Pitt in South Africa

 

In the Pitt South Africa Program you will travel to Johannesburg for one week of immersion, where you will take a Passport to South Africa course (1-credit).  You will spend three weeks in Cape Town, where you will take Modern South Africa History (HIST 1722) (3-credits) and Topics in Public and Professional Writing (ENGCMP0550):  Writing as Witness, South Africa (3-credits).  In this four-week program you will have opportunities to explore local history and politics, engage with local artists and archivists and create your own digital artifacts in response to what you learn and see.
 
Johannesburg
In Johannesburg you will visit Strekfontein, The Cradle of Humankind, to explore this dramatic environment and learn about the deep history of human beings.  You will also see commemorative sites like Old Fort/ Constitution Hill, the Voortrekker Monument and the Apartheid Museum.  We will engage with contemporary art and performances that introduce you to features of contemporary and dynamic South African culture.  You will document this immersion through journaling, digital interviews and digital photography. 
 
Cape Town
In Cape Town you will learn features of contemporary South African history through instruction that is paired with visits to cultural institutions like the District Six Museum, the Bo Kaap Museum, the Castle of Good Hope and Robben Island, amongst others.  You will visit dramatic landscapes at the Princess Vlei Reserve, Cape Point National Park, Table Mountain and Boulders Beach.   You will learn to cook Cape Malay cuisine with lessons from a local chef.  You will also compose digital artifacts in response to archival materials from local neighborhoods, with an eye towards the ways that layers of history and rich culture live and become apparent, to the sensitized visitor and local resident alike.
 

What You'll Accomplish: 

 Students will be introduced to impactful historical precedents that deeply influence contemporary South Africa in regard to politics, culture and relationships to the environment.

  • Students will gain a basic conversancy on features of cultural practice and respectful navigations of difference in South Africa
  • Students will be introduced to historical precedents that influence contemporary South African society and politics
  • Students will engage with cultural institutions to access features of contemporary South African society in the visual and performance arts, as well as historically focused installations and commemorations
  • Students will be introduced to the conceptual role of the visitor and the witness to sensitize their interactions and observations in the country
  • Students will practice journaling and learn conversancy with digital tools to write and develop visual and audio responses to their process of immersion in a new culture and place

 
 

South Africa is located at the southern tip of Africa. It is bordered by Namibia, Botswana, Zimbabwe, Mozambique, Swaziland and Lesotho (which is completely surrounded by South Africa). It is a vast country with widely varying landscapes, 12 official languages and an equally diverse population. South Africa has one of the largest economies in Africa and is an influential player in African and global politics.

 

2024 will mark thirty years of democracy and the most recent round of national elections that will test the ongoing legitimacy of the African National Congress and (to some degree) the legacy of Nelson Mandela and other leaders of the anti-apartheid struggle. Studying there offers an unusual opportunity to gauge how successful a young state has been in making the transition to a democracy and will also highlight the many challenges which remain.

 

What You'll Study: 

In the Pitt South Africa Program you will travel to Johannesburg for one week of immersion, where you will take a Passport to South Africa course (1-credit).  You will spend three weeks in Cape Town, where you will take Modern South Africa (HIST 1722) (3-credits) and Topics in Public and Professional Writing (ENGCMP0550):  Writing as Witness, South Africa (3-credits).  

HIST 1722 fulfills the following Dietrich gen-eds:

Cross-Cultural Analysis

Specific Geographic Region

Historical Analysis

ENGCMP0550 fulfills the Writing Intensive requirement

 

Topics in Public and Professional Writing: Writing as Witness, South Africa (ENGCMP0550)

In this course students will conceptualize their position as conscientious visitors who bear witness to the South African regional landscape, culture, history and politics.  Students will write original responses to their travels and explorations that document their access points to the place.  Students will craft digital interviews and reflections, and compose digital StoryMaps that cast their narratives in relation to the specific locations, people and places with which they engage.  We will meet with local faculty, curators, activists and artists to access and respond to regional archival collections and original works.
 
1.       Students will explore and describe the position of the visitor and the witness.
2.       Students will be introduced to the histories and narratives pertaining to violent colonial settlement, population displacement and contemporary legacies of these histories in regard to contested ownership of place and space, and its influence on participation in evolving democratic processes in South Africa.
3.       Students will be introduced to basic features of analogue and digital archives.
4.       Students will learn to use digital tools to build dynamic texts that incorporate written, visual and audio elements to express their observations and reflections on time in country and in response to specific archival holdings.
5.       Students will explore and consider ethical considerations and responsibilities in articulating their observations and reflections in composing original writing about specific places and peoples by engaging with experts on written portraiture, digitization and archival practices in vernacular and institutional forms.
 

Modern South African History (HIST1722)

Apartheid South Africa captured the international imagination during the second half of the twentieth century as a so-called “pariah” state.  This course connects events from earlier South African history (economic development, military conquest, popular protest, and state formation) with how things played out during and after the apartheid years.  The course will be organized chronologically (but in reverse) and use specific conflicts (strikes, political demonstrations, repression, etc.) to focus on key moments in South African history. It will utilize a large number of primary materials (ranging from manifestos to novels to film) as well as secondary readings from books and articles to generate discussion.  This will further an understanding of the roots of conflict and the creation of identity in modern South Africa. 

In this course students will gain an introduction to South African history from original encounters of indigenous communities with European visitors to the present day. It will principally focus on the period from the discovery of diamonds and gold, which fundamentally shifted the global imperative to settle and control South Africa and subsequently shaped the community dynamics that continue to challenges in South Africa to date.

