HIST 4424
Industrialization and Segregation in South Africa
Fall 2002
Dr. Aran MacKinnon, Office: TLC 3220
Tel: O: 836-4554, E-mail: amackinn@westga.edu
Office hours: TTh 1-2, 3:15-5:15 or by appointment.
Lectures: Th, 5:30-8, Pafford 208
Course Description and Learning Outcomes: In this course Students will investigate the history and historiography of South Africa through selected issues in economic, environmental, social, cultural and political developments. The course aims to provide students with the ability to analyze the processes which shaped a society divided by class, gender, ethnicity and race. Students will examine a range or primary and secondary sources and they will also critically evaluate the chronological developments of South African history. Students who successfully complete the course will be able to demonstrate through written assignments and oral presentations their understanding of the course emphasis on the African contributions to the shaping of South African society. The course will follow a loose chronology of South African history from the formation of early African societies through European conquest and white domination to the struggle for liberation and democratization.
This is planned as a seminar format course, supported by lectures. Students MUST complete the reading assignments and come to class prepared to discuss the topics listed. Students are reminded, however, that reading and writing are essential parts of the course. All students are expected to fulfill the reading assignments in order to follow the course, participate in discussions and complete written assignments. The recommended books and reading assignments are designed to provide students with a basic understanding of the course material. They are by no means an exhaustive list of what you should be reading. I will direct students to supplementary readings from time to time. The more you read, the more you learn. Students are expected to attend all the classes. Missing more than two classes will adversely affect your and the instructor reserves the right to lower grades for missing classes.
Texts
W. Beinart and S. Dubow, Segregation and Apartheid
J.D. Omer-Cooper, History of Southern Africa
J. Williams, From the South African Past
Other readings will be assigned for each class and made available to the students on Reserve in the University Library.
Course Requirements:
Reports and class participation: 20%
Research Essay: 25%
Mid-Term Exam: 25%
Final Exam: 30%
NB The final exam will be on Thurs. 12 Dec. 5:30-7:30. All students must sit the exam in this scheduled time
Essays Essay topics and guidelines are attached The essay is to be 6-8 pages in length (2000-2500 words in length). NB Essays are to be type-written and in conformity with accepted University standards. If you have any queries or require any help writing your essay, please see me or go to go to the University Writing Center. Prior to final submission, I will read and comment upon draft copies of any student’s essay. Please avail yourself of this offer as it is sure to improve your mark. Essays that are handed in late without prior consent will incur a severe penalty.
Reports
Each student is responsible for writing and presenting a 2-3 page (500-750 words) report on a set of documents and another report on a class discussion topic. For the document report you must read and analyze the documents assigned for the day. This will include giving a brief overview of the content of the document, explaining the historical context, identifying the authors of the documents and analyzing the significance of what they say. For the class discussion topics you must do the readings for the day, give a brief overview of the main themes and arguments and explain the importance of the topic for South African history. The reports will be assigned by the instructor in the first class.
Please Note: Academic dishonesty is a serious offence. I reserve the right to fail any student from the course for acts of plagiarism or other forms of academic dishonesty. Further sanctions may be applied by the University. I refer all students to the Department of History Handbook for specific guidelines. If you have any questions about this policy please see me.
Assignments and Classes
22 Aug. Introduction to the South African environment; handout of syllabus, setting assignments
29 Aug. Early settlement patterns of the Khoisan at the Cape; The Iron-age African Social formations. Readings: Omer-Cooper, chp. 1, On Reserve: Thompson ‘The Africans’
5 Sept *** Document report # 1***
Foundations of the Cape Colony; European settlements: the introduction of intensive agriculture and slavery; Colonial expansion and Racial attitudes: relations with the Khoisan. Readings: Omer-Cooper, chp. 2., Williams: Documents; Section A, #s 1,2,7; Section B #s, 2,4
12 Sept.
Boers, Griqua, British and the new political economy; The expanding frontier Struggle for the Zurrveld: The eastern Frontier and the Xhosa. Readings: Omer-Cooper chp. 3. Williams: Documents Section C, #s 1,2 ;
19 Sept *** Document report #2***
African Transformation and Crisis in early Colonial Society: Millenerianism, The Xhosa Cattle Killing and African Christianity. Readings: ; Williams: Documents, Part I, Section C # 4, Part II Section B, # 7, Part III, Section A, #2.
