History 8B
Mfecane, Mines and Mandela
Professor Burke
Fall 2006
This course is a survey of the history of Southern Africa, the region of the continent which today includes the nations of South Africa, Zimbabwe, Botswana, Namibia, Mozambique, Angola, Zambia and Malawi. The focus of the course is on South Africa in particular, and on the history of the 19th and 20th Centuries.
The material will be presented through a combination of lectures and discussions of readings. The grade for the course will be based on the following: 2 short (3-5 pp.) papers, a final exam, attendance and participation. As the exam will be based on both the readings and the lectures, attendance is particularly important for success in the course.
My office is in Trotter 206, x 8115.
Required texts:
Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom
Shula Marks, Not Either an Experimental Doll
Alexandra Fuller, Don’t Lets Go to the Dogs Tonight
Hermann Giliomee, The Afrikaners: Biography of a People
Adam Ashforth, Witchcraft, Violence and Democracy in South Africa
Nancy Clark and William Worger, South Africa: The Rise and Fall of Apartheid
Chinjerai Hove, Shebeen Tales
Monday September 4
Introduction and Overview
Wednesday Sept. 6
Lecture: Southern Africa before 1600
Friday Sept. 8
Lecture: Initial contacts with Europe: Portugal and the Netherlands
Blackboard reading: Portuguese documents
Monday Sept. 11
Lecture: The establishment and growth of Dutch settlement at the Cape
Hermann Giliomee, The Afrikaners, Chapter 1 and 2
Wednesday Sept. 13
Lecture: The Western Cape in the 18th Century
Hermann Giliomee, The Afrikaners, Chapter 3
Friday Sept. 15
Working With Primary Texts
(There will be a variety of readings distributed on September 11th for different groups in the class to work with and discuss.)
Monday Sept. 18
Lecture: The Mfecane
Wednesday Sept. 18
Discussion: The Great Trek
Hermann Giliomee, The Afrikaners, Chapter 4, 6, 7.
Friday Sept. 20
Lecture: Between Imperialism Old and New: Southern Africa and the World in the mid-19th Century
Monday Sept. 25
Discussion: The Xhosa Cattle-Killing
Blackboard reading: J.B. Peires, The Dead Will Arise
Wednesday Sept. 27
Discussion: Missionaries and Christianity in 19th Century Southern Africa
Blackboard reading: Thomas Morgan Thomas, Eleven Years in Central South Africa
In-class film: “Zulu Zionâ€
Friday Sept. 29
Discussion: The Realm of the Word
Blackboard reading: Paul Landau, The Realm of the Word
Monday Oct. 2
Lecture: A Snapshot of Southern Africa in 1867
First paper due by 4pm
Wednesday Oct. 4
Lecture: Blood River to Mafeking, Kimberly to the Rand: Industrialization, War and Consolidation
Friday Oct. 6
Lecture: Cape to Cairo: The British South Africa Company, Cecil Rhodes and the “Scramble for Africaâ€
Monday Oct 9
Lecture: The Roots of Segregation and Afrikaner Nationalism
Hermann Giliomee, The Afrikaners, Chapter 9, 10, 11
Wednesday Oct 11
Discussion: The Cultural and Social World of Migrancy
Blackboard reading: Ellen Hellman, “Rooiyardâ€
In-class film showing: “Songs of the Adventurersâ€
Friday Oct. 13
Discussion: Indirect rule
Blackboard reading: Michael Crowder, The Flogging of Phineas Macintosh; Charles Rey, Monarch of All I Survey
FALL BREAK
For the next several weeks, we have a very heavy set of readings. Please plan accordingly. Read Not Either an Experimental Doll over break.
Monday Oct 23
Discussion: Lives Across the Color Line
Lily Patience Moya, Not Either an Experimental Doll, all
Wednesday Oct 25
Discussion: The Origins of Resistance
Nelson Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, pp. 1-140
Friday Oct 27
Lecture: Snapshot of Southern Africa in 1948
Hermann Giliomee, The Afrikaners, Chapter 13
In-class film showing: “African Jim†and “Song of Africaâ€
Monday Oct. 30
Lecture: The Establishment of Apartheid
Nancy Clark and William Worger, The Rise and Fall of Apartheid, pp. 35-61
Wednesday November 1
Discussion: The World Apartheid Made I
Blackboard Reading: Charles Van Onselen, The Seed Is Mine; Eskia Mphahlele, Down Second Avenue
Friday Nov. 3
Discussion: The World Apartheid Made II
Scheduled film showing: “Mapantsulaâ€
In-class film showing: “Maids and Madamsâ€
Monday. Nov. 6
Discussion: The World Apartheid Made III
Nancy Clark and William Worger, The Rise and Fall of Apartheid, pp. 61-86, pp.123-146
Wednesday Nov. 8
Discussion: Resistance to Apartheid: ANC to Black Consciousness
Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, pp. 141-448
Friday Nov. 10
Lecture: War and Decolonization North of the Limpopo
Scheduled film showing: “Flameâ€
Monday Nov. 13
Discussion: White People in the Twilight of Empire
Alexandra Fuller, Don’t Let’s Go to the Dogs Tonight, pp. 3-240 (finish the book if you can: I think you’ll want to)
Wednesday Nov. 15
Lecture: Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique 1980-2006
Friday Nov. 17
Discussion: Everyday Life in Zimbabwe
Chinjerai Hove, Shebeen Tales, all
Scheduled film showing: “Jitâ€
Monday Nov. 20
Lecture: The End of Apartheid
Nancy Clark and William Worger, The Rise and Fall of Apartheid
Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, pp. 511-559
Wednesday Nov. 22
Lecture: Freedom and its Discontents
Mandela, Long Walk to Freedom, pp. 559-626
THANKSGIVING BREAK
Monday Nov. 27
Discussion: The Truth Commission
Blackboard readings: TRC excerpts
Scheduled film showing: “Long Night’s Journey Into Dayâ€
In-class film showing: “The Guguletu Sevenâ€
Second paper due
Wednesday Nov. 29
Discussion: 21st Century Southern Africa
Adam Ashforth, Witchcraft, Violence and Democracy in South Africa, pp.1-132, pp.133-153, pp.194-222, pp. 243-318
Friday December 1
Discussion: South Africa in 2006
Blackboard readings: Madam and Eve, news stories, blogs
Monday December 4
Lecture: The Failure of Zimbabwe
Wednesday Dec. 6
New Chances, Old Choices
Friday Dec. 8
Final exam review session
FINAL EXAM