Service Learning in Communities — Full • J-Term • Carthage College

Applications for this study tour are closed.

The educational system in South Africa has been ranked among the worst in the world. This didn’t happen overnight. The challenges that contribute to the widening income inequality are rooted in apartheid. The legacies of apartheid and the resulting widespread poverty have characterized socio-political discourse. Socioeconomic inequalities continue to threaten long-term stability.

This course examines the history of apartheid and its lingering impact on schools and communities throughout South Africa. These critical areas provide a global perspective on South Africa. During this course, students will examine these critical areas and provide service to Nkume Primary School in a rural area of South Africa within the context of apartheid’s lingering effects. Students will spend significant time working with and among the faculty and students of Nkume Primary School in Eshowe.

Additionally, students will explore and analyze school systems and communities in urban areas, such as Johannesburg and Cape Town, to gain perspective on similarities and differences between urban and rural communities and the universal impacts of apartheid on those systems.

Additional opportunities will include a visit to the Apartheid Museum and Robben Island, serving a meal to local residents, a Big Five Safari (lions, leopards, elephants, rhinos, and water buffalo), a trip to Cape Peninsula to search for African penguins, a ride to the top of Table Mountain (weather permitting), and more!

This study tour fulfills the following general education requirements: GH, DIV, and International Perspectives.