PSCI 252
Pillars of Apartheid--Race and Ethnicity in South Africa Fall 2016
Division II
Cross-listed GBST 252
This is not the current course catalog

Class Details

A fundamental liberal tenet is that a person is, first and foremost, an individual and everything else about a person follows from that. In contrast, for South Africa’s apartheid ideology, a person was primarily a member of a group (racial or ethnic) and this fact alone, defined a person’s status in society. As a result, South Africa under apartheid was characterized by a four-fold classification of citizens based on race and ethnicity. In the first place, there was a broad division between blacks and whites. In addition, blacks were further sub-divided into a hierarchical structure of coloureds (mixed race), Asians (largely of Indian origins) and Africans (indigenous blacks). This hierarchy defined one’s political and economic status. Blacks were further subdivided into 9 “tribal” groups. There was political and economic advantage in a descending order, to each group of whites, coloureds, Indians and Africans. This course explores this fundamental principle and its theoretical and practical implications for the South African society. It begins with an analysis of conceptions of race and ethnicity according to various actors in the country. The main thrust of the course is two-fold, namely, the practical application of this principle in the country’s political, social and economic policies as well as the response of the oppressed through their liberation movements.
The Class: Format: lecture
Limit: 25
Expected: 20
Class#: 1490
Grading: yes pass/fail option, yes fifth course option
Requirements/Evaluation: four short papers and a final exam
Prerequisites: none
Distributions: Division II
Notes: This course is cross-listed and the prefixes carry the following divisional credit:
PSCI 252 Division II GBST 252 Division II
Attributes: GBST African Studies

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