BA in Humanities

Subjects on offer:

Modules for MAJOR (Core) Courses of Study:

MINOR electives available:

Commercial Law
Communications/Cultural studies
Economics (subject to approval from the School of Commerce)
Geography

Core Foundational Module:

Study Skills

MAJOR (CORE) SUBJECTS:

HISTORY

HIST111 AFRICA, GLOBALISATION AND MODERNITY: AN HISTORICAL INVESTIGATION

This module aims to introduce students to a macro-historical narrative by considering the twin themes of global cross-cultural and social interaction, as well as the idea of modernity and its consequences. The module will pay particular attention to the role of the African continent in such developments. As such, the student will consider the following content: Modernity and its responses in Eurasia; Sub-Saharan civilization centres (Ghana/Mali, Islamic expansion, Swahili Kingdoms, Congo, Gr. Zimbabwe); Africa as part of the Atlantic world; Africa as part of the Indian Ocean world; Comparative colonial and imperial networks; Decolonization and the Exhaustion of Empire (the end of colonial consensus and origins of the African Nation state, 1940-1960; Postcolonial Africa (1960-1994); Africa in contemporary world context (Africa as “8th civilization”, African engagement with China, the African Union and democracy).

HIST102 TOPICS IN SOUTHERN AFRICAN HISTORY

This module seeks to introduce students to selected regional themes in the historical development of the southern part of the African continent; to enable students to appreciate social, cultural and economic forces as critical to a historical narrative as political ones.

The content includes:

Pre-colonial considerations (introducing archaeological and anthropological extrapolatory historical methods):
1. Great Zimbabwe;
2. The Nguni Diaspora;
3. Khoi-San Civilization;
Colonization(s): from gardens to gold:
1. Settlement vs. Extraction colonial arrangements: Comparative European colonial structures;
2. Interaction, conflict and cooperation.
Migrations and Motivations:
1. Environmental motivations (the Difecane);
2. Political/Economic (the Groot Trek; Khoi-San into the Kalahari);
3. Movement and Conflict.
Industrialization, Mining and Resistance:
1. Industrialization and the formation of working class(es) in Southern Africa;
2. The Mission Schools as incubators of resistance;
3. Solidarity and Regional movements: ANC and others.
Decolonization(s): of states, of minds, of economies.

HIST201 THE STUDY OF HISTORY: AN INTRODUCTION

The module will explore the nature and use of history, the meaning of historical mindedness, basic reading and communication skills, and institutional expectations for studying this discipline.

The content includes:

Thinking historically:

Why history is important; causality and context; continuity and change.

Reading historically:

The Library: mastering and harnessing sources of information. Reading to understand; discerning theses and biases, and following arguments; statistics and their interpretation; the internet as resource.

Writing historically:

The book review as a means of understanding argument. Understanding the differences among primary, secondary and tertiary sources; oral History (history in preliterate and post-literate societies); interpretation, generalization, classification of evidence and writing the history essay.

History as a craft:

The popular uses of history. History and memory: the difference. History as a civic tool, and as a tool of critique. Historiography, and history’s service to the humanities (the interdisciplinary role history can play).

HIST202 HISTORY OF THE ATLANTIC WORLD: 1500-1835

This module seeks to provide an alternative framework for understanding European colonialism by emphasizing a regional frame of reference for historical processes; also to consider non-state emphases (social and cultural history) in the analysis of the past.

The student will study the following content: the Renaissance and the justification of colonialism; Prester John, the New World and the challenges to European Social thought; European non-elites and the making of New World societies; the Columbian Exchange, modern slavery and the making of the Atlantic capitalism; the Atlantic society in Latin America and indigenous American resistance; the Atlantic economy and the destabilization of West Africa; the imposition of a racial and class order in Atlantic colonial societies; the (African and European) social roots of political reform: slavery and freedom in the British North American colonies; the social roots of the French Revolution; Western political revolution, African style (the revolution in Haiti); Creole society and revolution in Latin America; the end of British slavery and the beginnings of the Atlantic industrial economy.

HIST301 ORAL HISTORY METHODS AND APPROACHES

This module seeks to introduce students to the theory and methodological approaches of oral history; to show how this methodology has opened up prior historical debates, particularly those based on literary textual sources; and to show how this approach gives voice to peoples, societies and communities who have been marginalized in the historical record because of their limited documentary production.

As such, the student will consider the following content: introducing oral history; memory and non-literary evidence; theory and method; ethics and legal matters in this methodology; advocacy, empowerment and public preservation.

HIST302 HISTORY AND FILM

It is important for students to understand that history and popular memory is not the same thing. This is powerfully demonstrated in the medium of popular films. Thus, the module will show how this medium helps to shape popular memory, and, in turn, is shaped by popular memory. It will also show the intersections between history properly constructed and popular memory.

The student will engage the following themes and illustrative films:

The biopic: How history is constructed from the point of view of the present, and who gets to tell another’s story:
1. The story of Stephen Biko: Cry Freedom and Donald Woods;
2. Patrice Lumumba, the United Nations and the independence of the DRC: Lumumba and the debates in the New York Review of Books.
The Spirit of the Ages: epochs vs. epics:
1. Henry Fifth, 1944 (Lawrence Olivier, director): World War II Britain;
2. Henry V, 1989 (Kenneth Branaugh): Britain under Margaret Thatcher.
Film Making History: The Feature Film as Propaganda:
1. Casablanca: the contested understanding of 1930s and 1940s;
2. Hero (Ying Xiong), 2002: Parallel themes of Imperial, Maoist and Contemporary China.
Representation of historical events: the feature film as journalism:
1. The Battle of Algiers (1965);
2. Z (Costa-Gavras, director).

LITERATURE IN ENGLISH

LITR101 SELF-AWARENESS IN ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE

This module aims to introduce students to several nineteenth- and twentieth- century novels and poems and a Shakespeare tragedy. It also seeks to encourage students to see how literature identifies crises of identity in characters, and demonstrates possible ways in which they are resolved or in which resolution becomes impossible.

The content includes: the role of literature in the humanities; moral complexity in English and North American texts; identity and self-awareness in English and North American texts. Selected texts from British and North American contexts will be read and analysed.

