|
South Africa: Continuity and Change
National Endowment for the Humanities Summer
Institute 2006
What images come to your mind
when you think of South
Africa?
Do you think of animals?
Strange plants?
Friendly people?
Beautiful Scenery?
It is all this, but so much more.
In June 2006 twenty-five teachers travelled
to
South Africa. Thank you Rich and Kay, tour
organizers and leaders extraordinaire, for
choosing us to go with you.
 
We arrived in Cape Town, via Memphis and Amsterdam,
late at night. The next morning we met for orientation.
It was good to get to know each other and to hear what
we
would be doing for the next seven weeks.
After orientation we met Richard, who would drive us safely on
our magical mystery tour around South Africa.
 
We started with a tour of Cape Town on
Saturday afternoon, including the Castle
of Good Hope, with Table Mountain
ever present. Later we drove outside
of town to visit a Dutch farm, Groot
Constantia.
I couldn't help comparing this beautiful house at
Groot Constantia to the township homes we
passed the next morning on our way to
The University of the Western Cape.
 Townships
were created as living areas for
non-whites under the old political system
of Apartheid. Townships are still home to
a large percentage of Cape Town's
population today. Most of Cape Town's
townships are concentrated in the area
known as the Cape Flats which lie to the
East of Table Mountain.
Our first week in Cape Town was a combination of seminars at UWC and visits
to local sites.
Seminar topics included Geography and History, Culture and Society, Religion
and Education
and Economy and Government. We heard presentations from UWC faculty, ideas
for curriculum
from Kaye and discussions and
discussed
the current topic. In the afternoons we visited
UWC-Robben Island
Table Mountain
Cultural History
Museum
South African Museum
Mayibuye Archives
Slave Lodge
and dinner at Africa Cafe
When I think of South Africa one of the images
that
comes most quickly, and emotionally, to my mind is
Robben Island,
where Nelson Mandela was
imprisoned for 27 years.
band outside tickets/museum
view from boat to Robben Island view from Robben Island
guides are former prisoners
cave where prisoners had "school"
dog pens used as Nelson Mandela's cell
block and two views of cell
and pile of commemorative stones cells for
prisoners
| 
