Study Abroad in Stellenbosch: Courses

Course selection

The following course outlines are based on the 2008 program. Each year the course content and program is adjusted slightly, but this should give students a good idea of what to expect.

Course 1: (Required Module)
Introduction to History, Politics and Economics SSA 201/SSA 202 (2)
Students receive either Political Science or History credits, depending on their essay topic. This course includes an African dance and drumming workshop and visits to historic sites like Robben Island Prison Museum and Parliament.

Course 2
Service Learning and Community Development SSA 206 (5)
Includes practical Community Service Learning experience.

Course 3
Bio- and Geo-Diversity in the Western Cape SSA 203 (2)

Course 4
Apartheid and After: Representations of South Africa in Art and Literature (SSA 204) (2)
Courses 3 and 4 both include a weekend field trip to a working farm in the Karoo, a visit to Cape Point and Kirstenbosch Botanical Garden.

Course 5
Understanding the HIV-AIDS Epidemic SSA 207 (2)

Course 6
Social, Legal and Cultural Landscapes of South Africa SSA 205 (2)
Includes visits to places for cultural understanding: Cape Muslim Community, Gugulethu and Habitat for Humanity House Building project.

Service Learning

In an era of increasing globalization, it is becoming ever more important for students to develop an understanding of the world they live in. It is widely recognized that a period of service learning overseas can greatly enhance intercultural understanding and promote an awareness of global issues. As well as getting an in-depth look at another culture and learning new skills, students choosing a service learning option can also gain immense satisfaction from knowing that they are making a real contribution to the society they are living and studying in.

Course descriptions

Course 1
Introduction to History, Politics and Economics SSA 201/301 and SSA 202/302 (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
Service Learning and Community Development SSA 206/306 (5)
The objective of this exciting module is to provide international students with the opportunity to demonstrate their global citizenship through a service learning experience. Students will develop an understanding of the historical background and current issues impacting on community life and problems in South Africa and will experience it first hand through service to a South African community while earning academic credits.

Community service learning is a term that describes the contact between the student and a community of choice where the service learning experience will take place. Students learn while rendering a needed service to the community. Students selecting this module will be placed with partnering service organizations for placement. Possible placements include youth programs, early education development, HIV and AIDS prevention and care, art and music programs and schools. The service learning module comprises 30 hours of structured class time plus 40 hours of community involvement.

Course 3
Bio- and Geo-Diversity in the Western Cape and South Africa SSA 203/303 (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.

Course 4
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 (please refer to the field trip description in Course 3)

Course 5
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 6
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.”