LITR102 SELF-AWARENESS IN AFRICAN LITERATURE

This module seeks to introduce students to African novels, short stories, poems and plays; to understand the ways in which African literature has either confirmed or subverted dominant accounts of African identities at various stages in African history including the present; and to explore how literature illustrates the range of African diversity and the ways in which people from different parts of Africa have learned to understand themselves.

The content includes: African literature written in the English language; society and time in the context of African English-language texts; moral complexity in African literature; identity and self-awareness in African literature. Reading and analysis will consider African texts written in English.

LITR201 AWARENESS OF OTHERS IN ENGLISH AND AMERICAN LITERATURE

This module seeks to introduce students to poetry drawn from the early modern period, and to expand students’ reading of British and American literature of the nineteenth and twentieth century, and two more Shakespeare plays, to encourage students to recognise how, in the plays and novels, characters deal with different understandings of themselves through their encounter with unfamiliar situations or aspects of themselves of which they had been previously unaware, and how to trace the consequences of such encounters, and to encourage students to recognise how poets often attempt to give expression to unfamiliar experiences, unexpected insights and newly acquired beliefs.

The content includes: how a sense of others develops from the early modern period through to the twentieth century; voyages and the various manifestations of imperialism; creating the other through the religious divisions of the Reformation; Romanticism’s recognition of multiple selves; awareness of class differences; religious scepticism and an awareness of different selves.

LITR202 AWARENESS OF OTHERS IN AFRICAN LITERATURE

This module aims to further students’ exposure to, and reading of, colonial and post-colonial African literature with poems, short stories and novels to help students see how selected texts show a variety of ways in which a sense of the other is constructed in African literature. More specifically, the module aims to enable students to discover how works of literature take for granted cosmologies that are unfamiliar to them; to enable them to recognise the different perspectives from which people of different backgrounds may regard a similar situation; to introduce students to works that show how the new societies created by decolonization, independence or democracy demanded new responses from outsiders and insiders alike.

The content includes: how African literature shows certain common features in African cultures and societies but also registers considerable diversity; different ways in which African literature represents both African traditional religion and imported religions like Christianity; how colonial or settler racism alienates people of colour; different ways in which African literature regards the pre-colonial past, appropriates or rejects foreign cultures, anticipates a post-colonial world, and confronts postcolonial successes and failures.

LITR301 LITERARY THEORY

This module aims to introduce students to the main themes in classical and contemporary literary theory, and their importance for understanding better the texts we have considered. It also seeks to enable students to understand the different ways in which literature and its value have been debated over the centuries and to enable students to understand how literary theory involves discussions of idealism, realism and representation, and what authority literature possesses in establishing our sense of morality.

The content includes: the concept of mimesis and why Plato’s mimesis is different from Aristotle’s; Renaissance neo-Platonism and how Sidney and Shakespeare respond to it; Romantic ideas of the poet and poetry; Victorian and African ideas on the moral purpose of literature; feminism, structuralism, deconstruction, post-modernism and post-colonialism.

LITR311 TRAGEDY IN ANCIENT GREECE AND ENGLISH RENAISSANCE

This module aims to enable students to understand the literary concept of tragedy. It also seeks to enable students to examine various tragedies from Ancient Greece and the English Renaissance, as well as more recent plays and novels from both Western and African contexts. Students are asked to consider what various tragic texts, widely separated by space and time, have in common and whether the tragic vision is a universal concept or whether it is contingent on religious beliefs and social circumstances.

The content includes: tragedy and the Greeks; modern and contemporary tragedy; tragedy and simple pessimism. Students will also read and discuss examples of the tragic form in African texts.

LITR321 LITERATURE IN FAITH AND SCEPTICISM

This module seeks to introduce students to the tradition of English religious poetry that can be traced from medieval English lyrics to the so-called Metaphysical poets of the sixteenth century and to consider how these poems address Christology and Marian devotions and key concepts, such as the Incarnation and the Atonement. It also aims to introduce students to the development of scepticism in nineteenth-century literature; to introduce students to the tensions of more recent and contemporary literature where works of religious doubt and the works affirming of faith occur contemporaneously; and to introduce students to the literary representation of religion from non-Christian cultures.

The content includes: traditions of English religious poetry from the Medieval English lyrics to the so-called Metaphysical poets of the sixteenth century; religious poetry and Christian theological concepts; the rise of scepticism in literature in the 19th century; literature and the affirmation of faith in the 19th and 20th centuries; and religion in the literature of non-Christian cultures.

LITR302 WOMEN’S VOICES IN LITERATURE

Although since the sixteenth century women have contributed substantially to British literature, only in the nineteenth century did works authored by women become part of the British and American canon. In most canonical texts of European, American and African literature, women are only occasionally allowed to speak with any authority. This module, therefore, has the following aims: to introduce texts to students in which women insist on their right to speak, confidently set their own agenda and sometimes register their subordination; to introduce and engage male-authored texts which show how women’s voices have been represented and perhaps distorted; and to establish whether, when women do write, they provide a different perspective to that of their male contemporaries.

The content includes: a historical survey of contributions of women authors to English Language literature; women speaking with authority; representations of others by authors (especially gender); women’s literature in Africa.

LITR312 RELIGION IN AFRICAN LITERATURE

Because classical African Literature in English and French was written during the period of decolonization and the early independence of the new African nations, the political dimensions of such literature are often emphasized, and their spiritual dimensions are ignored. In fact, most African novels and dramas refer extensively to Christianity, Islam or African Traditional religion. With this in mind, this module aims to see how central religion and religious references are to African Literature.

The content includes: the background and context to African literature, namely decolonization and early independence; religion and spirituality in African Literature; and the intersection of the political and religious spheres in African literature in English.

PHILOSOPHY

Please visit the Philosophy Department website for further information.