  1. Students will exhibit familiarity with the general trajectory of South African history since the 1870s
  2. Students will be able to differentiate different interest groups in the South African political spectrum
  3. Students will understand the role of those groups in the struggle for economic and political power, particularly between 1945 and 1994
  4. Students will be cognizant of more recent political developments in South Africa
  5. Students will be capable of reading historical documents critically
  6. Students will demonstrate the ability to identify and gather relevant sources for writing assignments
  7. Students will  illustrate critical analysis in written assignments; and show improvement in writing with the aid of feedback.

 

Your Pitt Study Abroad Contacts: 

Leslie Ann Smedley

Hello Students! I am Leslie Ann Smedley, Senior Advisor and look forward to helping Arts and Sciences students to identify, apply for, and thrive in the study abroad program that fits each students’ academic/linguistic/cultural needs. I have been in the field of International Education for many years, including the last 10 in the Global Experiences Office. I am a Pittsburgher who studied abroad in Strasbourg, France while an undergrad and haven’t stopped travelling since. In addition to being passionate about discovering new places, I love to cook, garden and read. I look forward to helping you to achieve your goals!

Schedule an appointment

Schedule an appointment with me using Pathways!
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Having trouble or don't see a time that works for you? Just email me!

Your In-Country Contacts: 

Jennifer Keating

Jennifer Keating is a Teaching Professor and the Writing in the Disciplines Specialist in the William S. Dietrich II Institute for Writing Excellence. Most recently, she served as Assistant Dean for Educational Initiatives in the Dietrich College for Humanities and Social Sciences at Carnegie Mellon University. Her interests include curriculum design and delivery, collaborative pedagogical design and interdisciplinary teaching. As a teacher, she explores writing and artistic practice that develops in locations in conflict and/or emerging from strife, primarily in Ireland, Britain, South Africa and the United States, the influence of advancing technology on society and the politics of language. In recent years she has designed courses that cross disciplines including Art, Conflict & Technology, designed and taught in collaboration with an artist and a roboticist, and AI & Humanity, designed and taught with a roboticist.  At Pitt she teaches Digital Humanity, First-Year Program Who’s Watching Who?, First-Year Program Borders, Barriers and Bridges, and Writing Places.

Recent book publications include Portraits of Irish Art in Practice:  Rita Duffy, Mairéad McClean, Paula McFetridge and Ursula Burke (Palgrave Macmillan 2023),  AI & Humanity (MIT Press 2020) coauthored with Illah Nourbakhsh, Patrick McCabe’s Ireland (Ed. Brill 2019) and Language, Identity and Liberation in Contemporary Irish Literature (Palgrave Macmillan 2010). She is coauthor of the AI and Humanity Oral Archive and articles have appeared in AAC&U Liberal Education, ACM and Critical Quarterly.

She has received the Carnegie Mellon University Teaching Innovation Award (2016), a Carnegie Mellon University Center for the Arts in Society research grant (2015-2018), a Carnegie Mellon University Wimmer Fellowship (2015) and the Michael Durkan Award for Best Book on Irish Language and Culture (2010).

Jennifer earned a Ph.D. in English and Cultural Studies at the University of Pittsburgh and a BA in English and History at the University of Rochester.

 

E-mail: 

Schedule an appointment

<strong>Schedule an appointment with me using Pathways!</strong>
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Dr. John C. Stoner

Dr. John Stoner will serve as on-site faculty co-director. He is Teaching Professor of History and an advisor in the History Department at the University of Pittsburgh. He received his Ph.D. from Columbia University and his research focuses on the projection of American power onto Africa during the Cold War going into the contemporary period (and US foreign policy more broadly). He will be the instructor for HIST 1722.
 

 

Items Billed by Pitt

  In-State Out-of-State
Program Fee $6,299 $6,499
Pitt GEO Admin Fee $300 $300
Total Billed by Pitt $6,599 $6,799

Estimated Additional Out-of-Pocket Costs

Airfare $1,300.00
Meals and Personal Expenses $1,200.00
Passport (if needed) $160.00

 

Remember that your lifestyle and spending choices can greatly impact the amount of money you'll need while abroad. The above estimates are estimates. 

 

What's Included: 

As a part of your South Africa program fee, the following are included in the program:

  • Tuition for 7 credits
  • Accommodations for the duration of the program
  • Domestic flight from Johannesburg to Capetown
  • International travel health insurance
  • Class related activities/site visits have previously included. Subject to change.
    • Johannesburg:
      • Red Bus Tour
      • Old Fort/Constitution Hill
      • Apartheid Museum
      • Sterkfontein
      • Voortrekker Monument
      • Liliesleaf Farm
    • Cape Town
      • Red Bus Tour
      • Robben Island
      • Castle of Good Hope
      • District Six Museum
      • Bo-Kaap Museum

While your program fee will cover most of your expenses, keep in mind that you are also responsible for the following:

Remember that your lifestyle and spending choices can greatly affect the amount of money you'll need while abroad.  Visit our Budgeting page for more information.

What Else You Need to Know: 
  • Due to the nature of the program, the schedule is subject to change. There may be instances where a guest speaker or visit needs to be rescheduled. We ask for your patience and understanding in advance.
  • Remember that this is an academic program and that you should expect to invest the same amount of time and effort on your courses abroad as you would on a course at Pitt. 
  • There are required excursions and activities outside of normal scheduled classes.
  • Independent travel cannot conflict with any scheduled or rescheduled events/activities