Khanya College’s curriculum was quite different from the one taught at other universities of the time. Its students studied oral African literature and history alongside Western literature.
A global approach to African history complements the radical post-colonial histories, while also asserting the role of the continent in the world’s global pasts and present.
More than two decades after apartheid ended, South African universities still tend to offer a view of the country and continent that is rooted in colonial and apartheid thinking.
Fire has been viewed as the main protagonist in creating Africa’s iconic savannas. However, new research shows that browsing animals created savannas millions of years before fire became important.
Knowledge is power. If you own it, you can control those without it. Since so much knowledge about Africa doesn’t sit on the continent, it’s apparent that Africa lacks power in this regard.
Modern techniques such as CT scanning and ancient DNA analysis have allowed scientists to discover a great deal about a mummy found in a shallow grave in Botswana.
Vocational training is regarded as “low status” in South Africa. Much of the negativity around technical and vocational work seems to lie in the country’s history.
Cape Town’s screening of the Africa World Documentary Film Festival provides a platform for debate, and shows how documentary films clarify and complicate the answers.
The Portuguese slave ship São José, which sank off Cape Town, was one of many vessels that either rounded the Cape or pulled into Table Bay for refreshment during the Transatlantic slave trade.