PHIL 103 INTRODUCTION TO LOGIC AND PHILOSOPHY

The purpose of this module is to enable students to think critically and philosophically. The first half of the module will focus on critical thinking and logic. It will enable students (a) to identify a range of methods of argumentation (including methods of persuasion) (b) to evaluate both formal and informal arguments and (c) to construct sound and effective arguments. The second half of the module will introduce students to the field of philosophy , to the different areas such as epistemology, metaphysics and ethics, and to the different periods treated in the history of philosophy. Special attention will be given to the distinctive requirements of philosophical reading and writing.

The Contents of the Module include: I. Basic Notions in logic and critical thinking; recognition of arguments; analysis and diagramming of arguments; the nature of deduction and induction; introduction to symbolic logic; introduction to inductive logic. II. The Character of Philosophical Inquiry; the diversity of historical traditions; the main areas of philosophy; the main periods of philosophical inquiry; reading for arguments; writing of argumentative essays.

PHIL111 CRITICAL THINKING IN ETHICS

Designed to immediately engage students in philosophical reflection, the module combines a discussion of ethical theory with fundamental elements of critical thinking, including informal fallacies and the basics of logic and uses case studies and practical applications to illustrate concepts. This approach enables students to think systematically about ethical issues and to acquire basic skills in argumentation at the same time. They will learn how to bring principles to bear on ethical conflict, how to weigh pros and cons, how to recognise good ethical reasons, and how to distinguish sound argumentation from rationalisation.

The Content of the Module covers: Basic Notions: Logic and Critical Thinking. Recognition of Arguments. Analysis and Diagramming Arguments; Logic and Language: Use of Language, Definitions, Fallacies; Basic moral concepts: Right and Wrong, Good and Evil, Freedom and Responsibility, Analysing and assessing moral reasoning, Identifying and analysing moral concepts and language, Basic ethical theories: consequentialism, utilitarianism, relativism, virtue ethics, natural law, Specific ethical issues: abortion, euthanasia, capital punishment, environmental ethics.

PHIL 104. PHILOSOPHY OF THE HUMAN PERSON

The purpose of this module is to introduce students to the philosophy of human persons. The aim is to provide an entry point into philosophy that will allow students to appreciate how philosophical questions arise in many areas of human life. Students will discover how philosophy has interdisciplinary significance. They will reflect on the different accounts of human nature and the human person found in the sciences and in religion as well as in philosophy directly. At the same time they will be introduced to systematic thinking in a way that prepares them for the more technical inquiry they will encounter in philosophy of knowledge and ethics. Both analytical and systematic ways of thinking will be developed. The module will also enable students to develop further skills in philosophical reading and writing as well as in philosophical thinking and argumentation.

PHIL201 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY I

The purpose of the module is to enable students to critically appropriate the distinctive philosophical perspectives and methods and issues originating in the ancient and medieval perspectives. The aim will also be to introduce students to contemporary interpretations and evaluations of these distinctive approaches to philosophy. The module will present the thought of a variety of important thinkers in the ancient and medieval periods, particularly Plato and Augustine as well as Aristotle and Aquinas.

The content includes:

Pre-Socratics and the birth of Philosophy.
Plato on the Soul and the Just Society. Aristotle on the Soul.
Aristotle on Metaphysics.
Lucretius and Materialism.
Stoic Philosophy.
Plotinus and Neo Platonism.
Augustine on free will. Augustine and Existential Philosophy.
Anselm and the thought of Perfection.
Averroes on Faith and Reason.
Maimonides and the Guide to the Perplexed.
Aquinas on Being and Essence. Aquinas and Christian Philosophy.
Scotus and Ockham and the Rise of Skepticism.
Nicholas of Cusa and the end of metaphysics.
Francis de Vitoria and Francisco Suarez and the beginning of Modernity.

PHIL221 PHILOSOPHY OF KNOWLEDGE

The purpose of the module is to introduce learners to central questions in epistemology. The module will present a variety of approaches including the following: (a) Analytical approaches to the analysis of ‘knowledge’ as ‘justified true beliefs’ (b) Phenomenological and Hermeneutical approaches to the philosophy of knowledge (c) Critical Theory and ideological aspects of knowledge (d) The emergence of modern epistemology from Descartes to Kant (e) Contemporary developments in Thomistic Philosophy of Knowledge. Contemporary discussions on foundationalism and anti-foundationalism as well as internalism and externalism will be examined.

PHIL202 HISTORY OF PHILOSOPHY II

The purpose of the module is to enable students to critically appropriate the distinctive philosophical approaches and issues and method that originated in the modern period. The module aims to show students how the rise of modern science as well as the shift from a religious to a more secular outlook influenced philosophy in many ways. This includes showing how the Enlightenment ideal of progress in science dominated the period until the Romantic reaction. Finally, the module will indicate how modernity began to give way to post-modernity in the thought of Nietzsche.

The content includes:

The Rise of Modern Science. Francis Bacon and the New Organon. Galileo and Primary and Secondary Qualities.
Descartes and First Philosophy. Liebniz and Modern Metaphysics. Spinoza and Modern Ethics.
Vico and the New Science.
Locke, Berkeley, and Hume on Human Knowledge.
Kant on Pure Reason. Kant on the Metaphysics of Morals.
Schiller and Aesthetic Education.
Hegel and Historical Consciousness.
Nietzsche and the end of Modernity.

PHIL222 ETHICS

The purpose of the module is to introduce students to the basic notions and arguments in ethical philosophy. The relevance of a phenomenology of moral consciousness as a basis for ethical reflection will be pointed out. Students will also be provided with a framework for thinking about ethical issues at normative and metaethical levels. The contents of the module will include the following:

What is Morality? What is Ethics?
The Moral Experience: The Human Act/The Relation of Intellect and Will and the Passions/ Freedom and Responsibility
Sources of Ethical Reflection
Basic Notions: Right and Wrong/ Good and Evil
Ethical Relativism and Pluralism
Ethical Egoism and Ethical Subjectivism/ Eth Utilitarianism/ Deontological Ethics/ Virtue Ethics/ Natural Law Ethics
Religion and Ethics: Divine Command Ethics
Contemporary Meta-Ethics: The Fact-Value Distinction/ The Is-Ought Distinction/Ethical Naturalism/ Non-Naturalism/ Ethical Realism/Theories of Goodness
Ethics and the Human Person

PHIL331 PHILOSOPHY OF MIND AND PERSON

The purpose of the module is to introduce students to main positions in contemporary philosophy of mind. These include: Dualism/ Mind-Brain Identity Theory/ Analytical Behaviourism/ Functionalism/ Non-Reductive Dualism and Hylomorphic Theories. In addition the nature of consciousness will be examined along with a consideration of the nature of selfhood and personhood. Phenomenological and Thomistic approaches will be considered as well as analytical methods.

