Valerie Johnson, Political Science
South Africa is a study in contrast: affluence and poverty, and splendid beauty and squalor. This course examines the historical and contemporary socioeconomic factors governing the residential patterns of racial and ethnic minorities in the United States and South Africa, and the impact of these residential patterns on life chances and opportunity in American and South African societies.
Part I of the course examines the historical experiences of minority groups; current socio-economic characteristics of the population; and some historical legal and economic antecedents that provide a context for understanding the seemingly intractable socio-economic disparities that exist between whites, and racial and ethnic minorities in both nations.
Part II examines the quest for a democratic society in the U.S. and South African context, and critiques the concept of cultural neutrality (the melting pot concept); the chief attributes of a multicultural society, and the dominant principles guiding American and South African society, i.e., democracy, equality, and justice.
The final part of the course, Part III, examines the impact of housing policies, mortgage lending practices, and resulting residential segregation on the life chances of racial and ethnic minorities. Of particular importance, will be an examination of the impediments that racial and ethnic minorities continue to face in their attempt to realize equal residential, employment, health care, and educational opportunities.
The South Africa portion of the program will include travel to Johannesburg, Soweto, and Cape Town, South Africa. Students will visit sites that are associated with South African apartheid and pre and post-apartheid periods; reflect on the current social justice challenges facing South Africans on a daily basis; and promote comparisons of social justice and reconciliation challenges and successes between South Africa and the U.S.