RECENT political changes have revived interest in American
studies at universities in South Africa and have led to the first
initiative to coordinate programs nationwide.
"With the changes that are taking place here, many American
issues are finding a resonance in South Africa," says Greg
Cuthbertson, senior lecturer in history at the University of South
Africa (Unisa) and director of one of the few postgraduate courses
in US history in the country.
The United States Constitution and concepts like affirmative
action and free enterprise have acquired a new significance since
South Africa entered a political transition two years ago, Dr.
Interest in African-American history has also surged because
black South Africans wanted to discover the experience of their
counterparts in the US under segregation and through the
"Renewed interest in African-American studies is the spark for
the resurgence of interest in American studies in this country," he
From the mid-1970s until the end of the '80s, interest in
American studies waned in South Africa. During the '70s, white
South Africans began to react to what they regarded as a hostile US
position, while many black South Africans turned against the US
because they regarded it as an ally of the white establishment.
This trend intensified during the Reagan administration because
the US Congress initiated sanctions against South Africa, while
Reagan's policy of constructive engagement with Pretoria further
alienated black South Africans.
During the Bush administration, white attitudes toward the US
began to soften because of the lifting of sanctions. Black opinion
has also softened because of Bush's support for the black cause and
his even-handed approach in bringing the two sides to the
Peter Vale, professor of international studies at the University
of the Western Cape, says that in the '70s most political science
departments at South African universities included comparative
studies in American government, but no attempt was made to
coordinate different academic disciplines with American components.
"In the 1960s and '70s it was taught as a separate module," he
says. Although history and literature courses now focus most keenly
on American studies, "The whole subject of American studies is
approached in a very ad hoc way at present," says Ernest Messina, a
history lecturer at Western Cape University, who runs a
postgraduate course in African-American studies (see story on Page