Study Abroad | Stellenbosch
Fall 2024: Academics

Course Code: Social Anthropology 252/352

Instruction Language: English

An overview of ethnographical work in South Africa, with specific attention to the changing theoretical and contextual dimensions.

Course Code: Art 106/206

Instruction Language: English

Examines three photographic practices that are relevant to the Southern African context, namely social documentary, portraiture and fine art photography.

Course Code: Biometry 242/342

Instruction Language: English

Treatment and experimental design; efficiency of estimation; analysis of variance; hypothesis tests for means and differences between means: F-test, t-test, Student’s LSD; confidence intervals; non-parametric tests; multiple linear regressions.

Course Code: Transport and Logistics Systems 144/244

Instruction Language: English

Introduction to the unique purpose of the transport system; the components of the system; the economic significance of the transport system; the organization and regulation of transport; concepts of demand and supply; and transport from a management perspective. The scope of product supply chains; aspects of utility and value creation; aspects of materials management, including resource and inventory acquisition; aspects of production and operations management; aspects of physical distribution management; conforming to customer requirements with respect to product supply and delivery.

Course Code: 214

Instruction Language: English

As an international exchange student, you will no doubt experience some level of culture shock when first arriving in South Africa. During your stay you will be interacting with locals from very diverse backgrounds in terms of language, culture, ethnicity, and social class. All these things play a role in how people construct their identities. This module draws from different disciplines – history, hip-hop and other popular music studies, post-colonial studies, sociology, and more – to give students the necessary context(s) to not only better understand contemporary South African society, but to also gain knowledge about people, popular culture and identities against the backdrop of major historical shifts. On a theoretical level, the link between popular culture and identity is strong, yet until recently, it has been neglected in wider studies on African culture in favour of a ‘traditional’, or ‘pure’, African vs ‘elite’/ ‘modern classical’ Western dichotomy. This has ‘… obscured … the cultural activities, procedures, and products of most people in present-day Africa’ (Barber, 1997:1-2). These obscured activities have histories that are in part linked to the continent’s colonial past, which not only introduced Western cultural practices (in education, music, etc.), but also initialized rural-urban migration, industrialisation, and introduced mass media, all of which influenced everyday popular culture. In South Africa, during the politically tumultuous twentieth century, ordinary people managed to establish agency, construct identities, and partake in popular cultural practices that defied the apartheid regime. They composed and performed marabi jazz in Sophia town in the 1940s and 1950s as a celebration of their African identities and they expressed their fashion and music tastes in Drum magazine. In Cape Town, the famous inner-city neighbourhood, District Six, functioned as a nucleus of coloured people’s cultural practices before they were forcibly removed between 1968 and 1982. On the other side of the racial spectrum, some privileged white youths flirted with counterculture and became hippies or punks, while others conformed to conservative cultural practices under apartheid. In post-apartheid South Africa, popular culture still plays a vital role in the way people act socially and differentiate themselves from others in a post-colonial context Ultimately, this module looks at South African popular culture(s) since the beginning of the 20th century (including popular music, sub-cultures, magazines, films, literature, youth culture, etc.) with the aim of understanding the ways in which people from different backgrounds construct(ed) their identities – both individually and collectively – amidst phases of societal change.

Course Code: Biology 144/244

Instruction Language: English

Classification of organisms. Diversity of microorganisms, plants and animals. Ecological principles and global changes.

Course Code: Economics 114/214 or 144/244

Instruction Language: English

Introductory microeconomics and macroeconomics and the role of government.

Course Code: Xhosa 114/214

Instruction Language: English/Xhosa

A communicative approach develops the language skills of listening, speaking, reading and writing, within a cultural context. Students learn the basics of the Xhosa language and culture (visits to various Xhosa communities, restaurants and church services).

Course Code: Global Health 214/314

Instruction Language: English

This interactive course aims to develop a global understanding of HIV and AIDS, gender and sexuality through a health and social justice perspective. We will have a specific focus on the South African experience, evaluating how far have we have come regarding HIV and Aids, gender, sexuality and health social justice in post-apartheid South Africa.

Course Code: History 114/214

Instruction Language: English

An overview of the first 500 years of South African history. This course will give international students a basic understanding of the formation of the country today known as South Africa. The historical investigation into the origins of the nation begins with the arrival of the Portuguese explorers in the 15th century and concludes with the birth of apartheid.

Course Code: Political Science 144/244

Instruction Language: English

An overview of the most important actors, structures and processes in the global system. Students will be familiarized with some practical as well as theoretical challenges related to the study and analysis of International Relations (IR), with particular attention to the African context.

