University of Cape Town

An introduction to the study of ancient history and classical archaeology in the Mediterranean world from the 8th century BC to the early Roman Empire (1st century AD). The focus is on the development of Rome in the Italian peninsula and the emergence of Rome as a major power in the Mediterranean world. The reigns of the early Roman emperors are also covered. DP requirements: Students must attend at least 80% of tutorials, submit the prescribed number of essays and assignments and write any class test that may be scheduled. Submission dates must be adhered to. Assessment: One two-hour examination in October/November counts for 50% of the final mark; coursework counts for 50%.

The course achieves language proficiency matching the level of upper intermediate through a combination of lectures, conversation classes, language laboratory sessions, and presentations. Issues in Chinese culture, history, and civilization, as well as contemporary and modern society, are topics of discussion in the process of learning and practicing the use of the language. By the end of the course, participants are expected to be able to pass HSK level 5 or higher, meeting the language requirement for postgraduate students at a tertiary institution in China or elsewhere for honors or higher levels of study in Chinese-related subjects. DP requirements: Students must attend classes, lab sessions and tutorials regularly, submit the prescribed number of assignments and write any class test that may be scheduled. Submission dates must be adhered to. Assessment: Coursework (assignments and tests) counts for 40% of the final mark; two-hour written examination counts for 40%; oral and aural examination counts for 20%. Course entry requirements: SLL3121F. Participates should be able to write paragraphs of approximately 1000 characters and speak fairly clearly on a variety of topics with very limited time for preparation.

This course offers a critical introduction to contemporary film and television. It provides the basic vocabulary for understanding the film-making process as well as narrative forms in both film and television. The course also considers key areas of film and television studies such as spectatorship, genre and realism, with examples drawn from both South Africa and abroad. Students are assessed through academic analysis and a creative assignment (a short film shot on a mobile phone, or a short script). DP requirements: All written work must be submitted by the stipulated dates. Students who miss more than two tutorials lose their DPs. Assessment: Continuous assessment (essays, projects, tests, etc.) counts 100%. Course entry requirements: None

The course introduces the fundamental principles of sound financial management at the individual level and equips with the tools to ensure management of personal finances. Topics covered include basic financial planning, time value of money, credit management, real estate, the basics of investing, personal income tax, medical schemes and insurance, and estate and retirement planning. While the course provides a sound theoretical grounding in these topics, the focus is on practical application and real-world relevance. DP requirements: Completion and submission of at least 80% of tutorial assignments and attendance at 80% of tutorial sessions, and 40% average year mark. Assessment: Students complete a group Investment project (10%), weekly objective tests (10%, based on the best 5 of 10), two class tests (20%, weighted 10% each) and a final exam worth 60%.

This course introduces key issues and activities in South African society today. It presents how to search for and identify accurate information and relevant ideas, situating these in a social context, and outlining views around key social issues. We live in a society with deeply structured social inequalities and a range of issues and problems which people confront every day. What is actually happening to people positioned differently in society? What is changing and what is continuing? How do ordinary people deal with these issues? What forms of organization and action do they turn to as they try to meet their needs and build lives which are fulfilling and dignified? This course examines selected social processes, structures, institutions and behaviors to understand these issues and ways of dealing with them. DP requirements: Completion of all written tests, essays and assignments as set. Assessment: tests, essays and assignments (50%) final exam (50%).

This course examines the histories of cinemas and their social, cultural, and political contexts from the silent era through to contemporary film. Important filmmakers and theorists are explored, from Soviet and German filmmaking between the wars, and the emergence of Africa filmmaking in the 1960s to Hollywood New Wave and Dogme 95. The course provides broad knowledge of the histories of cinemas and cinema movements and improved their analytical skills and writing abilities. DP requirements: All written work must be submitted by the stipulated dates. Students who miss more than two tutorials will lose their DPs. Assessment: Continuous assessment (essays, projects, tests, etc.) counts 100%.

This course offers an introduction to key thinkers, moments, and movements from Francophone Africa and the African diaspora (including the Caribbean, the Indian Ocean, and France). It provides a diachronic survey focusing on selective figures and their main texts which have been shaping the cultural, social, and political imagination of/on Africa and the African diaspora until today. Focal points include the Négritude movement; anti-colonialism, Pan-Africanism, and independence; and contemporary postcolonial critique as well as current emancipatory thinking, comprising notions such as "Postcolony", "Necropolitics", "Afropolitanism", "Afrotopia", "Afrodystopia", and "Universality". These mostly Africa-centered conceptualizations will be read alongside influential thought produced in the larger African diaspora and Afro-descendant context outside the Continent, addressing three geographical and cultural contexts: the Francophone Caribbean, with "Antillanité", "Créolité" and "Relation"; the Francophone Indian Ocean Islands with "Creolization" and "Liquid Africa"; and France with critical debates around "Francophonie", "Afropeanism", and "heritage restoration". DP requirements: At least 80% of attendance at lectures and tutorials; completion and timeous submission of all assignments. Assessment: Continuous assessment (essays, projects, tests, etc.) counts 100%.

Course outline: This course equips students with crucial intellectual resources for facing the challenges presented by a globalised knowledge-dependent economy. Its focus is on developing critical reasoning skills, in particular competence at, and confidence in, assessing the quality of available evidence; distinguishing disinformation from misinformation, and understanding the influence of social media on shaping judgments and decision-making. Students will learn how to use evidence and sound argumentation to reach well-justified conclusions, and to then efficiently and persuasively communicate those conclusions to relevant stakeholders. Practically, the course uses case studies of contemporary debates on social and traditional media to emphasise the importance of understanding commercial activity as occurring within particular social and political environments, and on how those environments can affect our ability to make rational decisions. DP requirements: Submission of all coursework assignments. Participation in small group case study discussions as required. Achieving a weighted average of at least 40%. Assessment: Coursework 75%; Capstone assessment 25%. A sub-minimum of 45% must be achieved in the capstone assessment.

This course increases understanding and analyzes of the impact of development practices, particularly as they have affected women and men in different contexts. The course offers an introduction to debates around the gendered impact of different economic and political development trajectories, and policies, such as industrialization, agricultural transformations, democratization, and contemporary structural adjustment programs. Case studies drawn from different regions and contexts are used to illustrate the theoretical debates, including those distinguishing “women in development” approaches from “gender and development” approaches. DP requirements: Completion of all semester coursework by deadlines as specified on the course curriculum. Assessment: Continuous assessment (essays, projects, tests, etc.) counts 100%.