South Africa Since 1990

South Africa transformed after 1990, but the past remains powerful. This seminar offers a study of this dynamic and complicated country as well as an exercise in contemporary history. It explores the endurance and erosion of the apartheid legacy and the emergence of new problems. A quarter century isn’t enough for a full body of academic historical work to have developed, so the syllabus features journalism, opinion pieces, social science, and biographies – works that provide the “first draft” of history. In addition to the political history, we will focus on the Truth and Reconciliation Commission and HIV-AIDs.