Th 2-4 KEY 0107
Capstone and CORE Human Cultural Diversity (D)

What did it mean to be a criminal in a place like South Africa?
From the beginning of settler societies in South Africa, crime has been a major, if not the major, preoccupation of its white rulers. Legislation about "vagrancy"and "undesirables" formed the backbone of South African law. The earliest insititutions established in the Cape were prisons. When slaves in South Africa rebelled, they were punished spectacularly. Pass laws criminalized ordinary life for many African workers. Tsotsis (African gangsters) and Mapantsula (stylish petty thieves) delighted and horrified the public at large.

True enough. But it is also the case that the earliest European settlers were themselves dodgy characters--undesirables, schemers. White renegades from Estienne Barbier in the 18th century to Eugene Terre-Blanche in the 20th fought the state and became heroes for extremist Afrikaner nationalists. Top ANC officials developed reputations for avoiding capture. Once in jail, Nelson Mandela and other long-term prisoners turned Robben Island's penal colony into a secret forum for self-education.

Finally, South Africa itself was for a long time viewed as an outlaw state, illegally raiding and ruling beyond its borders, its military and police committing violations of international and human rights laws. Vigilantism and mafia-style killings, along with a scandalously high rate of sexual assault, are major problems in South Africa today. It is no surprise that the Truth and Reconciliation Commission adopted "crime"and "amnesty" as the proper framework for confronting South Africa's violent past.

This is a Capstone and CORE diversity course. Yes, we will have a lot of fun reading about gangsters. But you will be expected to read, write, research (with my, i.e. Prof. Landau's, assistance). We will graze the surface in our collective readings; you will plumb the depths in your required 15-20 pp. papers. Most of all, you must participate in discussions. Those who keep their mouths closed all class, and rarely or never engage in discussion with their fellow students will, without exception, be unpleasantly surprised by their grade.

There is as yet only one book for purchase at the Bookstore: Kortboy. There is also a course packet, available after Aug. 30th at BSOS copy center. Some of the readings, however, will only be available on reserve at McKeldin Library. It is up to you to schedule time early enough either to photocopy them, or to take notes on them there. There are only twelve of you, so this should not pose a problem.

Each week a new person will devise three questions to ask the class. These should provoke discussion about the collective reading, and not have simple, quick answers.

Week 1. Aug. 30: Hand-outs, introduction.

Week 2. Sept. 6. Bandits? Reader: Eric Hobsbawm, "Social Banditry," from Primitive Rebels. Dedering, "Klaas Stuurman," unpub. paper. Limb, "Rotnest and Robben Island," unpub. paper.

Choose a topic. a. South Africa as an international terrorist state. b. Native law vs. Roman-Dutch law in punishing crimes. c. The history of the Shebeen (liquor) Queen in townships. d. The history of Robben Island and its restoration today. e. The trials and death of Steven Bantu Biko. f. The Riviona Trial of the ANC. g. Policing the townships, then and now. h. Why rape as a major problem? i. Poaching and game preserves in South Africa. j. The concept of the "terrorist" in South African newspapers, 1960s-80s. k. Comrades and "necklacing" during the State of Emergency. l. History of Nigerian drug-runners in Jo'burg. m. Soccer hooligans or gangsters: Pirates, Chiefs, etc. n. PAGAD and summary executions in Cape Town. o. Your other choice.

Recommended for all those wishing a better background in South African history: Robert Ross, A Concise History of Southern Africa, available under "Hist. 219p" at either bookstore.

Week 3. Sept. 13: White rebel

On Reserve Penn, "Barbier's Rebellion," from his book, Bandits, Criminals and Renegades.

1-3 pp. essay: Does Barbier qualify as a social bandit in Hobsbawm's terms? Does Stuurman? Why?

Week 4. Sept. 20. Slave revolt

Reader     Section of Robert Ross, Cape of Torments.

Reader:     Documents: Christofel Brand, Andries Stockenstrom, Piet Retief.
Reader:     Document: Testimony of Galant, rebelled slave.

Week 5. Sept. 27. Settlement

Reader    Unpub. ms.: Tati prospectors.
Reader     H.M. Stanley, from Dispatches.
Reader     Selection from Schapera, Handbook of Law and Custom.

Week 6. Oct. 4. Movement

Reader     Gordon, section of Bushman Myth.
Reader     Sol Plaatje, "Natives Land Act."

On Reserve: 2 ESSAYS.

Week 7. Oct. 11. Mixing and Street Life.

Reader    ESSAYS by Glazer, Matera.
Reader    Intro. to Rob Turrell, Death Penalty in South Africa.

Film: Mapansula.

Week 8. Oct. 18. Gangsters

KORTBOY: all.

1-3 pp. essay: What did "politics" mean to Kortboy?

Week 9. Oct. 25. Liquor

Reader     "Shebeens," from Drum magazine.
Reader    Selection from Godfrey Moloi, My Life.

Film: Come Back, Africa.

Week 10. Nov. 1. Corruption and terror

On Reserve   Section of HXXX book on South African terror raids.
                      Section of Odendaal, Forty Lost Years on Muldergate.

On the INTERNET (http://www.truth.org.za): Olaf Palme assasination; Albie Sachs attempted assasination.

Week 11. Nov. 8th. The uses of imprisonment.

On Reserve   Section of Nadoo, Robben Island
                      Section of Mandela, Autobiography

Week 12. Nov. 15. Crime fiction

James McClure, The Artful Egg (New York: Pantheon, 1984). This book will be made available to you in photocopied form by Nov. 8th, at a nominal charge covering copyright.

Rough drafts of your paper are due on Tuesday the 20th of Nov., this coming week, slipped under my office door, rm. 2153, Key Hall. No late submission will be accepted. Then you can go have a happy Thanksgiving.

Week 13. Nov. 29th: Insanity and Dr. Death

Reader    Section of De Kock, Autobiography.
Reader    Section of Taylor, Ubu at the TRC.
On the INTERNET (http://www.truth.org.za): Dr. Wout and de Kock.

Week 14: Dec. 6. South Africa after dark

Reader:     Carjackings and taxi-wars, from Crime Stories.

Final drafts of your papers are due Wednesday at 9:00 am in front of my office door. Late papers will be accepted up to Thursday at 9:00 am with 1/3 grade demotion, and up to Friday at 9:00 am with 2/3 of a grade demotion. Papers submitted after that time will not be accepted.