African Insights University of Johannesburg

In this topic, students will be introduced to the idea of what it means to be African, and what is meant by Africa and African. Students will be exposed to key readings such as The Invention of Africa by Valentin-Yves Mudimbe among others.

Reasons for studying at UJ

• UJ offers not only a special program called the First Year Experience to help orientate students throughout the first year but we also offer a Senior Student Experience that gears students toward the workplace!
• Grab the opportunity to participate in a variety of sports and train alongside Olympians and Paralympians on state-of-the-art pitches, tracks, and fields, or just keep fit by joining one of the gyms on each of our 4 campuses.
• Be part of a young, vibrant, and agile university that reflects and adapts easily to our country’s aspirations, while maintaining global relevance through numerous international partnerships.
• 178 Internationally respected and accepted qualifications.
• Join a university that cares enough to have raised over R300 million since the start of 2016 in order to support the Missing Middle Campaign. UJ also ensures that more than 6 000 needy students have two healthy meals per day.
• Study in the vibrant City of Gold – the economic hub of South Africa. Join a vibrant, cosmopolitan, progressive group of students and academics on their way to re-imagining the future!
• UJ offers an amazing on-campus experience whether you live in one of UJ’s residences, belong to a day house, or whether you just want to socialize at the Student Centres on all campuses.
• We ensure the health, safety, and security of all our students through our own on-campus health services and UJ Protection Services.
• Did you know that during the first five years of UJ’s existence it doubled its targeted research output and to this day, continues to break records!

Week One – What is Africa?

In this topic, students will be introduced to the idea of what it means to be African, what is meant by Africa and African. Students will be exposed to key readings such as The Invention of Africa by Valentin-Yves Mudimbe among others.

Week Two – The South African Inheritance

This topic will introduce students to the South African inheritance which stems from the Freedom Charter and the South African constitution. The topic will also cover South African Art as an expression of human rights and whether or not South Africans have fully benefited from the Freedom Charter and the Constitution, which is their inheritance.

Week Three – Right for All: South Africa and the LGBITIQ+ Community

Under this topic, students will consider the rights, or lack thereof, of the LGBTIQ+ community in the South African context and the African continent at large. This topic will help students to engage and think critically about the role of the constitution in ensuring that the rights of every citizen are upheld.

Excursions

As part of the module offers, students will visit either the Apartheid Museum, Hector Peterson Museum, and/constitutional hill. This will afford students an opportunity to experience and explore first-hand South African historical and cultural sites that are of importance to the module.

Fire-side Discussions

Students will also be afforded an opportunity to reflect and engage with each other and African Insights Senior Tutors on the key discussion points emanating from the topics covered and their experiences with the module.

Duration

Three weeks

Credits

none

Shanghai Ranking

• World Rankings: 601-700 in the world / 5th in South Africa and 6th in Africa
• Global Ranking of Academic Subjects (GRAS):

Hospitality & Tourism Management: 18th in the world, 1st in South Africa and Africa
Sociology: Top 150 in the world, 1st and only one ranked in South Africa and Africa
Public Administration: Top 150 in the world, 1st and only one ranked in South Africa and Africa
Education: Top 300 in the world, 1st in South Africa and Africa
Earth Sciences: Top 300 in the world, 2nd in South Africa and Africa
Geography: Top 300 in the world, 2nd in South Africa and Africa
Chemical Engineering: Top 400 in the world, joint 1st in South Africa and Africa
Political Sciences: Top 400 in the world, 3rd in South Africa and Africa
Physics: Top 400 in the world, 3rd in South Africa and Africa
Management: Top 500 in the world, 1st in South Africa and Africa
Ecology: Top 500 in the world

Quacquarelli Symonds (QS)

• World Rankings: 434 in the world, in the Top 1.4% / 3rd in South Africa and Africa
• Subject Rankings:

English Language & Literature: Top 250 in the world, joint 3rd in South Africa and Africa
Chemical Engineering: Top 350 in the world, joint 3rd in South Africa, and joint 4th in Africa
Education & Training: Top 350 in the world, 5th in South Africa and Africa
Economics & Econometrics: Top 400 in the world, joint 4th in South Africa, and joint 5th in
Africa Agriculture & Forestry: Top 400 in the world, 6th in South Africa
Physics & Astronomy: Top 450 in the world, joint 2nd in South Africa, and joint 3rd in Africa
Environmental Sciences: Top 450 in the world, 6th in South Africa and Africa
Chemistry: Top 500 in the world, joint 3rd in South Africa, and joint 6th in Africa
Mechanical, Aeronautical & Manufacturing Engineering: Top 500 in the world, 5th in South Africa
Medicine: Top 650 in the world

• QS Graduate Employability Rankings:

Top 500 in the world, joint 4th in South Africa

Times Higher Education (THE)

• World Rankings: 601-800 in the world / Joint 7th in South Africa
• Subject Rankings:

Law: Top 201+ in the world, joint 4th in South Africa and Africa
Education: Top 300 in the world, joint 3rd in South Africa and Africa
Psychology: Top 400 in the world, joint 2nd in South Africa and Africa
Arts & Humanities: Top 400 in the world, joint 3rd in South Africa and Africa
Social Sciences: Top 400 in the world, 4th in South Africa and Africa
Life Sciences: Top 500 in the world, joint 4th in South Africa, and joint 5th in Africa
Business & Economics: Top 600 in the world, joint 4th in South Africa, and joint 6th in Africa
Engineering & Technology: Top 600 in the world, joint 4th in South Africa
Clinical & Health: Top 600 in the world
Computer Science: Top 800 in the world, joint 4th in South Africa
Physical Sciences: Top 800 in the world

• THE Young University Rankings: 173 among young universities, 4th in South Africa
• THE Emerging Economies University Rankings: 116 among universities in emerging economies, 7th in South Africa

US News & World Report’s Best Global Universities Rankings (BGUR)

• World Rankings: 378 in the world / 5th in South Africa and Africa
• Subject Rankings:

Geosciences: 222 in the world, 2nd in South Africa and Africa
Chemistry: 280 in the world, 1st in South Africa and Africa
Social Sciences & Public Health: 287 in the world, 5th in South Africa and Africa
Physics: 289 in the world, 3rd in South Africa and Africa
Engineering: 392 in the world, 2nd in South Africa, and 4th in Africa
Plant & Animal Science: 424 in the world
Environment/Ecology: 463 in the world