Course Code: English 348/448

Instruction Language: English

This elective looks at three texts published in post-apartheid South Africa. Writing about debut novels and the expansion of “South Africanness” in fiction, Margaret Lenta writes: “South African debut novels which have appeared since 1999, although diverse in their nature, and often related to the ethnic or language group of their authors, demonstrate a general awareness of new freedoms and new developments in South African society, as well as registering disappointment with the new regime.” C.A. Davids’ debut novel will be used to explore some of these notions, whileAchmat Dangor’s collection of short stories allows for an exploration of South Africanness that is largely informed by the various spaces that Dangor claims as “home”. In examining Verwoerd’s autobiography, the elective considers ways in this genre is developing in South Africa.

Course Code: Conservation Ecology 344/444

Instruction Language: English

Subjects covered include the history of people and their relationships with their environments, the history and philosophy of conservation, environmental ethics, environmental problems fire ecology and management, ecotourism and recreation. Please note that due to timetabling, students selected for the global service learning course cannot take Conservation Ecology 344.

Course Code: Philosophy 244/344

Instruction Language: English

Systemic study of questions relating to specific philosophical disciplines, namely philosophy of religion, philosophy of mind and applied ethics.

Course Code: Political Science/International Relations 312/412

Instruction Language: English

Beginning in 2010 the African Union earmarked the decade as Women’s Decade. But the current reality is that African women are losing their voices. Gender based violence is increasing with impunity. Even with legislative gender equality in place in most countries on the continent, there is an urgent need to prevent both policy evaporation and the backlash against affirmative action policies. One of the largest challenges to face women in Africa today is cultural relativism. The false dichotomy created by universal human rights and cultural traditions is particularly damaging. Similarly, the hybridized social orders in Africa, in which both women and men must deal with social dictates from foreign and indigenous sources, make it clear that there is no private/public difference in terms of gender. Women, along with LGBTI, are among the hardest hit on the continent with some African activists in the field calling for ‘erotic justice’. Homosexuality is outlawed in most African countries with punishments ranging from death to imprisonment. Even where substantial progress has been made there are still traditional forces attempting to curtail these advancements in equality. Students will be introduced to the fragmented plurality of women on the continent. What is the uniting force among women’s mobilization and where and how can it be more effective? The dominant theme of the course will be women’s political progress and continued social hardships. This will be illustrated using several country case studies. Among the various topics to be discussed: • Identity politics • Women’s collective mobilisation in changing political landscapes • LGBTI rights • Politics of the womb: reproductive rights • Sexuality and FGM

Course Code: Sociology 311/411

Instruction Language: English

Topics include culture, ethnocentrism and relativism, the relationship between western medicine and traditional medicine, witchcraft and the state in Africa, conquest and migrant labor in South Africa, apartheid and Africans in the city and the cultural effects of urbanization on the African family.

Course Code: Psychology 144/244

Instruction Language: English

In this module the basic principles in psychology are applied in order to understand the person in context, with particular reference to core social issues and challenges facing South African society.

Course Code: Old and New Testament 144/244

Instruction Language: English

Introductory and orientational module about the study of Biblical narratives in their respective socio-historical contexts. The nature of the narrative genre and ancient historiography will be studied together with the use of suitable methodologies. In the section on the Old Testament the focus is on the Deuteronomic history, Ezra-Nehemiah and Chronicles. In the section on the New Testament the focus is on Acts (together with aspects of the Synoptic Gospels).

Course Code: LSCE

Instruction Language: English

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 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. Past projects have involved working with children or adults who are affiliated to an organization within the community. Project themes include teaching of life skills, global awareness programs and art, sport and general learning skills. These are thus ideal learning and training sites for aspirant community development workers. It holds the potential to equip students with a wide range of skills, needed in a variety of different contexts, outside of the Global Service Learning program.

Course Code: Afrikaans: Language and Culture 104/204

Instruction Language: English/Afrikaans

Basic Afrikaans for foreigners. Enables students to listen with growing comprehension to everyday social conversations, speak and develop vocabulary as well as read basic Afrikaans.

Course Code: Sustainability 244/344

Instruction Language: English

The Community Gardening project is an experiential learning programme presented in collaboration with The Ajubatus Foundation and is located at the Welgevallen Experimental Farm of Stellenbosch University. The course comprises of one-hour long lecture and one-hour long practical session per week; for 10 weeks. At the end of the formal course, students are given the opportunity to accompany The Ajubatus Foundation and the course presenters to a location of interest where we will put into practice what had been studied by aiding a local community in starting their own sustainable agriculture project. Lectures covers a comprehensive introduction to Project Management (which includes Leadership, Time Management, and Communication skills) and Principles of Gardening and Sustainable Food Production. The academic and service components are complemented with field trips and sessions with various South African students to allow for deeper engagements with global issues as they present themselves in the South African context.