26 Sept.***Discussion report A*** The Era of Mass Movements; and African state formation Readings: Omer-Cooper, chp. 4, Williams Documents: Part II, Section A, # 1, B 3 and 4 ; and on reserve: E. Eldredge, ‘The Mfecane Reconsidered
3 Oct.***Document report #3***
The Era of Mass Movements II The Great Trek and the Zulu Kingdom: Afrikanerdom
Readings: Omer-Cooper, chp. 4,Williams: Documents Part II, Section B, #s 3,4,6 on Reserve: Thompson, ‘The Covenant’
10 Oct. ***Mid Term Exam
17 Oct. ******Discussion report B***
The Boers and British in Natal; The Shepstone System and the foundations of Segregation.
Readings: Omer-Cooper, chp. 5,, Williams, Documents Part III, Section B, #s 3,4. On Reserve: N. Etherington, ‘The ‘Shepstone System’,
24 Oct. Film: Come Back Africa
31 Oct.
Mineral Discoveries, British-South African politics; Boer and African resistance ; the closing frontier
Readings: Omer-Cooper, chps. 6 and 7; in Beinart and Dubow Segregation and Apartheid: H. Wolpe, ‘British Hegemony and the Origins of Segregation’; Williams, Documents Section III, Part C, #s 2, 8.
7 Nov. ***Discussion report C*** ESSAY DUE***
Segregation and Industrialisation; White political unity and African oppression
Readings: In Beinart and Dubow, Segregation and Apartheid :H. Wolpe, ‘Capitalism and Cheap Labor Power’ Dubow, ‘The Elaboration of Segregationist Ideology’, Williams Documents Part III, Section D, #s 2,4
14 Nov.
Life and Health Under Apartheid:
Readings. Williams documents, Part IV, C, 3, Section V, B 4 and 6 On reserve: D. Coplan, The Surplus People, ‘Six Cases’, Marks and Anderson, ‘Diseases of Apartheid’
21 Nov.***Document report # 4***
The rise of African Opposition; The ANC and hamba kahle politics The ICU and African worker consciousness. Film Generations of Resistance. Readings: Omer-Cooper, chp. 8, Williams Documents, Part IV Section A, # 3, Section B #s 5,8,9.
28 Nov.***Discussion report D***
From Bantustans and Separate Development to Democracy. African opposition and the Liberation Struggle Readings: Omer-Cooper, chps. 9,10; Murray, ‘Displaced Urbanization’, in Beinart and Dubow Segregation and Apartheid; Williams documents Part IV Section C, #s 2,5.
3 Dec.
Conclusion and review: The Truth and Transition: Film of the South African TRC
Final Exam: Thurs. 12 Dec., 5:30-7:30
TERMS , CONCEPTS AND WORKING DEFINITIONS;
African History: The study of the processes and events which shaped the peoples and environment in the continent of Africa. We will be considering the underlying social, economic and political forces which changed Africa over time.
Africanist Historiography: The transforming paradigms and theories that shape our understanding of African history and which place an emphasis on the indigenous peoples of Africa. The term historiography also pertains to the body of historical literature on a given theme or region. Historiography reflects the debates among historians concerning the interpretation of historical facts and ideas.
Class: A complex theoretical system that defines social stratification on the basis of economic, social and productive attributes. Loosely speaking, the term class suggests that people operate in their own economic self interest according to their position in society. Although historians often see people operating according to their ‘class interest,' class is not static and it is not the only defining feature of a person’s economic or social position. (See also Race, Ethnicity and Gender.) Some historians often see class conflict where producers oppose non-producers (those who own or control capital resources) who ‘exploit’ them as an inherent feature of class relations.
Ethnicity: Within African history the concept of ethnicity relates to groupings of people who share a common language, ideas, beliefs, social system and values. Although ethnicity is related to race (see below) the two terms are not necessarily defined by each other. While people cannot change their race, they can mold their ethnicity. Ethnicity should be distinguished from the largely defunct historical term ‘tribal’ since this latter term relies too heavily on stereotypes imposed from outside observers. As we will see, ethnicity, and particularly ethnic nationalism can be reconstructed and changed.
