University of Cape Town

This is an introductory course in microeconomics. The course begins with a discussion of economic history, the characteristics of different economic systems, and the factors influencing economic development following the Industrial Revolution including utility-maximization theory of consumption, optimal-bundle, and indifference curve analysis. Game theoretical frameworks are reviewed to model social interactions amongst economic agents before applying this framework to wage-setting relationships in the labor market. Applications of experimental economic methods are also briefly explored. Finally, standard neo-classical theories of supply and demand as well as firms’ pricing decisions under differing levels of market competition are introduced.

This introduction to Natural Resource Economics examines the scarcity and optimal allocation of freshwater resources in the Western Cape, South Africa. The theoretical framework is neo-classical microeconomics, market failure, and climate change are being addressed. Assessment: tests and essays (40%), final examination (60%).

This course addresses how modern techniques of structural and chemical biology are being used to solve biological problems. It draws on multiple aspects of macromolecular biochemistry including nucleic acid structure and interactions, signaling proteins, and membrane proteins.  The course demonstrates how this knowledge can be used in drug discovery and protein design in biotechnology. Topics include mechanisms of reversible and irreversible enzyme inhibitors, ligand binding, protein folding, the molecular basis for protein function, regulation of protein activity, cell signaling, and proteomics. Assessment: Tests count 40%; practicals, tutorials essays, and assignments count 10%; one 3-hour examination written in June counts 50%. A subminimum of 40% in the examination is required.

The course introduces the evolution of the social service professions in South Africa and the global, national, and regional contexts within which they work. It focuses on the socio-political context created by pre- and post-democratic social policies within which social services in South Africa are now delivered. The course provides an introduction to the main policies, legislation, and programs that shape the developmental context in which social service professions now work in South Africa. It also introduces the global and national trends that impact on social service provisions in the South. Lastly, the course reviews the specific roles of social service professionals in promoting human wellbeing. Assessment: coursework (50%), final exam (50%).

This course is an introduction to problem-solving, algorithm development, and programming in the Python language. It includes fundamental programming constructs and abstractions, sorting and searching techniques, and machine representations of data. The practical component covers input/output, conditionals, loops, strings, functions, arrays, lists, dictionaries, recursion, text files, and exceptions in Python. Students are taught testing and debugging, as well as sorting and searching algorithms, algorithm complexity, and equivalence classes. Number systems, binary arithmetic, Boolean algebra, and logic gates are also introduced. The course is offered in a blended learning format. 

Spatial thinking sits at the core of Geographical scholarship, and space and human societies are always mutually constitutive. This course explores how geographers have theorized space and place as central to understanding historical processes, social relations, and cultural practices. Focusing particularly on Africa and other regions of the global South, the course covers foundational Human Geography concepts including modernity, landscape, memory, heritage, identity, and inclusion. Through theoretical work and field-based experiential learning, the course examines how space and place both shape and are shaped by a range of power dynamics.

The course shows how the tools of classical and molecular genetics can be applied to understanding the regulation of gene expression, cell differentiation, and patterning in bacteria and eukaryotes. Concepts covered include gene mapping, forward and reverse genetics; microbial genetics, including regulation of the lac operon; CRISPR/ Cas9 gene editing and DNA repair; alternative splicing and sex-determination; epigenetic mechanisms used in dosage compensation; the genetic analysis of cell cycle regulation; stem cell technology and axis determination in Drosophila. Tests and assignments count 40%; practicals count 10%; one three-hour paper written in November counts 50%. 

This course introduces the academic study of South African politics. It explores the country’s recent political history, the political legacies of segregation and apartheid, and the relationships between politics and broader social life. It goes on to explore the character and significance of the country’s ‘democratic transition’. The course also investigates the country’s constitution, electoral systems, political parties, party system, and associational politics. Students learn key academic approaches to the study of domestic politics and apply these to the study of South Africa.

The course begins with a discussion on the nature and origin of plants that includes an overview of major autotrophic eukaryote lineages. The benefits and challenges of life in water and on land are also presented. Diversity and evolution of life histories and reproductive systems in plants and consequences of the diversity of major plant lineages are studied. The functional biology of the major organs of the plant including roots, stems, and leaves in relation to strategies for resource acquisition and utilization, mineral nutrition, plant water relations, and carbon metabolism are considered. This entails studying variations in root, stem, and leaf morphologies in various plant lineages and unique terrestrial and aquatic environments and their function in water, nutrients, and carbon metabolism. There is a strong focus on African plants and a particular emphasis on the Cape Floristic region. The course practicals are compulsory and complement the theory with hands-on experience in working with different lineages of plants, data collection and analysis from scientific studies and experiments, and scientific writing. A compulsory 4-day field camp is undertaken for students to study the relationship between ecology and plant morphology, function, and diversity. Assessment: A 3-hour examination, with a subminimum of 40%, counts 50% of the course. Coursework marks will be allocated as follows: Practical classes count 20%, project based on field camp counts 10%, and two class tests count 20%.

The first section of the course locates South African local level politics and administration in the context of national and provincial state reform; examines the significance of local implementation and service delivery for policy outputs and for the policy process as a whole; and provides a theoretical framework for understanding how local government reorganization is developed with a comparative analysis of local government reorganization with particular reference to metropolitan areas. There is in addition a focus on contemporary reforms which have affected South Africa's contemporary urban governance, such as the new megacities, politics-administration interface, and developmental local government. The second section introduces an overview of contemporary urban political and administrative challenges and opportunities. These challenges and opportunities occur in a context of global and local conditions. The course examines and compares good solutions to urban problems in third and first-world cities. In its focus on delivery-level administration and politics, the course provides both intellectual and practical closure to the major sequence of courses on public administration, management, and the policy process. Assessment: coursework (50%), final exam (50%).