Postgraduate Courses

30 NQF credits at NQF level 8

Convener: Prof H Chitonge

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for an honours programme.

Course outline: An appropriate research paper, chosen in consultation with the supervisor, of approximately 15,000 words in length must be submitted by no later than 27 October.

DP requirements: Attendance at seminars is compulsory, failing which students’ papers may not be marked.

Assessment: Research/Essay Project.

24 NQF credits at NQF level 8

Convener: Dr. Z Msomi

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for an honours or postgraduate diploma programme.

Course outline: This course focuses on the writings of a range of Africa's liberation intellectuals, from nationalist leaders and social scientists to cultural activists, theorists and writers. The main objective of the course is, first: to highlight the main issues that have preoccupied these intellectuals and to examine their ideas in relation to the contexts in which they were produced; and second, to conduct a close reading of their key texts in the light of contemporary theoretical approaches to questions of colonialism, post colonialism, cultural identity and modernity. The course will cover topics such as Pan-Africanism, negritude and race, the politics and truth value of autobiographies, nationalism and national consciousness. Key authors such as Leopold Sedar Senghor, Chinua Achebe, Ngugi Wa Thiongo, Steve Biko, Walter Rodney, Samir Amin will be studied alongside Frantz Fanon, Amical Cabral, Julius Nyerere, Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela, Mamphela Ramphele and Zubeida Jaffer.

DP requirements: Attendance at seminars is compulsory, failing which students’ papers may not be marked  

Assessment: (25% each): 50%; research project: 50%.

24 NQF credits at NQF level 8

Convener: D Jethro

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for an honours programme.

24 NQF credits at NQF level 8

Convener: Prof H Chitonge

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for an honours programme.

Course outline:This course looks at the various development approaches and theories adopted by African states at different times. The course examines some of the most influential theories of development which emerged in the context of the post-Second World War situation focusing on how these theories have been used in Africa. In examining the different development theories, the course also investigates how Africans have responded to these theories. The course examines the question of whether African countries need to rethink these approaches and theories. Emerging views about Africa's development trajectory are also discussed. Critical questions about whether Africa can achieve sustainable economic growth and development by deploying conventional development and economic growth theory are discussed.

DP requirements: Attendance at seminars is compulsory, failing which students’ papers may not be marked.

Assessment: Class participation & presentation (10%); 3000-word research paper (35%); 5000-word essay (55%).

24 NQF credits at NQF level 8

Convener: Prof H Chitonge

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for an honours programme.

Course outline: The prevalence of large-scale land acquisition in the context of rising food prices since the 2008/09 financial and economic crisis has brought the issues of land and land use in Africa in the spotlight. As a result, land and agrarian matters in Africa are increasingly having a direct bearing on broader issues including food security, environmental sustainability, economic growth, social and political stability, social justice and rural livelihoods. By introducing the land and agrarian questions in Africa this course critically examines the different dimensions of land, including patterns of land ownership, types of land tenure, land reform types, issues of tenure security, means of accessing land, land administration structures and institutions forms of land use, and the challenges (and opportunities?) posed by the current large-scale land acquisitions in different African communities. The course will draw examples from selected countries on the African continent. This course examines these dimensions of the land and agrarian questions in Africa in both their historical and contemporary contexts.

Assessment: Participation: 15%; Short Essay: 35%; Main paper: 50%.

24 NQF credits at NQF level 8

Convener: Prof H Chitonge

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for an honours programme.

Course outline:The course examines the political and economic theory and rationale for Pan-Africanism and regional integration, with particular focus on how this has played out on the African continent over time. Emphasis in the course is on understanding the origins of Pan-Africanism, the current initiatives and arrangements towards regional integration, and the link between the two. The course provides an overview of past and contemporary strategies, initiatives and programmes aimed at unifying the continent. Students are introduced to the key challenges and opportunities of integration and development in Africa. While the philosophy of Pan-Africanism is still cited in some quarters as the basis for regional integration today, economic, and to a lesser extent political rationale, has dominated the motive behind regional integration. There is more emphasis now on the economic gains that can come from integrating the African continent than on any other motives. Given this context the course examines whether Pan-Africanism plays any role in the current drive towards regional integration. In the course, students are encouraged to critically reflect on whether the current motives for regional integration are strong enough to overcome the tendency towards national sovereignty and individualism in the continent.

Assessment: Participation: 15%; Short Essay: 35%; Main Essay: 50%.

24 NQF credits at NQF level 8

Convener: Prof S Pillay

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for an honours programme.

Course outline: The course looks at the relationship between power and knowledge, within the context of the history of Africa since colonialism and the development of the disciplines that study this continent. It is a relationship that helps to explain the links between colonialism and the formation of disciplines, between imperialism and language studies, in ways that not only cut across disciplines, but were in fact, responsible for formulating those disciplinary boundaries in the first place. The writings of intellectuals who have contributed to the formulation of our understanding of how and why knowledge of the continent has developed and whose interests this knowledge has served, will be examined. The disciplines that will be interrogated are: history, gender studies, social anthropology and literary studies.