PHIL302 CONTEMPORARY PHILOSOPHY: PLURALISM AND METAPHILOSOPHY

The purpose of the module is to introduce students to the problem of philosophical pluralism and to the need for comparative philosophy. The diversity in Western philosophical traditions will be investigated along with the differences between Western philosophy and philosophy in other cultural contexts, including Africa, South America, China, India, and Japan. The modules will examine the relationship of culture and philosophy in various contexts. The aim is to bring students to a heightened awareness of the differences and introduce them to ways of responding to philosophic pluralism.

The content includes:

The Problem of Pluralism.
The Analytical/ European Continental Split. Analytical Philosophy/ Phenomenology/ Hermeneutics/ Existentialism/ Deconstruction/ Pragmatism.
World Philosophies/ Contemporary Thomism.
Metaphilosophical Issues.

PHIL311 PHILOSOPHY OF SCIENCE

The purpose of the module is to investigate the nature and status of scientific knowing which continue to arise as science develops. The module will consider the epistemological and metaphysical questions emerging out of a series of scientific revolutions. The aim is to provide students with an accurate understanding of the scientific enterprise and with the philosophies of science that attempt to interpret the scientific enterprise.

The content of the module deals with the following:

What is Philosophy of Science? What is Science?
Scientific Method. Observation and Induction. Observation and Testing: Fact and Theory. Confirmation: Justification and Verification. Confirmation and the Scientific Community: Paradigm Shifts, Research Programmes.
The Role of Hypotheses and Theory. Scientific Explanation.
Realism and Anti-Realism. Reductionism. Emergence.

PHIL321 PHILOSOPHY OF RELIGION

The purpose of the module is to investigate the philosophical questions that arise in relation to the phenomenon of religion and to religious claims regarding knowledge of an ultimate reality. Students will be introduced to the central arguments regarding the status of religious claims. The phenomenon of religious and mystical experience will be explored in order to provide a deeper appreciation of the subject under investigation. The philosophical issues will be explored in relation to a spectrum of religious traditions.

The content includes:

The Nature of Religion/s. The Religious Phenomena. Realism and Non-Realism.
The Nature of God: Materialism and Immateriality. Divine Intelligence. The Transcendence of God.
The Existence of God: Cosmological and Teleological Arguments. The Argument from Religious Experience. Cumulative Arguments.
The problem of Evil.
Death and Immortality.
Morals and Religion.
Religious Pluralism and Truth.

PHIL332 PHILOSOPHY OF REALITY

The purpose of the module is to introduce students to central questions in metaphysics. A range of historical and systematic approaches will be considered. These include (a) Aristotle and the Question of Being as Being (b) Aquinas and the Essence-Existence Distinction (c) Kant and the Possibility of Metaphysics (d) Hegel and the Metaphysics of Absolute Spirit (e) Heidegger and the End of Metaphysics (f) Contemporary Thomism: NeoThomism and Transcendental Thomism. The nature of metaphysics and of method in metaphysics will be examined and its relation to philosophy of knowledge will be explained. The place of metaphysics in world views will be explored. In addition particular metaphysical problems such as the nature of space and time, the nature of causality and the metaphysics of human nature will be treated.

POLITICS

POLS 101 INTRODUCTION TO POLITICAL SCIENCE

The purpose of the module is to introduce students to the analysis of political institutions, ideas and practices; to teach students how to make sense of, and think critically and with analytical rigour about political phenomena.

The content includes:

What is politics? What is Political Science? Contested definitions. Brief survey of the fields of political science: the study of political institutions - especially comparative government and politics; international relations; political sociology; ‘economic politics’. The study of political ideas: political philosophy and political theory; the study of political belief systems.
Key concepts and phenomena: The distinction between ‘normative’ and ‘empirical’ political studies; key concepts – justice; freedom; autonomy; power; authority; legitimacy; the state; elites; political parties and movements; interest groups; constitutions and institutions: the ‘branches of government’ – legislatures, the judiciary, the executive branch; bureaucracy; reform and revolution.
Forms of political organisation; liberal, fascist, and socialist forms of state. Ideologies: liberalism, socialism and fascism as movements and as ‘ideologies’. Democracy as both ideal and as practice in the ancient and modern worlds.

POLS 102 INRODUCTION TO GLOBAL POLITICS

The purpose of the module is to introduce students to the global and international context of politics and to provide them with the relevant theoretical and analytical knowledge.

The content includes:

Global politics and International Relations (IR): an introduction.
The modern world system from Westphalia to the present; the shaping of global politics in the 20^th Century; the causes and consequence of the 2^nd World War; the cold war; the collapse of state socialism; the ‘triumph of capitalism’ and the spread of liberal democracy; the post 1989 ‘New World Order’ (and ‘disorder’); the revival of ‘religious politics’; the ‘regionalization’ of global politics; the relative decline of the nation-state, the rise of INGOs and NGOs and the challenges to ‘sovereignty’.
The nature of international institutions and organisations; the post-2^nd World War system of international organisations (the UN and its various agencies), the Bretton Woods institutions; the new juridical institutions; treaties and their enforcement; the scope and limits of the present systems of international governance.
Ways of thinking about international relations and global politics: outline of liberal, realist and idealist perspectives; the ‘end of history’ versus ‘clash of civilizations as ways of characterizing the contemporary global system.

POLS 201 POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY I: THE FOUNDATIONS OF MODERN POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY

The purpose of the module is to introduce students to key thinkers, theories, and concepts in the western tradition of political thought; to introduce students to both analytical and historical perspectives on political thought.

The content includes:

The Ancient Greek origins: Plato and Aristotle,
St Augustine and Thomas Aquinas: Christianity and the path/transitions to modernity,
The foundations of modern political thought: the contract tradition. Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Kant.

