Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast
Results 1 to 10 of 14

Thread: South Africa Undergraduate Dissertation

  1. #1
    New Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Manchester
    Posts
    4
    Thanks
    1
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts

    South Africa Undergraduate Dissertation

    Hi everyone

    I am a student from the UK who is interested in doing his dissertation (12,000 words) on the post apartheid state in South Africa. I have never done this before so it's all new to me. I would like to focus on the success/failures of the post-apartheid governments in addressing the issue of racial inequality. Could anybody offer me any insight, or point me towards a particular policy which has aimed to redress the balance? One I have looked at so far is the BEE, but can't seem to grasp what it is about at this early stage. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you

  2. #2
    Diamond Member wynn's Avatar
    Join Date
    Oct 2006
    Location
    east london
    Posts
    3,338
    Thanks
    548
    Thanked 625 Times in 524 Posts
    I won't offer up any opinion on the subject matter except to say that it is a can of worms you are about to open.

    "Nobody who has succeeded has not failed along the way"
    Arianna Huffington

    Read the first 10% of my books "Didymus" and "The BEAST of BIKO BRIDGE" for free
    You can also read and download 100% free my short stories "A Real Surprise" and "Pieces of Eight" at
    http://www.smashwords.com/books/view/332256

  3. #3
    New Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Manchester
    Posts
    4
    Thanks
    1
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
    why is this so? (i'm don't really know much about it yet)

    could you possibly offer me any other ideas pointing in a better direction?

    thanks

  4. #4
    Platinum Member Chatmaster's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Cape Town
    Posts
    1,065
    Thanks
    107
    Thanked 99 Times in 63 Posts
    Hi Chris

    As said before, you are about to open a can of worms. That noted I am probably about to open that can...

    You have several options by writing this dissertation and I can assure you none of them will be pretty. From the UK point of view it will mean you will probably view Apartheid as an inequality of race. From a white South African point of view, Apartheid can be viewed as the failed upliftment of the uneducated to a position of empowerment, for example...

    The way you view apartheid will guide you into a direction of viewing the current success and failure of the ANC government. You see, 12,000 words would not be enough to reflect the REAL truth, simply because there are so many opinions, twisted facts and hidden truths.

    Further more how do you decide if something was successful if you cannot compare it to the apartheid era? All data during the apartheid era are either now covered with political cream and strawberries or simply not available anymore. Even universities have their own politicized curriculum with non-truths now being "facts". So good luck at taking on this challenge...

    Quote Originally Posted by Chris90 View Post
    I would like to focus on the success/failures of the post-apartheid governments in addressing the issue of racial inequality. Could anybody offer me any insight, or point me towards a particular policy which has aimed to redress the balance? One I have looked at so far is the BEE, but can't seem to grasp what it is about at this early stage. Any help would be greatly appreciated, thank you
    This is my personal opinion, that I have never shared in public, simply because it is still to sensitive to be completely honest about.

    BEE is a simple concept designed to build black people in SA through employment and education by the use of SDF. That is until a company reaches the R35mil annual turnover mark, then it contributes to enriching a tiny number of rich black people, and is a complete failure as it was designed to benefit the top ranks of the black leadership in SA. To understand why this happened you need to understand the historical culture of black people and their leadership. The end result is simple, unemployment has been declining since the introduction of BEE. But this is my opinion...

    I recommend that you read a few books. Their availability in the UK or anywhere public is questionable.
    • Thabo Mbeki: The Dream Deferred by Mark Gevisser
    • Talk left, walk right by Patrick Bond
    • American Jewish Year Book, 1996., Volume 96 By David Singer
    • Thabo Mbeki and the battle for the soul of the ANC By William Mervin Gumede
    • Testing Democracy By Neeta Misra-Dexter
    • Anatomy of South Africa By Richard Calland
    • Rethinking the labour movement in the "new South Africa" By Thomas Bramble, Franco Barchiesi
    • The land question in South Africa by Lungisile Ntsebeza, Ruth Hall
    • Comrades against apartheid by Stephen Ellis, Tsepo Sechaba
    • Conflict transformation and peacebuilding by Bruce W. Dayton, Louis Kriesberg


    Also read this http://why-we-are-white-refugees.blo...letter-to.html

    Separate development/speech by H.F. Verwoerd on the 7th May 1958.
    It should give you a different side...
    Roelof Vermeulen (Entrepreneurship in large organizations)
    Roelof Vermeulen| Rock flaps south africa

  5. Thanks given for this post:

    Chris90 (29-Oct-10)

  6. #5
    Bronze Member robinsonwang's Avatar
    Join Date
    Sep 2010
    Location
    cape town
    Posts
    198
    Thanks
    71
    Thanked 14 Times in 11 Posts
    wow,this is a boring and terible task
    what's the standard of your undergraduate papers.
    hehe, I have just finished my bachelor degree paper last year, but the most thing we have done is the right form and worth topic. though my english is not good, I wrote a english paper on chinglish with almost 15000words.
    I felt very shame one myself now, but good luch to you.
    Last edited by robinsonwang; 29-Oct-10 at 11:11 AM.

