A Passage into democratic south africa

DATES:
December 27, 2009 - January 15, 2010

Participants should plan to leave the US on December 26th in order to arrive on site for the first day of the program on Dec 27th.

COST: $4300 Airfare is NOT included.

3 - 6 CREDITS: in African and African American Studies (AFAM 390), Art History (ARTH 399), Anthropology (ANTH 330), Conflict Resolution (385, 399), Global Community Health (GCH 494), Government/Public and International Affairs (GOVT 432), History (387, 398, 498), Honors College (HNRS 230), New Century College (NCLC 395), Religion (RELI 420), Sociology (SOCI 320).

3 Graduate level History credits are available (HIST 598)! Please contact Dr. Ben Carton, Faculty Director, or Ms. Erin Mateu, Program Officer, for a copy of the graduate syllabus.

TYPE OF HOUSING: Hotels and home stays with families

EXCURSIONS: This program is in itself a study tour ...

CONTACT: Erin Mateu (703) 993-3864

Program full!

A PASSAGE INTO DEMOCRATIC SOUTH AFRICA: EXPERICENCING CULTURE AND DEVELOPMENT IN HISTORIC ZULULAND

Dr. Benedict Carton, History and Art History & African and African American Studies, GMU,

assisted by Dr. Dingani Mthethwa, Program Consultant

This course explores the new democracy of South Africa in the summer season of the Southern Hemisphere.   We invite students to go on an academic and experiential journey through the tropical province of KwaZulu-Natal.  On the Indian Ocean coast, we will live with Zulu families in urban townships and rural villages, where we will observe infrastructure projects, cultural performances, and traditional rituals. Local historians and district chiefs will introduce students to the challenges of national development after “Mandela’s Miracle” and to legendary stories of Shaka Zulu and his kingdom in sacred Emakhosini, or “Valley of the Kings,” the burial place of Zulu founders.  Our group will stay in the “birthplace of peace,” KwaLuthuli, the lineage home of the first African recipient of the Nobel Peace Prize in 1961 (Zulu chief Albert Luthuli); and we will visit nearby Mfolozi and Tembe game parks, walking in the landscape of the “Big Five” animals. Our immersion in the natural, social, and political worlds of KwaZulu-Natal will enable us to study the impact of European colonialism and constitutional change on conservation policy, land restitution, and eco-tourism.  Finally, we will participate in local education and public health initiatives with the goal of understanding how the lives of ordinary people have changed since the first all-race national elections in 1994.

*CGE reserves the right to make changes to a program in light of currency fluctuations, changing security and safety conditions, or any other unforeseen circumstances.