Note 1: The principal ‘discourse’ of modern normative political theory is, arguably, contract theory from Hobbes to Rawls and beyond. It is crucial that students have a firm grip on this tradition.

Note 2. This module will adopt a combined ‘contextualist’ and text-analysis approaches. The principal mode of instruction, however, will be detailed explication of texts.

Note 3. The Augustine/Aquinas material will be dealt with more fully in the Philosophy stream and, ideally, in a module that focuses on Catholic thought.

POLS202 SOUTH AFRICAN GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS: AN INTRODUCTION

The purpose of the module is to introduce students to the political history of South Africa from 1910 to the present, and to introduce them to aspects of comparative political analysis.

The content includes:

Introduction to South Africa politics; and overview from 1910 to 2007; special emphasis will be placed on the formation and dissolution of the Apartheid system. The status of political rights and civil liberties will be focused on, as well as property rights and political instability. The ‘forms’ state and patterns of government will be addressed, as will the specific features of the system of government. The role of parliament, the executive, the judiciary and the provinces will be dealt with; the constitution will be studied closely.
The politics of democratic transition in comparative perspective; the nature of opposition and resistance; the social and economics bases of political conflict; violence and negotiation; the role of local and regional politics.

POLS211 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS I

The purpose of the module is to introduce students to key concepts in the study of international relations.

The content includes:

Key themes and theoretical perspectives in international relations; selected ‘classical’ perspectives - Hans J. Morgenthau; Raymond Aron; A.F.K. Organski, Kenneth N. Waltz, J.W. Burton; J.N. Rosenau; John Mearsheimer, Henry Kissinger, liberalism, realism, and idealism.
War and peace; diplomacy and treaties; international organisations; new global institutions.

POLS212 POLITICS OF THE UNITED STATES AND LATIN AMERICA

(This fulfils, with South Africa, the comparative government and politics requirement of a major in Political Science).

The purpose of the module is to introduce students to comparative political studies; to introduce students to the politics and government of both a ‘developed’ and a ‘developing’ society other than South Africa; to introduce students to different forms of state and to aspects of political sociology as reflected in the two case studies.

The content includes:

The politics and government of the United States of America; the War of Independence; the Declaration of Independence; the crafting of the Constitution; the branches of government; the Executive, Judiciary and Legislature; State and Federal government; checks and balances; the mechanisms of government such as congressional committees; the party system; interest groups; the impact of urbanisation ; ‘red states’ and ‘blue states’; political attitudes and voting patterns; the median voter. United States Foreign policy and domestic politics,
The politics and government of Brazil. Historical origins: the Portuguese influence; forms of government; challenges of development – poverty, urbanisation , taxation and inequality; religion and politics; the role of the state.

POLS221 MODERN POLITICAL THEORY

The aim of this module is to introduce learners to key thinkers, theories and concepts in the western tradition of political thought; to introduce learners to both analytical and historical perspectives on political thought.

Content includes: the foundations of modern political thought: the contract tradition. Hobbes, Locke, Rousseau and Kant; 19th Century political theory: Hegel and Marx. Learners will know how to read original texts, to assess their internal structure and coherence and to relate them to their historical contexts. Learners will learn how to assess arguments critically. They will be able to write an essay in the field and articulate relevant arguments at a high level of abstraction.

POLS222 COMPARATIVE GOVERNMENT AND POLITICS

The aim of this module is to introduce learners to comparative political studies; to introduce learners to the politics and government societies other than South Africa; to introduce learners to the methodological challenges associated with the comparative study of political systems.

Content covers the reasons for, and approaches to the comparative study of political systems; the politics and government of between two and four selected countries other than South Africa, with emphasis on some or all of the following: the institutional histories of the countries studied; constitutions; the structure and functions of government; the nature of their executive, judicial and legislative branches; checks and balances; their political party systems; their electoral systems and ballot structures; interest groups and social movements; their political demography and political sociology; their foreign

Learners will know the basic principles and practices of comparative political analysis; they will have acquired in-depth knowledge of the political systems, and social contexts of at least two countries other than South Africa; the will have learned about the effect of different historical trajectories in the development of contemporary national political systems; learners will be able to read, summarize and assess relevant arguments and empirical content in articles and books; learners will be able to write an essay in the field and articulate arguments with a detailed command of empirical material.

POLS301 INTERNATIONAL RELATIONS II: PERSPECTIVES ON GLOBAL POLITICS AND INTERNATIONAL AFFAIRS

The purpose of the module is to introduce students to advanced level studies in international relations. Students will address challenging contemporary issues and will engage with key theoretical perspectives.

The content includes:

The contexts and ways of ‘seeing’ international/global politics; the ‘End of History’ or ‘Clash of Civilizations’?
Challenges and issues in international affairs: terrorism; scope and limits of international law; problems of sovereignty and jurisdiction; transnational justice,
Power blocs and regions; the ‘end’ of the nation-state system?
International political economy: the elements,
Trans-regional issues: normative and empirical aspects; climate change and global warming; international and inter-regional trade.

POLS302 ANALYTICAL APPROACHES TO “POLITICAL ECONOMICS”

The purpose of the module is to introduce students to game-theoretic and rational-choice analytical approaches to political studies.

The content includes:

Rational Choice approaches; the basics of game theory; rules and institutions;
Forms of polity and their determinants: Barrington Moore and The Social Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy; Robinson and Acemoglu’s analytical alternative: The Economic Origins of Dictatorship and Democracy;
Tosrten Persson and Guido Tabellini: The Economic Effects of Constitutions,
Torben Iversen: Capitalism, Democracy and Welfare.

POLS311 POLITICAL PHILOSOPHY II: THE ENLIGHTENMENT TO THE TWENTY-FIRST CENTURY

The purpose of the module is to train students to engage in rigorous, advanced level study in political theory with special emphasis on skills of argumentation, analysis and abstract reasoning. It aims to teach students about the importance of careful textual analysis, interpretive strategies and to teach them about the significance of historical contexts.