  7. #6
    New Member
    Join Date
    Oct 2010
    Location
    Manchester
    Posts
    4
    Thanks
    1
    Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts
    Hi again,

    Thanks for your help. So is it an obscure thing for me to carry out? If possible, could you point me towards any other topics that I could do it on about South Africa? Thanks

  8. #7
    Platinum Member Chatmaster's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Cape Town
    Posts
    1,065
    Thanks
    107
    Thanked 99 Times in 63 Posts
    A rather big topic in South Africa right now is Job Creation. The different aspects that affect job creation in SA.

    Here SA specific factors that can come in play are:
    • The role of trade unions like COSATU
    • The effect of labor laws on business development in South Africa
    • The role of BEE and Affirmative Action
    • The role corruption are playing
    • The effect of National Credit Act on business development and the average spending power of consumers
    • Business development in general
    • The poor approach of government on the farming industry


    I am sure there are more...
    The other parts of job creation is probably common globally.
    Roelof Vermeulen (Entrepreneurship in large organizations)
    Roelof Vermeulen| Rock flaps south africa

  9. #8
    Platinum Member Chatmaster's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2006
    Location
    Cape Town
    Posts
    1,065
    Thanks
    107
    Thanked 99 Times in 63 Posts
    Just to support my view, you can read this... http://www.southerntimesafrica.com/a..._2020_&id=5119

    Please note that this article is written biased and sympathetic to the ANC government so focus on the facts.

    I personally do not support the communist party's words here.

    The SA Communist Party welcomed the announcement and promised to work with the government and business if they agreed to close the apartheid wage gap, slash executive salaries and bonuses in the public and private sectors and to control prices of essentials such as food and electricity.
    The truth is that the wage gaps have been made much larger since the ANC took power and them naming it "apartheid wage gap" is just a political word play tactics to blame apartheid and deny their own accountability.
    Roelof Vermeulen (Entrepreneurship in large organizations)
    Roelof Vermeulen| Rock flaps south africa

  10. #9
    Silver Member
    Join Date
    May 2010
    Location
    durban
    Posts
    419
    Thanks
    128
    Thanked 61 Times in 52 Posts

    confusing business

    Chatmaster,sir,you are widely read & informed & i am not. but as a layman born in this country i have been witness to the pre & post '93 eras. you have directed this young british lad to to some books-i have never read these nor will i ever read them. i have difficulty in reading books due to concentration span etc.
    However,i did click the link you gave and was taken to a letter written by a Jaap Villiers to the Whitehouse. Let us not confuse this young Brit.I was flabbergasted. Was this not the same Villiers & his party the ones that claimed that their race is far "superior" to all other races that exist in S.A. We all know now that that cant be true. Then his party advocated separate but equal development. But we were soon to discover "equal" was not anywhere near as what is defined in this lad's oxford dictionary.And you will no doubt agree that the inequality that is meted by the present powers today is not near to that what existed at the time of Jaap Villiers. Yes i don't know about the employment rates that existed in Verwoerd's days but as a layman i can understand why many more were employed then.. Were gold & diamonds overflowing onto the streets leading Brits to jump onto ships from Southampton bound for Van Riebeck's new world, as they were told the the Johannesburg streets were paved in gold.Now those mines had to be emptied & thus the high employment rate then. .Again from a layman's perspective.They became very emptied and we all know who benefited most.
    Chris,this is something quite similar that was probably happening in the industrial north in England.High employment in those textile mills. Nothing ,but nothing is quite right anywhere in this world. high unemployment in India as the Indians were not allowed to weave their own cloth.
    And Chatmaster,please forgive me for suggesting to Chris on your behalf that both you & i choose to remain in S.A.despite the crime & inequalities? Why?
    Last edited by flaker; 30-Oct-10 at 08:48 PM.

  11. #10
    Diamond Member tec0's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jun 2009
    Location
    South Africa
    Posts
    4,624
    Thanks
    1,884
    Thanked 463 Times in 410 Posts
    Blog Entries
    3
    Well one can only wonder why so many must pay for the mistakes done in the past. Germany is also scarred by their mistakes as is South Africa to name but a few. If you want to write about something forget about South Africa, Germany the first and second war and dig a bit deeper into English history, or the history of France, and that of the Americans.

    Once you had a good long look at the history you will find that the biggest mistakes were made long before you or I ever existed. History is not an isolated event, and the UK is known for their massif public libraries... My suggestion is use them...
    peace is a state of mind
    Disclaimer: everything written by me can be considered as fictional.

Page 1 of 2 12 LastLast

Similar Threads

  1. The Great South Africa
    By Ronny_Kuipers in forum South African Politics Forum
    Replies: 1
    Last Post: 08-Feb-07, 07:04 AM

Did you like this article? Share it with your favourite social network.

Did you like this article? Share it with your favourite social network.

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •