APG4314 - Seeking justice: South Africa and Rwanda - 2019

This unit will bring together students from Monash campuses in Australia and South Africa to study the contemporary histories of post-genocide and post-conflict societies, through two specific cases: the South African approach after apartheid and local and global responses to the Rwandan genocide. Held in the winter semester as a two-week intensive, students will spend a week in Johannesburg and a week in Rwanda exploring public debates on memory and justice through visits to memorial sites and museums. Places to be explored include Soweto, the Apartheid Museum, Constitution Hill, the Murambi genocide memorial, and a Gacaca village trial.

Upon successful completion of this unit students will have:

1. an understanding of the human impact of genocide and conflict on the communities that survive it
2. an understanding of the modern historical contexts in which these conflicts emerged
3. an appreciation of the issues and the agencies involved in rebuilding states and societies after genocide and conflict
4. the capacity to describe and analyse questions of memory and justice using historical examples
5. In addition, students undertaking this unit at fourth-year level will be expected to have the ability to analytically differentiate between the different forms genocide and conflict manifest themselves in.

Within semester assessment: 70% + Exam: 30%

Minimum total expected workload to achieve the learning outcomes for this unit is 288 hours per semester typically comprising a mixture of scheduled learning activities and independent study. A unit requires on average three/four hours of scheduled activities per week. Scheduled activities may include a combination of teacher directed learning, peer directed learning and online engagement.

See also Unit timetable information

History

International studies