The content includes:

The distinction between ‘analytical’ and ‘historicising’ traditions; Rousseau as arguably the most significant source of the distinction; the ‘analytical’ tradition from Locke and Rousseau through Kant to Rawls and Nozick; the ‘historicizing’ tradition from Rousseau though Hegel and Marx to 20^th Century Marxism.
Textual analysis of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right and themes from the Phenomenology of Mind.
Textual analysis of extracts from Marx, including the contribution to the Critique of Hegel’s Philosophy of Right, the Paris Manuscripts, the Communist manifesto, the German Ideology, the Preface to the 1859 Critique of Political Economy; the Critique of the Gotha Programme.
A textual analysis of Rawls’ A Theory of Justice; focus on the OP, the distinction between the Right and the Good; the two principles; the difference principle; lexical ordering; deontology, utilitarianism and teleology;
Critiques of and alternatives to Rawls; Nozick; Walzer; Heller; Young; Hamilton and Habermas; ‘new’ themes: pluralism, identity, gender and culture.

POLS 312 REGIONAL POLITICS

The purpose of the module is to introduce students to the regional character of contemporary global politics, with a special focus on the role, influence, and developmental challenges of, Africa, Asia and Europe.

The content includes:

Introduction: A world of Regions; the consolidation of Europe as an emerging regional political system and trading bloc; Europe’s ‘normative’ weight. Africa: institutions and development; the nature of African states and problem of ‘weak states’ and ‘state failure’; the challenge of ethnic and linguistic heterogeneity; Africa and the political economy of development – international trade and protectionist barriers; urbanisation , industrialization and agriculture; Nigeria and Senegal as case studies.
The emerging Asian superpowers: India and China; the question of the ‘developmental’ state and role of government; political forms and economic outcomes; urbanisation and changing demographic patterns; the role and challenges of the Indian village; India’s democratic dispensation: durable or fragile?; China’s economic growth performance and the challenge to the political process and system of governance; the past and future of the party system; urban and rural policies in China; the role of local initiatives in shaping policy outcomes.

POLS 321 MODERN THEORIES OF JUSTICE

The aim of this module is to train learners to engage in rigorous, advanced level study in political theory with special emphasis on skills of argumentation, analysis and abstract reasoning. It also aims to teach learners about the importance of careful textual analysis, interpretive strategies and the significance of historical context and contemporary debates.

Content includes theories of justice. Diverse traditions and perspectives. A Textual analysis of Rawls’ A Theory of Justice; focus on the OP, the distinction between the Right and the Good; the two principles; the difference principle; lexical ordering; deontology, utilitarianism and teleology. Critiques of, and alternatives to, Rawls. These may include selections from the work of Karl Marx, Michael Sandel, Robert Nozick, Michael Walzer, Alasdair MacIntyre, Agnes Heller, Iris Marion Young, Lawrence Hamilton, Jurgen Habermas, Amartya Sen, Brian Barry and G.A. Cohen.

Learners will be able to critically engage with texts and arguments at a high level of theoretical abstraction. They will have developed high-level reasoning skills in the field. They will learn about historical contexts in which theories of justice are articulated and will be familiar with the terms of contemporary debate. They will be able to write an essay in the field and to do independent bibliographical research on specific topics.

POLS322 DEMOCRACY, AUTOCRACY AND MODERNIZATION

The aim of this module is to train learners to engage in rigorous, advanced level study in empirical political theory with emphasis on analysis of, and rigorous careful use of, data. It aims to ensure mastery of literature that is central to contemporary scholarship and research in political science which defines much of the methodological and substantive ‘frontier’ of the discipline.

Content covers theories of democracy; Processes and forms of democratisation; democratic institutions: failure and success; federalism and ‘centripetal’ tendencies; electoral systems and voters; ‘hybrid regimes’; modernisation: materialism, postmaterialism and democracy.

Learners will be familiar with some of the dominant genres of contemporary political science and the substantive issues they address. They will have learned how major scholars address, in accessible ways, matters of modelling and statistical inference. They will have studied approaches to political science that are models for future research in the field.

PSYCHOLOGY

PSYC101 INTRODUCTION TO PSYCHOLOGY

This module aims to introduce students to the discipline by presenting a comprehensive overview of the field: its areas of study, specialisations and applications. The course is divided into the following parts: Introduction to Psychology, Developmental Psychology, Personality, Brain and Behaviour, Cognitive Psychology, Social Psychology, Psychology and Health, Mental Health, and Organisational Psychology. A range of selected topics is covered in each part.

The introduction is based on sound theoretical foundations, research findings and relevant case studies to give students the tools to develop their own ideas and to critique the theories of others. Engaging also with sexism, racism, ethnicity, poverty, violence and peace-making, the introduction to psychology focuses on the role knowledgeable people can play in building peaceful communities in the developing nations of Africa.

PSYC102 SOCIAL PSYCHOLOGY

This module has three interrelated purposes: 1) to present students with an overview of Social Psychology; 2) to lay the foundation for empirical investigation of social problems and phenomena and 3) to explore how Social Psychology can serve as a tool for interdisciplinary engagement with social problems in the pursuit of social change.

The module covers a selection of themes, including the study of social and personal perception and cognition, self and identity as social constructs, socialisation and conformity as social influence, interpersonal attraction and close relationships, values, attitudes, prejudice and discrimination, persuasion and attitude change, aggression and violence, group and intergroup relations and leadership.

Students will engage with the theory and application of important methods of socio-psychological research and they will be required to master the building blocks of research methodology, such as surveys and interviews, fieldwork, archival research, simulation and role play and the ethics of research.

PSYC201 LIFE SPAN DEVELOPMENT

Based on the notion that human development unfolds around milestones, this module uses two components that allow students to understand how humans experience life as it unfolds from infancy to late adulthood. Milestone consists of two essential components that work together to capture key changes throughout the lifespan: 1) Milestones of Child Development and 2) Milestones: Transitions. In Milestones of Child Development, students track the early stages of physical, social and emotional development. By watching one child over time or comparing various children, Milestones provides a unique, experiential learning environment that can only be achieved by watching real human development as it happens, all in pre- transitional and post milestone segments. In Milestones: Transitions, students meet a series of people, from teenagers to people in late adulthood, to hear their perspective on changes that occur throughout the rest of the lifespan.

