South Africa Grade 12 History Syllabus - Course Entries

This document outlines the course content for the South Africa Grade 12 History syllabus. It is organized by topic and draws from the Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statement (CAPS) document.

Key Question for Grades 10-12: How do we understand our world today?

Grade 12: What is the nature of the post-Second World War world?

Term 1:

• Topic 1: The Cold War
• Key Question: How did the Cold War period shape international relations after the Second World War?
• Content Focus:
• Origins of the Cold War in Europe.
• Creation of spheres of influence by the USSR and USA.
• Containment and Brinkmanship (Cuban Missile Crisis as a case study).
• Case Study Options (choose one):
• China: China's rise as a world power after 1949, including the Cultural Revolution, relations with the USSR and USA, relationships with neighboring states (Tibet, India, Vietnam, Taiwan), and the impact of economic liberalization.
• Vietnam: Vietnam's war against the USA (1954-1975), including the stages of the war, perspectives from both sides, the war as a global issue, the USA's withdrawal, and how the war is remembered today.
• Topic 2: Independent Africa
• Key Question: How was independence realized in Africa in the 1960s and 1970s?
• Content Focus:
• Ideas that influenced independent states (African socialism, capitalism, democracy, one-party states).
• Comparative Case Studies (examples of successes and challenges):
• Congo
• Tanzania
• Successes and challenges faced by independent African nations (political, economic, social, and cultural).
• Case Study: Angola and its role in the Cold War, including the civil war, involvement of various international actors, the Battle of Cuito Cuanavale, and the changing nature of international relations after 1989.

Term 2:

• Topic 3: Civil Society Protests (1950s-1990s)
• Key Question: What forms of civil society protest emerged from the 1960s to 1990?
• Content Focus:
• Women's liberation and feminist movements.
• Women's identity in South Africa.
• Peace movements.
• Civil rights movements.
• Case Study: The US Civil Rights Movement, including its origins, the role of Martin Luther King Jr., forms of protest, school desegregation, and gains.
• Case Study: The Black Power Movement, including its reasons, the Black Panther Party, roles of key figures, and gains.
• Topic 4: Civil Resistance in South Africa (1970s-1980s)
• Key Question: What was the nature of civil society resistance after the 1960s?
• Content Focus:
• The challenge of Black Consciousness to the Apartheid state.
• The role of Steve Biko and his ideas.
• The 1976 Soweto Uprising (debates about the influence of Black Consciousness).
• The crisis of Apartheid in the 1980s.
• Government attempts to reform Apartheid.
• Internal resistance to reforms.
• International response to Apartheid.

Term 3:

• Topic 5: The Coming of Democracy in South Africa and Coming to Terms with the Past
• Key Question: How did South Africa emerge as a democracy from the crises of the 1990s, and how did South Africans come to terms with the Apartheid past?
• Content Focus:
• The negotiated settlement and the Government of National Unity.
• The Truth and Reconciliation Commission (TRC).
• Remembering the past through memorials.
• Topic 6: The End of the Cold War and a New World Order (1989-Present)
• Key Question: How has the world changed since the 1960s?
• Content Focus:
• The events of 1989 (Gorbachev's reforms, events in Eastern Europe, the fall of the Berlin Wall, the disintegration of the Soviet Union).
• A new world order (globalization, balance of power, global capitalism, emerging economies, South Africa's transition, responses to globalization).

This represents the core content of the South Africa Grade 12 History syllabus. Consult the official CAPS document for a complete and detailed understanding of the curriculum.