SIT Study Abroad South Africa: Multiculturalism and Human Rights

Examine historical and contemporary multiculturalism, ethnicity, and identity in South Africa.

WHY STUDY HEALTH IN SOUTH AFRICA?

South Africa has made legislative strides in righting the wrongs of apartheid, but significant challenges remain. Historically, colonial and apartheid racial discrimination policies categorized people according to race, including Bantu (Black), Coloured (those who were not categorized as Bantu or white) and the minority white. Law created a racial hierarchy with white people at the top of the pyramid, and diminishing rights, access and “human-ness” moving down the hierarchy, which placed Coloured people as a buffer between those categorized as white and black. The cleavages of this legacy remain evident in the lived realities of South Africans.

Starting from your base in Cape Town, you’ll learn how race relations continue to be shaped by a range of contested histories, politics, resistance, activism, and the deployment of rights-based rhetoric. Journey to key sites such as the Steve Biko Centre, where you will study the Black Consciousness Movement, and Robben Island, the prison that held the late South African President Nelson Mandela. You will experience South Africa through the eyes of diverse homestay families in city and rural locations.

Please visit the SIT Study Abroad website for details on the program courses (including syllabi), educational excursions, and housing.

MONEY MATTERS

SIT is an all-inclusively priced study abroad program – including academics costs, excursions, accommodations and meals, airport transfers, and health insurance. Be sure to discuss how study abroad costs are handled at your school with your study abroad advisor and read the website for more specific information.  

SCHOLARSHIPS

SIT has awarded an average of over $1.3 million in scholarships and grants to SIT Study Abroad students in the past three years. All scholarships and grants are need-based. Awards generally range from $500 to $5,000.

CONTACT SIT STUDY ABROAD

• Visit our website: studyabroad.sit.edu
• Request more information or email us: studyabroad@sit.edu
• Call an admissions counselor: 888-272-7881
• Contact a former student.
• Apply to SIT

Multiculturalism and Human Rights Current Program Information South Africa is truly a multicultural society, with 11 national languages and many additional recognized ethnic groups. While they have seen tremendous change in the past decade, South Africans recognize that they have a long road ahead before reaching their ideal of equality. Today, South Africa's leaders are striving to realize the dreams of the new South Africa as they work for reform, a strong economic future, and respect for the nation's unique cultural groups. Heralded as the most picturesque city in the world, Cape Town, your program base, captivates visitors with panoramas of mountains and ocean and a near-perfect climate. One of the first cities in South Africa to voluntarily promote racial integration, Cape Town is home to South Africa's parliament and is a main venue of legal and legislative battles for social justice. Proud of its long-standing opposition to apartheid, Cape Town is an ideal location in which to study the social evolution of this complex and beautiful nation.