With this approach, students are better able to make the connection between the theories and the real-world applications, and how the topic affects them.

PSYC202 RESEARCH METHODS IN PSYCHOLOGY

The purpose of this module is

To provide students with an introduction to research methods in Psychology.
To improve the ability to design and carry out psychological studies.
To increase skills in evaluating and interpreting psychological research.
To further develop critical thinking skills
To improve the ability to understand and use appropriate statistical procedures.
To understand the debate about quantitative and qualitative research methods
To ensure that you can communicate research findings in written form (APA style).
To provide practice in oral communication of research findings.

Please note: in 2013, there will be third year Psychology modules on offer, allowing students who register to study with us in 2012 to major in Psychology in their third year.

MINOR ELECTIVES:

COMMERCIAL LAW

COMM101 COMMERCIAL LAW I

The primary purpose of this module is to give students an understanding of the general principles of the law of contract and to develop an ability to apply such principles to a given set of facts. The secondary purpose is to provide an overview of the structure of our courts and the sources of our law, with an emphasis on the constitution, and the impact it has had on commercial law.

The content includes:

Sources of SA law and structure of the courts;
Definition and requirements for a valid contract. Contractual capacity.
Offer and acceptance,
Statutory and common law illegality,
The effect of illegality on a contract,
Restraints of trade and formalities,
Reality of consent. Misrepresentation, mistake, duress and undue influence,
Content of contracts. Express, implied and imposed terms,
Conditions, parole evidence rule, rectification and termination,
Breach and remedies for breach.

COMM102 COMMERCIAL LAW II

The purpose of this module is to give students an understanding of the general principles of the law relating to certain specific contracts and to develop an ability to apply such principles to a given set of facts. The module will also introduce students to the various forms of corporate entities available to business people.

The content includes:

The law of sale,
The law of lease,
The law of agency,
The law relating to cheques,
The law relating to credit,
Partnerships and the concept of corporate governance,
Companies and close corporations.

COMMUNICATIONS

CMCS101 INTERCULTURAL COMMUNICATION IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA

The purpose of this module is to outline a conceptual framework that will contribute to an understanding of human communication in post-apartheid South Africa, whose inhabitants are heterogeneous, culturally diverse, and multilingual. Drawing largely on Anglo-American and European traditions of communication, and received understandings of culture and intercultural contact, the module aims to reposition these within the context of a transforming, intercultural South Africa. The module will begin by introducing key concepts and foundational knowledge in the fields of intercultural communication and culture. It will then consider how cultural diversity is managed/mismanaged in various modes of intercultural communication. Finally, the module will provide a framework for critical thinking about intercultural communication and culture in post-apartheid South Africa.

The content includes: socio-cultural structures (nuclear, extended, and single-parent families) and socio-cultural world-views (faith and religion) underlying intercultural communication; positioning the individual and understanding identity; constructing social membership across cultures; cultural patterns and values (Hofstede’s value dimensions, Kluckhohn and Strodtbeck’s value orientations, Hall’s high-context and low-context orientations); language and culture (proverbs in English and vernacular languages, register and tenor in English, code-switching and code-mixing, new urban argots such as Tsotsitaal and Iscamtho); non-verbal communication (facial expressions, gestures, silence, proxemics); intercultural communication and cultural patterns in various socio-cultural environments: the corporate sector (negotiating business initiatives, advertising), the educational sector (schools), the courtroom, among the youth, other cultural activities and leisure pastimes (music, sport, film, etc).

CMCS102 MASS MEDIA, GLOBALISATION, AND FORMATION IN POST-APARTHEID SOUTH AFRICA

The purpose of this module is: (1) to outline the history and current workings of the mass media in post-apartheid South Africa, and (2) to describe and critically reflect on some of the ways the mass media and popular culture in South Africa have come to bear on the dynamics of identity-formation in South African society. Following debates on globalisation and the political economy of mass media institutions in Anglo-American and South African contexts, the module inquires into the changing effects of the mass media and representations of popular culture on South African media audiences and their sense(s) of personal and social selfhood. We begin by introducing paradigms, characteristics and functions of mass communication and mass media, and consider their relevance within the South African media system and mass media practices. We then examine leading approaches to globalisation, media ownership, and cultural imperialism, and the limitations thereof, and reflect on the implications of all these within the South African mass media context. Finally, the module charts and critiques received understandings of the relationship between ideology, meaning-production and South Africans’ own experiences of the mass media and how these shape and constrain new identity options in South African society.

The content includes: defining the mass media: characteristics (communicator, medium, message/text, audiences) and functions (business, education, information, entertainment, forming public opinion); mediation and media/popular culture; correlations between mass communication, the public sphere, and democracy; concepts of mass and popular culture; models of mass communication; exemplification in South African mass media products, practices and institutions; functionalist approaches to mass communication and the mass media; pluralism, press theories: prescriptive and descriptive; media effects theories: long and short term; globalisation and political economy of the mass media; cultural and media imperialism (Schiller, Tunstall, Boyd-Barrett); information flows and global communication technology (Castells), revisiting cultural imperialism (Morley); critical theories of ideology (neo-Marxist, Gramsci, British Cultural Studies: Stuart Hall), discursive practices and the production of meaning(s): verbal and visual discourses in print-commodities (newspapers and magazines), broadcast media (radio and television); electronic media (internet, social networks), advertising, film, telecommunications (cellphones); representations of race, gender and ethnicity in South Africa; social constructions of femininity and masculinity; stereotyping and representation; existing and new identity options in the mass media; detailed contextualization of the module’s outcomes within the South African mass media context.

ECONOMICS

ECON101 MICROECONOMICS I

The purpose of this module is to introduce students to the fundamental tools of microeconomic analysis, using exercises to build up confidence in their use. The content includes: individual choice; markets; positive and normative economics; supply and demand; elasticity; consumer and producer surplus; present value; inputs and costs; perfect competition and the supply curve; demand: consumer preferences and consumer choice; factor markets; efficiency and equity; market structure; international trade; uncertainty, risk and information; externalities; public goods; taxes, social insurance and income distribution; technology.

