South Africa

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%).

In the context of the current level of globalization, this course explores Africa’s position in and relations with other parts of the globalizing world. The course highlights Africa’s experience of globalization, focusing on the challenges and opportunities that globalization presents, particularly on cultures and identities in the continent.

The course introduces development economics as well as applied problems in the field of development, and development strategies. It covers both conventional theory of development and economic growth and alternative strategies for sustainable development. Topics covered include resource mobilization, agricultural and industrial development, globalization, sustainable development and institutions, and the political economy of development. The discussion is both theoretical and applied with extensive use made of country and regional case studies. The course focuses on developmental challenges confronting South Africa and the rest of Africa. Assessment: coursework (50%) and a final exam (50%).

The course exposes students to the diversity of invertebrates and their functional biology. Topics are presented within an evolutionary framework to emphasize past and contemporary selective pressures driving diversification. Students are exposed to key topics in functional biology across the major invertebrate groups and include cellular to organism-level processes. The course begins with an introduction to the evolution of the invertebrates and the major phyla. This leads to an exploration of invertebrate functional biology, with an emphasis on key adaptations across the aquatic–terrestrial gradient. Lectures, practicals, and field trips expose students to contemporary philosophical, methodological, and conceptual approaches used in the field of invertebrate functional biology and diversity. Assessment: A 3-hour examination, with a subminimum of 40%, counts for 50% of the course mark. Coursework marks will be allocated as follows: practicals count 15%, the field camp report counts 15% and two class tests count 20%.

This course examines conflict in world politics. Topics include types of conflicts, causes of conflict; actors in conflict; behavior during conflict; consequences of conflict; and moral evaluation of conflict. In each dimension, the course poses questions and examines different and even opposing answers. Answers are examined illustrating them with cases and/or empirical material. Assessment: coursework (50%) and final exam (50%).

This course takes students with zero knowledge of Xhosa to a good, basic competency in the language. The course actively engages students in acquiring the language through a series of well-developed modules with an integrated approach to acquiring speaking, writing, and comprehension skills in Xhosa. Grammar is taught in context and students are expected to apply their grammatical knowledge in task-based communication situations. Students are taught about different varieties of Xhosa and how to use these appropriately in social contexts. Tests, assignments, and portfolio activities counts 35%; orals count 15%; one two-hour examination counts 50% of the final mark.

This course defines and interrogates African Dance histories and their transitions in the 21st century. The problematic term ‘African Dance’ is engaged both theoretically and practically to explore questions of appropriation and appreciation of African indigenous dances. The course offers an understanding of African Contemporary Dance in South Africa and the sociocultural factors that have shaped it. It considers the local and global influences of Modernity on Traditional dances in South Africa.