In addition to taking the above courses, students will choose one of the following three tracks:
Field Ethics of Journalism in South Africa
Field Ethics of Journalism in South Africa – syllabus
(JOUR3500 / 3 credits)
This course provides students with the necessary background in the highest standards of journalism ethics, both conceptual and experiential, to prepare them to produce a major feature story in South Africa. In addition to two introductory modules on the context of fieldwork in South Africa, the course includes a module on a) journalism ethics, b) an overview of laws affecting the practice of journalism in South Africa and the legal milieu in which journalists in South Africa operate, c) ongoing reporting assignments, and d) pitching a professional story on an important issue in the South Africa. This becomes the subject of the student’s Independent Study Project in Journalism (ISPJ).
Independent Study Project in Journalism (ISPJ)
Independent Study Project in Journalism (ISPJ) – syllabus
(ISPJ3000 / 4 credits)
The Independent Study Project in Journalism is conducted in an approved location in South Africa appropriate to the story being covered. Students execute a full-length feature (in the media format in which they have the most experience), which will be considered for publication or broadcast in the US and South Africa. Students have the rare opportunity to work in partnership with early-career journalists at The Times Media Group in Cape Town and Johannesburg. In this way, professional journalists provide students with hands-on advice and mentoring at every stage of story development.
Sample story topics:
- Student leadership and the “fees must fall” protests
- How racism persists—and does not persist—in South Africa
- How indigenous South African music is resisting Western influences
- Exploring “deracialization” and “re-racialization” in a free South Africa
- Mandela-inspired leadership in civil society
- Challenges of providing housing to 12 million people living in extreme poverty
- Protecting native plants in a unique South African ecosystem
OR
Research Methods and Ethics
Research Methods and Ethics – syllabus
(ANTH3500 / 3 credits)
A course in the concepts of learning across cultures and from field experience. The seminar provides an introduction to an Independent Study Project or internship and related material, including cross-cultural adaptation and skills building; project selection and refinement; appropriate methodologies; field study ethics and the World Learning/SIT Human Subjects Review Policy; developing contacts and finding resources; developing skills in observation and interviewing; gathering, organizing, and communicating data; and maintaining a field journal.
Internship
Internship – syllabus
(ITRN3000 / 4 credits)
This course consists of a four-week internship with a national or international organization that is working on on transformation or reconciliation and peacebuilding within the South African context. The internship enables students to obtain skills and knowledge in methods, principles of, and obstacles to promoting racial reconciliation and peace within societies that have been highly polarized by racialized social welfare policies and racialized national politics, as was the case in South Africa for many decades.
Sample internships:
- Assisting creative solutions to challenges posed by conflict at ACCORD (African Centre for the Constructive Resolution of Disputes), Africa’s largest conflict resolution NGO, specializing in conflict management, analysis, and prevention through mediation, negotiation, training, and research
- Promoting and developing inclusive urban planning and design at Asiye eTafuleni
- Supporting research, public education, and legislative initiatives at the South African Commission on Gender Equality
OR
Research Methods and Ethics
Research Methods and Ethics – syllabus
(ANTH3500 / 3 credits)
A course in the concepts of learning across cultures and from field experience. The seminar provides an introduction to an Independent Study Project or internship and related material, including cross-cultural adaptation and skills building; project selection and refinement; appropriate methodologies; field study ethics and the World Learning/SIT Human Subjects Review Policy; developing contacts and finding resources; developing skills in observation and interviewing; gathering, organizing, and communicating data; and maintaining a field journal.
Independent Study Project
Independent Study Project – syllabus
(ISPR3000 / 4 credits)
Conducted in Durban or in another approved location appropriate to the project. Students may choose to complete either a research-based or practicum-based Independent Study Project, the former being a traditional research paper and the latter emerging from a practicum with an affiliated organization working in social and/or political transformation. Sample topic areas: HIV/AIDS in South Africa; peace efforts in KwaZulu-Natal; democracy as defined by South Africans; education policy reform and implementation; the prison system in South Africa; independent churches and religion; the role of online media content in South Africa; trade unions and their alliance with the African National Congress; township jazz and political resistance; Islam and Durban’s Indian community in contemporary South Africa; land reform; Zulu traditional healing and Western medicine; Afrikaner identity.
Sample ISP topic areas:
- Peace efforts in KwaZulu-Natal
- Democracy as defined by South Africans
- Education policy reform and implementation
- HIV/AIDS in South Africa
- The prison system in South Africa
- Independent churches and religion
- Trade unions and their alliance with the African National Congress
- African refugee communities in Durban
- Township jazz and political resistance
- The role of online media content in South Africa
- Zulu traditional healing and Western medicine
- Afrikaner identity
- Islam and Durban’s Indian community in contemporary South Africa
- Political violence in KwaZulu-Natal
Browse this program’s Independent Study Projects and undergraduate research.