Gender: The term gender relates to a recognized set of characteristics, and social and economic activities normally associated with either men or women. It should be distinguished from the physical classification of men and women by their sex since men and women can assume different gender roles or activities depending on their circumstances.
Mode(s) of Production: A theoretical term, now seldom used which was coined to express the concept of a system of production and its associated forms of social organization. A mode helps identify how a given society or part of a society organizes itself to procure the material goods needed for survival. The modes of production with which we will be concerning ourselves are, for example: Hunter-gatherer- where people organize their labor to procure their material needs from what is available to them in the natural world (the Khoisan of southern Africa are one example); communalism - where society organizes shared labor tasks such as agriculture and pastoralism with land and resources which are not privately owned, but rather held in trust for all the people; Capitalism where the ‘means of production’ (the tools and resources necessary to produce material needs are ‘owned’ by a particular group or class of people) operate according to market exchanges where people buy and sell goods and labor. According to the classical definition of capitalism, the market, including the sale of labor, is meant to be free from major political control or coercion. A mode of production is therefore partly determined by who owns the tools of production. The identification of any given economic system provides historians with an understanding of how other related social and political activities are organized. Within this overall theoretical construct there lies a notion of ‘progress’ and development from one stage or mode to another. Thus, capitalism is seen to be a more efficient and refined set of economic relations used to secure material needs than hunting and gathering. Without attaching a value judgment to the different ways in which people procure their needs, try to consider capitalism as a system which may develop out of precapitalist (communalism and feudalism for example) modes of production. An important thing to note regarding the development of capitalism in Africa -or in any in any area’s historical development- is that different people and societies often employ multiple strategies to satisfy their basic material needs (subsistence) and to accumulate a surplus for times of want, to expand and develop their mode of production, or to invest in improved or expanded production.
Peasant: Briefly stated, a peasant is a person who has one foot the capitalist economy of market exchange and one foot in the precapitalist economy of ‘primitive’ cultivation. Peasants generally produce enough food for their family to live on (subsistence) with varying amounts of surplus that can be sold or exchanged for other needs. A peasant’s ultimate security and satisfaction of material needs come from having rights to land and access to family labor. The term suggests that peasants are agricultural producers who are moving toward full integration with the market economy, but that they are sometimes constrained in this effort by dominant groups in society.
Race: The classification of people according to their physical characteristics (for example shape of eyes, color of skin, type of hair). In historical perspective, the term race has been used to explain why some groups of people have interests that differ or are, at times, in opposition to other groups. For our purposes, the term also implies a power dominance relationship between Africans and whites. As we will see, however, other social dynamics can come into play. For example, class, ethnicity and gender can also shape social, political and economic relations between races.
Tradition and Custom: African societies are sometimes referred to as ‘traditional’ and are seen as wedded to ancient ‘tribal custom'. These terms suggest that African society was static, backward and inherently conservative. They are often used to refer to activities or stages of development that are considered precapitalist or ‘primitive.' Just because some features of African society may appear to be traditional and primitive does not mean they have lesser value. Indeed, historians are discovering that many indigenous African practices have significant merit, not only in the African context, but also in terms of the western ‘scientific’ paradigm. Moreover, while many traditions and customs persist over time we must consider why this was the case. In some instances, traditions have been resurrected from the past or reinvented to serve new needs.
SOUTH AFRICAN HISTORY: TERMS, CONCEPTS AND WORKING DEFINITIONS;
African: This is the term currently used by historians to identify people of indigenous African origin in South Africa. It is distinct from the terms previously used to identify people ‘native’ to South Africa and from the terms used to denote people of European extraction who also claim to be ‘African’ because of their place of birth ( they are known collectively as ‘white’). It is thought not to be as ideologically loaded a term as the other words used previously (see below under Race Classification). Ultimately, any label applied to any person or group of people must be used with caution so that there is no tendency toward discrimination on the basis of perceived or created stereotypes that may be associated with the term, as was the case in South Africa. No label is perfect. We will have to use the terms associated with apartheid only for the purposes of basic identification, distinction from other historically identified groups, and for ease in understanding and communication.