ECON102 MACROECONOMICS I

The purpose of this module is to introduce students to basic concepts in macroeconomics: aggregate supply and demand, national accounts, money and the labour market.

The content includes: the business cycle; employment and unemployment; long-run growth; inflation and deflation; national accounts; savings, investment and the financial system; aggregate supply and aggregate demand; fiscal policy; money and banking; monetary policy; labour markets; the origins of modern macroeconomics and the open economy.

ECON201 MICROECONOMICS II

The purpose of this module is to extend and deepen knowledge of microeconomic concepts and theories.

The content covers the budget constraint; preferences, utility, choice and demand; revealed preference; the Slutsky equation; intertemporal choice; asset markets; uncertainty; risky assets; consumer surplus; market demand and equilibrium.

ECON211 MACROECONOMICS II

The purpose of this module is to extend and deepen knowledge of macroeconomic concepts and theories.

The content includes The IS-LM model: goods and financial markets in the short run; The AD-AS model: the labour market and unemployment and inflation; growth: saving, capital accumulation and output, technological progress, wages and unemployment.

ECON202 INTERNATIONAL ECONOMICS

This content includes:

World trade: an overview.
Labour productivity and comparative advantage.
Resources, comparative advantage and income distribution.
The standard trade model.
Economies of scale, imperfect competition and international trade.
International factor movements.
The instruments of trade policy.
The political economy of trade policy.
Trade policy in developing countries.
Controversies in trade policy.

ECON212 MATHEMATICS FOR ECONOMISTS

This module builds on the Mathematics and Statistics course. It will be based on applications of mathematical methods to economic problems.

The content includes:

Optimization without and with constraints and over one and more than one variable.
Exponential and logarithmic functions.
Integral calculus.
Differential equations.
Applications to economic problems.

ECON301 MICROECONOMICS III

The purpose of this module is to complete the treatment of microeconomic analysis at the intermediate level. The content covers Auctions; Technology; Profit maximization and cost minimization; Cost curves; Firm and industry supply; Monopoly; Factor markets; Oligopoly and game theory; Exchange, production and welfare; Externalities; Information technology; Public goods; Asymmetric information; Cognitive limitations and consumer behaviour.

ECON311 MACROECONOMICS III

The purpose of this module is to complete the treatment of microeconomic analysis at the intermediate level.

The content includes:

Expectations.
The open economy and exchange rate regimes.
Macroeconomic pathologies.
Monetary and fiscal policy.
National income accounting and the balance of payments.
Exchange rates: the asset approach.
Money, interest rates and exchange rates.
Price levels and the exchange rate in the long run.
Output and the exchange rate in the short run.
Fixed exchange rates.

ECON321 ECONOMETRICS

This module builds on the Mathematics and Statistics modules. It is designed to introduce students to econometric techniques and as such deals with Single equation regression models; Multicollinearity; Heteroscedasticity; Autocorrelation and Econometric modeling.

ECON302 DEVELOPMENT ECONOMICS

This module introduces students to the main themes in contemporary development, drawing out their links to microeconomic and macroeconomic analysis.

The content includes:

Issues in economic development.
Economic growth. New growth theories.
History and expectations.
Inequality and development.
Poverty and under-nutrition.
Population growth and economic development.
Rural and urban.

ECON312 ECONOMICS OF THE PUBLIC SECTOR

This module is devoted to an examination of the economic principles which are applicable to the functioning of a government in a democratic society. Thus the content deals with market failure; efficiency and equity; public goods; public choice; externalities and the environment; cost-benefit analysis; social insurance; education; tax incidence; taxation and economic efficiency; optimal taxation and fiscal federalism.

GEOGRAPHY

GEOG101 HUMAN AND PHYSICAL FUNDAMENTALS

The purpose of this module is to introduce students to the physical character of the African continent and the geographic patterns of association with some key elements of its human geography.

The content includes: an introduction to the physical geography of the continent based on its geology, geomorphologic features, climatic zones, natural vegetation, soils, and hydrology; the essence of pre-colonial settlement patterns and subsequent colonial transformation; demography and associated features, particularly health matters and diseases; an assessment of the continent’s infrastructure and the geography of human activity, focusing on mining, rural and urban activities.

GEOG102 URBANISATION IN AFRICA AND CASE STUDIES

The purpose of this module is to introduce students to key aspects of the processes of urbanisation and economic development on the continent in general, and South Africa in particular. Students will be made more familiar with the situations in six selected countries.

The content includes: the essence of urbanisation , the origin and spread of urban places in South Africa, the essence of the South African city and the urban geography of Johannesburg in particular; models of the African city; the general political geography of Africa and a selection of six countries as case studies; a summary of the continent’s problems and prospects.

STUDY SKILLS

STUD101 COMMUNICATION AND STUDY SKILLS

The purpose of this module is to equip students with communication and study skills so that students are able to develop and implement strategies to ensure success in their learning activities and Bachelor’s programmes. The module will include such skills as note-taking, revision, referencing, critical evaluation, the development of an academic writing style, time management, group work and conflict resolution. It will lay the foundation for students to successfully develop and implement simple forms of research.

STUD102 BASIC COMPUTING AND INFORMATION SEARCHES

The module is intended to provide students with basic computer skills and research tools that will enable them to:

Understand the basic concepts and theory of information technology;
Understand the role and scope of information technology in modern society and in the workplace;
Acquire a working knowledge of the application of word processing, spreadsheets and presentation management;
Acquire an understanding of the world wide web (www), and how to use various websites in order to find accurate and appropriate information;
Understand the basic elements of research design.

CAPS301 AND 302 CAPSTONE SEMINAR A AND B

This weekly seminar will be devoted to exploring the contribution integrative analysis to issues that bear on, or relate to the fields of study within the relevant undergraduate programmes. The objective is for every student to produce a piece of scholarship that reflects sustained and integrative engagement with issues raised within the disciplines.

St Augustine

BA in Humanities

Subjects on offer:

MAJOR (CORE) SUBJECTS:

MINOR ELECTIVES: