Welcome to Political and International Studies

As the late philosopher Charles Frankel once said, it is through the Humanities that a society talks to itself about things that matter most. In the study of Politics, as with other disciplines in the Humanities, we are interested in learning about the best that has been thought, said and written about human beings living in social and political relationships. We are interested in learning how these thinkers have grappled with, and continue to grapple with, life’s most enduring, fundamental questions: What is justice? What should be defended? What is the appropriate nature of our relationship to the state? Where should the limits of state power over our lives properly lie? What is the nature of our moral obligation to the state and to fellow citizens? What do we mean by ‘democracy’ and what are the conditions under which it flourishes and declines? These questions touch on what it is to be human. They are the subject over which wars have been fought and lives have been lost.

The answers to the questions which we ask in Political Studies are the subject of uncertainty and debate. To study Politics is to learn to argue and defend positions, to critically evaluate the nature of the evidence that people provide for what they believe to be true. Because our graduates emerge out of three years of studying Politics as articulate critical thinkers who can read widely with insight and understanding and who are capable of coming to reasoned independent judgments, they are sought-after in business, industry, NGOs, government and academic settings. To study Politics is to learn to be an analytical thinker in possession of the complex, higher order literacy capacities that are a requirement in every facet of a world that is increasing driven by the need to interact critically, thoughtfully and knowledgeably with large quantities of information.

The Politics Department at Rhodes is a high quality teaching and research environment. All our permanent members of staff have doctorates from top institutions. Two of our seven staff members are recipients of the prestigious Vice Chancellor’s Distinguished Teaching Award. Our research is published in national and international journals. Our graduates have gone on to distinguish themselves at universities which include Cambridge, Oxford, the London School of Economics, SOAS and many others. We welcome our students into an environment in which debate is encouraged and interaction between students and lecturers including those at the most senior level is frequent and ongoing. The Department prides itself on being informal and friendly while at the same time being exceptionally demanding of our students. We believe that these dual aspects of our practice are what makes us special in the higher education environment.

S'bu Zikode Speaks at Rhodes: Democracy on the Brink of Catastrophe

The road to real democracy has not been easy to those who are still searching for the truth in it. It is like the long road of Abahlali baseMjondolo to the Constitutional Court. Democracy means different things to different people. To some leaders democracy means that they are the only ones who must exercise authority upon others. For some government officials democracy means accepting anything that is said about ordinary men and women. With the attack on Abahlali baseMjondolo in Kennedy Road we have now seen that this technocratic thinking will be supported with violence when ordinary men and women insist on their right to speak and to be heard on the matters that concern their daily lives. On the one side ther ... read more

Teach-in 2009 Day 4: Deputy Minister J. Cronin

Jeremy Cronin was made Deputy Minister of Transport in 2009. A Member of Parliament since 1999 and Deputy General-Secretary of the SA Communist Party since 1995, Cronin was imprisoned for seven years (1976-1983) at Pretoria Maximum Security Prison. His first collection of poems, Inside (1983), reflects on this experience. His more recent collections, Even the Dead (1997) and Inside and Out (1999), react in part to South Africa’s dramatic transition. He is renowned as a performance poet and has regularly participated in political rallies and readings. His other publications include The Ideol ... read more

Teach-in 2009 Day 3: Prof. Greg Farrell

Speaking on the third day of the Department of Political and International Studies Annual Teach-in, the Reserve Bank’s Greg Farrell argued that rather than coming as a complete surprise as is sometimes argued, prior to the current financial crisis there were those who warned that the world’s economies were on a dangerous path. Although the timing and form that the crisis would take were not known in advance, the risks of the strategies that were being employed were known.

Presenting the South African perspective on the crisis he focused on three main topics:

·The consensus ... read more

SAAPS Conference 2009

A group of 15 third year and postgraduate students from the Department of Political and International Studies attended the South African Association of Political Studies (SAAPS) regional colloquium in Port Elizabeth on 1-2 September. All of the students attending presented papers based on their work this semester. The students had the opportunity of meeting with staff and students from Nelson Mandela Metropolitan University (NMMU) and the University of Fort Hare.

The students involved were: Andrew Stinson, Stephanie Bonnes, Tim Walker, Georgina Alexander, Katherine Furman, Raul Dimitr ... read more

Archives