Afrikaners and Afrikaans: Afrikaners are people of northern European descent, predominantly Dutch and French Huguenot, who settled in South Africa from the mid-Seventeenth century. They are the group of people who later came to dominate South African politics, after a period of British hegemony, who are most often associated with the system of apartheid. As we will see, however, British settlers and the British Colonial Government played a crucial role in the development of South African segregation and oppression. Afrikaans is the language spoken by Afrikaners and it is based on Dutch, French and various African languages. Afrikaans is also spoken by many so-called ‘coloured’ people. Until 1994, along with English, Afrikaans was one of the two official national languages, and most whites in South Africa are moderately bilingual in these two European-based languages. Its association with the oppressive white state, and its enforced use in African schools was cause for much opposition and resistance from Africans.
ANC: The African National Congress. Founded in 1912, the ANC is the oldest and most influential African political party in South Africa. The ANC was at the forefront of the liberation struggle in South Africa until the state banned it and made it illegal, along with the PAC (Pan African Congress) from 1960 until 1993. Under Nelson Mandela’s leadership, the ANC now holds power as the ruling party in South Africa.
Apartheid: This term refers to the South African legal and political system of racial discrimination and segregation. The term, which means ‘to be apart for separate development’ and which was intended to disguise the racist and oppressive tactics of the white minority government was first used by D.F. Malan’s Government after the 1948 National Party victory in the all-white parliamentary election. It was based on a series of laws and practices developed under a segregationist ideology in South Africa that long pre-dated the formal era of apartheid.
Bantustans, Reserves and Homelands: One of the pillars of segregation and apartheid. The white state set these areas of generally poor quality land aside for Africans during South Africa’s recent history. The state developed this system of land segregation so it could control Africans and ensure that whites had access to productive land. These areas were only loosely based on pre-existing settlement patterns and fell far short of the carrying capacity Africans needed for subsistence
Languages: Currently, there are eleven officially recognized languages in South Africa. The most widely spoken are (in rough order of numbers) Zulu, English, Afrikaans, Xhosa, Northern and Southern Sotho, Ndebele, Pedi and Funagalor (a language melange of Zulu Xhosa, Afrikaans and some English used on the mines in South Africa). While language is bound up with culture and ethnicity in South Africa, it is not a determinant of a given person’s political or cultural character. Thus, while Inkatha, the Zulu-based cultural and political movement (more properly known as the IFP or Inkatha Freedom Party) has a majority of Zulu speakers in its membership, there are more Zulu speakers who are not members, but who are members of the so-called Xhosa party, the ANC. We will consider this issue when we discuss nationalism in South Africa.
Mfecane: Term used to describe the massive upheaval and dispersion of African peoples throughout Southern Africa in the 1820s and 1830s. Although this series of events has been attributed principally to the rise and consolidation of the Zulu State in Natal, this theory has been contested in the recent historiography.
Racial Classifications: Much of South Africa’s history was characterized by the use of terms and definitions that sought to classify people by their racial origins. The terms ‘Native’, ‘Tribal’, ‘ Bantu’ (which, in the Nguni languages of Southern Africa simply means ‘people’) and ‘Black’ were used by whites and the state to refer to various African peoples in order to discriminate against them on the basis of race (although the term ’Black’ was also used by people to collectively identify all those who were oppressed because of the colour of their skin including Indians, ‘Coloureds’ and Africans). Similarly, the state used the terms ‘European’ and ‘white’ to refer to the privileged and protected groups of a different race. In 1950, under the Population Registration Act, the state sought to refine its system of racial classification in order to play various groups off against each other. The new racial classifications of ‘Indian’ and ‘Coloured’, denoting people of Asian Indian extraction and people of mixed race respectively, were then entrenched in South African law and society.
Union: Term used to refer to the consolidated white state of South Africa following the Act of Union in 1909. It is generally used to refer to the white-dominated federal government of the merged states of the Cape of Good Hope, Natal (previously British colonies) and the Afrikaner Republics of the Transvaal and the Orange Free State.
Witwatersrand: The region centering on Johannesburg in which much of South Africa’s mining and industry developed. The area is now known as Gauteng.
THIS SYLLABUS IS SUBJECT TO CHANGE. PLEASE CHECK WITH THE INSTRUCTOR DIRECTLY ABOUT ANY POSSIBLE CHANGES.