Assessment: Two essays (25% each): 50%; research project: 50%.

24 NQF credits at NQF level 8

Convener: Dr D Jethro

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for an honours programme.

In this course we take a look at some of the key collections in the Manuscripts and Archives division of the University of Cape Town Library, and at some of the bodies of scholarly work to which they have given rise. As one of the oldest university archives in Southern African the collections speak – in image and text – of the formation of a range of discipline-based knowledges dealing with Africa. On the one hand, this takes the form of the emergence, formatisation and institutionalisation of a range of collecting and recording practices, fieldwork methodologies and the like. On the other hand, it takes the form of the emergence of various disciplinary discourses and their associated “objects” and “fields”. The key source of insight in the course lies in exploring how these different objects and fields are not natural or given but have been formed and constructed in relation to specific social contexts and intellectual histories. Significant collections examined in this course include the Bleek/Lloyd collection, the Goodwin Collection and the Hahn Collection. Particular emphasis is placed on the many hundreds of photographic images that form part of these collections as a point of entry into larger disciplinary debates and concerns.

DP requirements: Attendance at seminars is compulsory, failing which students’ papers may not be marked.

Assessment: Two essays (25% each) 50%; major project 50%.

24 NQF credits at NQF level 9

Convener: Dr D Jethro

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for a master’s programme.

Course outline:

In this course we examine a set of critical issues in the field of heritage studies, as they are currently unfolding. We take a case study approach to look at currently breaking issues in heritage theory, policy and practice. In particular, we are interested in those points at which heritage forms a cutting edge in broader contestations around culture, identity and history. In addition, as a way of making sense of heritage management discourses, we examine some of the intellectual histories and genealogies of formulations of heritage in South Africa.

DP requirements: Attendance at seminars is compulsory, failing which students’ papers may not be marked.

Assessment: One major project 100%.

24 NQF credits at NQF level 9

Convener: Prof S Pillay

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for a master’s programme.

Course outline: The course looks at the relationship between power and knowledge, within the context of the history of Africa since colonialism and the development of the disciplines that study this continent. It is a relationship that helps to explain the links between colonialism and the formation of disciplines, between imperialism and language studies, in ways that not only cut across disciplines but were in fact, responsible for formulating those disciplinary boundaries in the first place. The writings of intellectuals who have contributed to the formulation of our understanding of how and why knowledge of the continent has developed and whose interests this knowledge has served will be examined. The disciplines that will be interrogated are history, gender studies, social anthropology, and literary studies.

DP requirements: Attendance at seminars is compulsory, failing which students’ papers may not be marked.

Assessment: Two essays (20% each) 40%; research proposal 10%; major project 50%.

24 NQF credits at NQF level 9

Convener: Prof H Chitonge

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for a master’s programme.

Course outline:The prevalence of large-scale land acquisition in the context of rising food prices since the 2008/09 financial and economic crisis has brought the issues of land and land use in Africa in the spotlight. As a result, land and agrarian matters in Africa are increasingly having a direct bearing on broader issues including food security, environmental sustainability, economic growth, social and political stability, social justice and rural livelihoods. By introducing the land and agrarian questions in Africa this course critically examines the different dimensions of land, including patterns of land ownership, types of land tenure, land reform types, issues of tenure security, means of accessing land, land administration structures and institutions forms of land use, and the challenges (and opportunities?) posed by the current large-scale land acquisitions in different African communities. The course will draw examples from selected countries on the African continent. This course examines these dimensions of the land and agrarian questions in Africa in both their historical and contemporary contexts.

DP requirements: Submission of all prescribed assignments by due dates and satisfactory attendance and participation in coursework seminars.

Assessment: Class participation & presentation (10%); 3000-word research paper (35%); 5000-word essay (55%).

24 NQF credits at NQF level 9

Convener: Prof H Chitonge

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for a master’s programme.

Course outline:The course examines the political and economic theory and rationale for Pan-Africanism and regional integration, with particular focus on how this has played out on the African continent over time. Emphasis in the course is on understanding the origins of Pan-Africanism, the current initiatives and arrangements towards regional integration, and the link between the two. The course provides an overview of past and contemporary strategies, initiatives and programmes aimed at unifying the continent. Students are introduced to the key challenges and opportunities of integration and development in Africa. While the philosophy of Pan-Africanism is still cited in some quarters as the basis for regional integration today, economic, and to a lesser extent political rationale, has dominated the motive behind regional integration. There is more emphasis now on the economic gains that can come from integrating the African continent than on any other motives. Given this context the course examines whether Pan-Africanism plays any role in the current drive towards regional integration. In the course, students are encouraged to critically reflect on whether the current motives for regional integration are strong enough to overcome the tendency toward national sovereignty and individualism in the continent.

DP requirements: Submission of all written work and attendance at all seminars.

Assessment: Seminar presentations & participation 15%, short essay 35% (3000 words), long essay (5000 words) 50%.

24 NQF credits at NQF level 9

Convener: Dr D Jethro

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for a master’s programme.

