A mural in District 6, Cape Town, South Africa depicts anti-apartheid activists Nelson Mandela, Steve Biko, Cissie Gool, and Imam Haron. (Image courtesy of Sharon on Flickr. License CC BY-NC-SA.)
Instructor(s)
Prof. Kenda Mutongi
MIT Course Number
21H.266
As Taught In
Spring 2020
Level
Undergraduate
Course Description
Course Features
Course Description
This course introduces students to the spatial, legal, economic, social and political structures that created apartheid in South Africa, and to the factors that led to the collapse of the racist order. We will examine the many forms of Black oppression and, also, the various forms of resistance to apartheid. Some of the themes we will explore include industrialization and the formation of the Black working classes; the constructions of race, ethnicities, and sexualities; land alienation and rural struggles; township poverty and violence; Black education; the African National Congress; and the Black Consciousness Movement.