PS 3360 SOUTHERN AFRICAN POLITICS
Instructor: Dr. Charles Boateng
Office: J-105D
Fall, 2009
Phone: 737-3997 or 737-3990
e-mail:cboateng@kean.edu
Office Hours: T, 6:45 – 7:45 PM
W, 2:00 – 4:00 PM, Th., 5:45 – 7:45 PM
COURSE OBJECTIVES
This course is aimed at promoting a greater understanding of the last remnant of the old paradigm,
apartheid, and the current shift to a new paradigm which has been generated through South Africa's first
multi-racial elections. Mandela's victory has ended the ultimate anomaly. An in-depth examination of
the political, economic, and social challenges of contemporary South Africa as well as the impact of the
nation's policies on the entire Southern African regions will be explored.
REQUIRED TEXTBOOK
Twentieth-Century South Africa, by William Beinart. Oxford University Press, 2001.
COURSE REQUIREMENTS
I expect each student to do the assigned readings and come prepared to participate in class discussion.
Class participation is worth 10% of the final grade. Also, it is important if you wish to get the most out
of this course to be in attendance. It is my experience that students who skip classes generally perform
poorly. My recommendation then is that it is in your own best interest to attend lectures regularly, and
also on time.
There will be TWO mid-term tests, an analytical essay on any approved subject pertaining to African
Politics (3 to 5 pages), and a comprehensive final exam. Each mid-term test will count 25% and the
final exam will be worth 30% of the final grade. The analytical essay will count 10% of your grade.
The specifics and expectations of the analytical essay will be detailed in class. There will be NO makeup tests except in verified cases of illness and other unforeseeable circumstances beyond the student's
control. While the mid-term tests and final exam will be a combination of multiple-choice, matching,
true or false, and several essay questions, make-up tests will be essay in format and much more difficult.
You will lose 2 points for each day your analytical essay is late.
GRADE DISTRIBUTION
To follow is the approximate distribution of grades. However, in formulating the final grade,
consideration will be given to significant progress where appropriate.
Participation...........10%
Mid-term test #1........25%
Mid-term test #2........25%
Final exam..............30%
Analytical essay........10%
92-100...A 76-79......B88-91....A- 72-75......C+
84-87....B+ 67-71......C
80-83....B 60-66......D
Below 60.. F
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Dates to Remember:
Sept. 9
Sept. 16
Sept. 23
Sept. 23
Oct. 30
- Last day to WD with 100% refund.
- Last day to WD with 75% refund
- Last day to declare course as an audit, P/F option.
- Last day to WD with 50% refund, declare course as PF/Audit
- Last day to withdraw with WD grade.
Students are responsible for becoming familiar with, and will be held accountable for, the Kean
University Academic Integrity Policy and the Student Code of Conduct. The Academic Integrity Policy
is available at www.kean.edu/forms/AcademicIntegrity,pdf or the Web site for The guide at
www.kean.edu/publications/TheGuide2007.pdf., and the Student Code of Conduct is available at
www.kean.edu/~conduct or the Web site for The Guide at
www.kean.edu/publications/Theguide2007.pdf.
MAJOR TOPICS AND READING ASSIGNMENTS
I. A State without a Nation, 1880 -1948.
1. African Rural Life and Migrant Labour
2. Economic and Social Change on the Settler Farmlands
3. War, Reconstruction, and the State from the 1890s to1920s.
4. Black Responses and Black Resistance
5. The Settler State in Depression and War, 1930-1948
II. Afrikaner Power and the Rise of Mass Opposition, 1948-1994
6. Apartheid, 1948-1961
7. Economy and Society in the 1960s and 1970s
8. Farms, Homelands, and Displaced Urbanization, 1960-1984
9. Black Political Struggles and the Reform Era of P. W. Botha, 1950s –1980s
10. Insurrection, Fragmentation, and Negotiations, 1984-1994
III
The New South Africa, 1994 – 2000
11. A New Politics: From Rainbow Nation to African Authority
12. Economic Uncertainties: Redistribution, Class Formation, and Growth
13. Crime, Culture, and Reconciliation in the New South Africa
IV. Contemporary South Africa (reading assignments will be forthcoming).
NOTE:
Be sure to read the Journal of Modern African Studies, Africa Today, Africa, The N.Y. Times, U.S.
News and World Report, Time Magazine, The Star Ledger, etc. to keep up with current developments
in the region.
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