- Region
- Africa
- Term
- Summer
- Student Year
- Freshman, Sophomore, Junior, Senior
- Courses Offered By
- College of Arts and Letters, College of Engineering, College of Science, Keough School of Global Affairs, Mendoza College of Business
2026 Program Dates: May 16-June 6
Are you interested in understanding why the world we live in seems to be becoming more divisive? Why people seem to be becoming less tolerant of those who differ from them, whether it be in terms of, for example, ethnicity, religion, or political persuasion.
Led by Notre Dame psychology professor and South African native Anre Venter, this 3-week intensive program incorporates cultural, intellectual and personal experiences to allow for meaningful engagement with the issues that often make interactions with differing others in our pluralistic world difficult - even ultimately leading to systems of oppression such as apartheid.
The course "Negative Attitudes: A Cultural, Historical, and Social Psychological Analysis of Racism in South Africa" introduces you to the country of South Africa and the system of apartheid from a historical, cultural and personal perspective. Through the course readings, in-class discussions, and cultural excursions, you will gain a deep understanding of the role that individual judgments that people make of those who are different from them, 'others' them in a way that forms the basis of such systems of oppression. Throughout the 3 weeks you will have several opportunities to engage and interact with the South African people whose lives have been fundamentally and deeply shaped by the system of apartheid including a walk through one of the informal settlements (townships) in Cape Town.
Cultural activities and excursions in Johannesburg and Cape Town will include Soweto, the Apartheid Museum, the Hector Pieterson Memorial, Robben Island, the District Six Museum. Along the way, you will travel the Garden Route which includes the Knysna Elephant Sanctuary, The Cango Caves, Tsitsikamma National Park, ending with a safari through Kruger National Park, a UNESCO World Heritage Site.