Best Internet Sites for Research
That Supports the Novel Chain of Fire
I. GENERAL INFORMATION ABOUT
APARTHEID

http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/index.php

TOP SITE! This excellent site from the
Michigan State University’s African studies
department has many valuable links for all
kinds of study about Apartheid. Most likely all
topics that students come up with can be
researched at this site.
This is a VERY thorough list of resources created
by PBS with specialized links to sites about Nelson
Mandela and the African National Congress.
http://www-csstudents.stanford.edu/~cale/cs201/apartheid.hist.html

The first article on this website offers a good
general summary of apartheid in South Africa, with
a chart that points to shocking statistics of
discrimination.
http://overcomingapartheid.msu.edu/listmultimedia.php
http://www.un.org/av/photo/subjects/apartheid.htm


This highly valuable page (part of the above
website) features primary materials and
articles about 26 topics concerning apartheid
and resistance. These multimedia collections
include approximately 100 video and audio
interview clips, 15 clips of video footage, 20
images, 20 original documents, and 110 links
to selected documents and images found on
external websites. Other multimedia resources
are linked to Units and Essays, as well.
http://www.un.org/cyberschoolbus/discrim/race_b_at_pri
nt.asp

This is very useful and thorough timeline that
chronicles the important events during the
time of apartheid in South Africa from the
United Nations, 2006.
http://lcweb2.loc.gov/frd/cs/zatoc.html#za0027

The Library of Congress: Country Studies: South
Africa This online reference volume is a thorough
resource on the history and conditions of life for
black citizens of South Africa during apartheid.
Click on "Segregation, 1910-48," "Apartheid,
1948-76," "Government in Crisis, 1978-89" and
"Dismantling Apartheid, 1990-94" to learn more
about the history of South Africa under apartheid.
United Nations: Human Rights: Historical Images of
Apartheid in South Africa
These photos from the
United Nations photo archive collection show the
everyday effects of apartheid in South Africa from the
1970s to the 1990s.
http://africanhistory.about.com/library/bl/blsalaws.htm

This article chronicles all of the legislation
concerning apartheid in South Africa. (About.com)
www.answers.com/topic/history-of-south-africa-in-theapartheid-era

This is a general site from answers.com.
http://library.thinkquest.org/18799/time.html#1976

This is a very general timeline about apartheid in
South Africa with a few links/ may have been
created by a student.
http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/library-resources/articlesdocs.htm

From South Africa History Online, this page
contains many official documents, articles, papers
and journal articles related to apartheid in South
Africa. These are original documents and would be
very valuable to the more advanced researchers
among our students.
II. SOWETO
http://www.pbs.org/pov/pov2006/twelvedisciples/resourc
es_02.html
www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyld=5489490

National Public Radio’s “Soweto 1976: An Audio
History”
http://africanhistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa060801
a.htm

This is a general article explaining the Soweto
uprising. (About.com)
fascinating portrayal of South Africa ten years after the
end of apartheid. (April 2004)
VI. TSWANAN (SETSWANAN) LANGUAGE
http://salanguages.com/setswana/words.htm
III. NELSON MANDELA

www.radiodiaries.org/mandela/mstories.html
www.websters-online-dictionary.org/definition/Tswanaenglish

National Public Radio’s Radio Diaries,
“Mandela: An Audio History”
http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/people/special%20pr
ojects/mandela/gallery.htm

A very extensive collection of photographs,
speeches, and other information
IV. STEVEN BIKO
http://africanhistory.about.com/library/weekly/aa030402
a.htm
http://www.sahistory.org.za/pages/governenceprojects/black-consciousness/biko/newspaper-his-ownwords.htm

A collection of quotes from Stephen Biko’s
writings
V. SOUTH AFRICA TODAY
http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=91
404400

NPR Series “South Africa at a Crossroads”
When apartheid ended 14 years ago, South
Africa's emergent democracy was hailed as a
miracle. However, today the country is
confronting some harsh realities, including a
bitter leadership battle and a growing divide
between haves and have-nots.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/in_depth/africa/2004/south_af
rica_election/default.stm

BBC News: South Africa: A Decade of Democracy
This in-depth website takes a look at South Africa
in 2004. Various stories about South Africa are
aggregated on the website, which offers a

Tswanan (Setswanan) words and phrases
Webster’s online Tswana-English dictionary
www.info.bw/~msc/setswana.html

Audible pronunciations of common Tswanan
(Setswanan) phrases
SOME IDEAS FOR RESEARCH PAPERS ON APARTHEID
HISTORIC EVENTS – PRE-APARTHEID
 Colonization of Africa
 Colonization of South Africa
 Nonviolence/civil disobedience as practiced by Mahatma Gandhi in India and its
influence on the nonviolent resistance movement in South Africa
HISTORIC EVENTS – APARTHEID
 1950 Population Registration Act
 1951 Bantu Homelands Act/Homelands system
 1952 Abolition of Passes and Coordination of Documents Act
 Forced removals (could investigate Sophiatown)
 Soweto Uprising – 1976
 Black Consciousness Movement
 The role of people and governments around the world in ending apartheid
CITIES/GEOGRAPHY
 Soweto
 Johannesburg
PEOPLE
 Nelson Mandela – could do one phase of his life (1. before/during or 2. during/after
imprisonment)
 Stephen Biko
ORGANIZATIONS
 African National Congress (ANC) (mentioned in the novel Chain of Fire)
 South African Students Organization
 Pan African Congress (PAC)
OTHER
 Racial classifications during apartheid (black, white, coloured, Asian)
 Tribal/ethnic groups in South Africa, especially as they relate to the “homelands”
 Tswana (Setswana) language
 Comparisons between apartheid in South Africa and segregation in the US
 Comparisons between the movement against apartheid in South Africa and the civilrights movement in the United States
 Nonviolent resistance throughout the world
 Current state of race relations in South Africa
 The entertainment industry’s effect on ending apartheid in South Africa
 Protest music relating to apartheid in South Africa
 Changes in South Africa since the end of Apartheid
Name: _________________________EVALUATING WEB PAGES CHECKLIST
By end of class
WEB SITE #1
WEBSITE NAME
FROM THE URL:
Is it a personal page or a
site?
FROM THE URL:
What type of domain is
it?
org – non-profit
edu – university/college
gov/t – government,
military
com – a business
uk, jp, etc, – foreign
Who or what agency is
the author?
What are their
credentials? What right
do they have to offer an
opinion?
What is their bias? Is the
site trying to persuade or
influence the audience?
Look for “About us” or
“Sponsors.”
Is the site current? Last
updated?
WEB SITE #2