of the war in southern Angola, and the effectiveness of the strategies adopted by the liberation movement Swapo. We will study the period 1984-1994 in South Africa in detail: the township revolt, the beginnings of dialogue, how and why apartheid collapsed, the negotiation process itself, and the drawing up of the new constitution. Throughout, we will explore similarities and differences and raise theoretical issues relating to transitions from authoritarian rule to democratic systems.

Further information: Christopher Saunders  

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