This seminar will explore the various ways in which African pasts are remembered. We will also explore the oral testimonies of men and women before the Truth and Reconciliation Commission , a New South African commission charged with bringing forth the truth about the past, with gathering and forging a collective memory of pain and violation, and laying the foundations for a future of reconciliation. Each seminar participant will present her or his research during the last two sessions of class. These presentations can be as elaborate as the student wants.
Research papers are due on the final day of class.
In addition to final papers, students will participate, weekly, in the seminar's interactive newsgroup. Students are expected to have submitted something to the newgroup by Thursday morning. Finally, each seminar participant will review and lead a discussion on one week's reading assignment. In the Time of the Cannibals . Charles Van Onselen, The Seed is Mine .