Week 11: Disgrace By J.M Coetzee

This week I decided to read a fictional book that takes place in South Africa to get a better understanding of the culture. I simply googled 'South African novel' and the first recommended book was J.M Coetzee's novel "Disgrace". Luckily for me this book had many ties with my social service project dealing with the topic of abuse.

The book centers around a communications professor at the University of Cape Town who lost everything after having an affair. Seeking refuge, he ends up living on his daughter's farm in Eastern Cape where he adapts to a new world. During his stay he and his daughter are attacked by three "thugs", where he is violently injured and the daughter is raped. A majority of the book focuses on their reaction and their coping after the attack. As all this is happening there is a power shift in the country (the end of apartheid) that can be seen in the events that take place in the professors life and his interactions with others.

Since I was told that we will be interacting with the victims of abuse, I thought this book provided excellent insight into their lives. It gives you examples of how to and not interact with victims. For example the father really wanted to help the daughter, but his nagging for her to open up just pushed her away. The daughters attack is extremely personal to her, and has a certain way of coping with it. When interacting with the victims you have to be aware of the vulnerable state they are in, and avoid trying to understand exactly where they are coming from, because you just can't, unless you have been in the same situation. The father did the exact opposite, and ended up ruining their relationship. After reading this book I think the best way to help the victims is instead of trying to understand their situation, just be there to support them as they reenter their old lives. Even though this book had a lot going on, this insight is one good reason to read it.

Week 10: Service Learning Projects!

This past week we finally chose our service learning project that we will be participating in during our month in South Africa. I will be working with a social entrepreneurship program that uses the profits of a beaded jewelry business to support programs for young children and skills training for unemployed, previously abused and battered women. In preparation for the interaction with these women we will be interacting with while working on this project, I thought looking up articles on the extent of the problem in South Africa would be interesting. The articles I found was a report titled "90 Percent of South African Women Abused" and an article titled "South Africa Violence Against Women Rated Highest in the World". Just reading about how bad the problem of abuse is, is very eye opening. I think knowing how bad it is, really puts the motive of the organization in perspective. I look forward to working on this project, to help out on this huge problem that plagues South Africa.

Article 1:

http://www.voanews.com/content/report-90-percent-of-south-african-women-abused/1564271.html

Article 2:

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/2013/03/08/south-africa-violence-against-women_n_2837804.html

Week 9: Overall Top 10 List!

After three weeks of gathering a ton of information on South Africa, we have finally come down to an ultimate list of useful information that will prepare us for our trip. In finding this information I have learned so much about our future destination. We learned about the past, the present, and some idea of what the future will be through a variety of perspectives. In doing so, I feel as if I am going into a foreign country with a good idea of what to expect and how I should approach this new territory. This ultimate top ten list is important to not only visitor like me, but can be beneficial to everyone. The information in these resources can be related to many of the societal problems we see in the United States. Seeing the similarities and differences between how the two societies deal with the similar problems, it can hopefully spark new solutions to the problems we see. 

1.  Power and Privilege Definitions
2. Apartheid Timeline
3. Not White Enough, Not Black Enough
4. South Africa Progressive on LGBT Rights but Gays Still Battle for Social Reform
5. Cape Town: Gangs, Race and Poverty 20 years after Apartheid
6. Realizing Women's Rights in South Africa
7. Here's how South African students talk about race and gender
8. ‘Winnie’ fails to capture the essence of Mrs. Mandela: 
9. Bucket list to visiting South Africa
10. Culture in South Africa

Week 8: Top 10 List!

After looking over my peers blog post over the past 2 weeks, I have generated a list of the top 10 must read articles that I believe provides a well-rounded understanding of South Africa.

1. Power and Privilege Definitions
    A list of definitions in relation to power and privilege
2. For South Africa's Post Apartheid Generation, Discontent Grows
    Focuses on the post apartheid generation who are discontent with the lack of progress
3. Jacob Zuma, South Africa's Unsavory Next President
    An Article on the current president situation
4. The Case of the Right to Education in South Africa
    Explores the education faults in South Africa
5. Opinion: In South Africa, It's Often Said That Being Gay is a Gay Thing
    Talks about cultural identity and the LGBT community in South Africa
6. South Africa's Ticking Time Bomb
    Talks about South Africa's major problems post apartheid
7. Why is Crime an d Violence so High in South Africa?
    Talks about today's high crime rate in relation to South Africa's history
8. Realizing Women's Human Rights in South Africa
    Explores the obstacles the women of South Africa face in gaining their rights
9. Say it Loud, I'm Coloured and I'm proud
10. 9 Questions About Nelson Mandela You Were Too Embarrassed to Ask
      Some background information on Nelson Mandela and South Africa