Course outline: In this course we take a look at some of the key collections in the Manuscripts and Archives division of the University of Cape Town Library, and at some of the bodies of scholarly work to which they have given rise. As one of the oldest university archives in Southern African the collections speak – in image and text – of the formation of a range of discipline-based knowledges dealing with Africa. On the one hand, this takes the form of the emergence, formatisation and institutionalisation of a range of collecting and recording practices, fieldwork methodologies and the like. On the other hand, it takes the form of the emergence of various disciplinary discourses and their associated “objects” and “fields”. The key source of insight in the course lies in exploring how these different objects and fields are not natural or given but have been formed and constructed in relation to specific social contexts and intellectual histories. Significant collections examined in this course include the Bleek/Lloyd collection, the Goodwin Collection and the Hahn Collection. Particular emphasis is placed on the many hundreds of photographic images that form part of these collections as a point of entry into larger disciplinary debates and concerns.

Assessment: Major project: 50%, Research proposal: 10%, Additional material: 40%.

24 NQF credits at NQF level 9

Convener: Dr Z Msomi

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for a master’s programme.

This course focusses on the writings of a range of Africa's liberation intellectuals, from nationalist leaders and social scientists to cultural activists, theorists and writers. The main objective of the course is, first: to highlight the main issues that have preoccupied these intellectuals and to examine their ideas in relation to the contexts in which they were produced; and second, to conduct a close reading of their key texts in the light of contemporary theoretical approaches to questions of colonialism, post colonialism, cultural identity and modernity.The course will cover topics such as Pan-Africanism, negritude and race, the politics and truth value of autobiographies, nationalism and national consciousness. Key authors such as Leopold Sedar Senghor, Chinua Achebe, Ngugi Wa Thiongo, Steve Biko, Walter Rodney and Samir Amin will be studied alongside Frantz Fanon, Amical Cabral, Julius Nyerere, Kwame Nkrumah, Nelson Mandela, Mamphela Ramphele and Zubeida Jaffer.

Assessment: Two essays of 2500 words each: 50%; One take-home exam essay of 5000 words: 50%.

24 NQF credits at NQF level 9

Convener: Dr D Jethro

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for a master’s programme.

This course explores issues in public culture affecting Africa in a global context. Detailed examples illustrate how public culture is shaped, and how public expressions of identity and difference manifest in spaces and buildings, heritage, music and literature. An interdisciplinary course, it introduces various theoretical perspectives on culture and uses evidence from archaeology, history, architecture, literature and cultural studies. Its empirical focus ranges from the archaeology of pre-colonial Africa to the public culture of the Internet. The course interweaves and links engagement with theory with the development of skills that are useful in the worlds of film and media practice, heritage practice, business, advertising etc. The theory component considers key texts demonstrating "tools to think with", and allowing shifts between general propositions and real-world examples, thereby probing the socio-cultural world’s underlying structures. The skills development component focuses on the conceptual planning and development of projects in the phase preceding final production. In particular, the course develops historically- and theoretically-informed, reflexive understandings of culture and identity, in contexts of diverse heritage and media practices. It offers a unique convergence of theory and practice, around a number of key sites of identity and contestation: "race", "public culture", "African-ness", and the like. 

Assessment: Two essays: 25% each: Project: 50%. 

180 NQF credits at NQF level 9

Convener: TBA

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for a master’s programme.Students with good first degrees with a broadly appropriate range of subjects are invited to apply. 

Compulsory (core) courses:

ASL4200W Research Project/Essay

ASL4203F ASL4205S Public Culture in Africa 

ASL4205S Public Culture in Africa 

Elective courses (2 x 24 NQF credits)

96 NQF credits at NQF level 9 

Convener: Professor A Deumert

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for a master’s programme.

Course outline:  A dissertation completed under supervision which shows thorough practical and/or academic knowledge of the approved subject and methods of research, and evidence of independent critical power in the handling and interpretation of material already known or newly discovered, may embody such original work of others as may be pertinent, may include the candidate's own published material on the same subject, if the prior permission of the Senate has been obtained. The dissertation must be the candidate’s own work and any contributions to and quotations in the dissertation must be cited and referenced. 

DP requirements: Consultation with Supervisor. Assessment: A dissertation of no more than 25,000 words in length. 

96 NQF credits at NQF level 9 

Convener: Prof Deumert

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for a master’s programme

30 NQF credits at NQF level 8 Convener:

TBA Course entry requirements: Acceptance for an honours programme.

Course outline: An appropriate research paper, chosen in consultation with the supervisor, of approximately 15,000 words in length must be submitted by no later than 27 October. DP requirements: Attendance at seminars is compulsory, failing which students’ papers may not be marked.

Assessment: Research/Essay Project.

30 NQF credits at NQF level 8

Convener: Professor A Deumert

Course entry requirements: Acceptance for an honours programme.

Course outline:  The research project is an independent piece of research conducted under the supervision of an academic staff member in Linguistics. Students work throughout the year under the staff member's guidance to produce a research paper of 10,000- to 15,000-words in length. Requirements for the Research Project must be satisfied by the end of October annually.