Minor African Dynamics students experience fieldwork again

For the first time since the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, the students of the Leiden-Delft-Erasmus minor African Dynamics were able to complete a field study in and around Cape Town. Under the guidance of the coordinator of the minor, anthropologist Madi Ditmars, 21 students from Leiden University, Delft University of Technology, and Erasmus University Rotterdam participated. 

Rosa Kuijt, student Architecture and the Built Environment at  Delft University of Technology, reports.

Due to the varying backgrounds of the students who participate in the minor, the field study included all kinds of visits. Organic farmer and activist Nazeer Sonday explained the importance of the available aquifer to combat water scarcity. During a visit to the town of Elim, we met the incredible people who take care of children with severe disabilities and learned how their organisation works. African Dynamics minor alumna Robin, who is now studying for a master’s degree at the University of Cape Town, arranged for a friend and fellow student to speak to us about her experiences. Hearing about how she grew up in a township and worked her way to her current professional and academic success was inspiring, to say the least.

At the University of the Western Cape (UWC), we learned about the history of students’ demonstrations against apartheid. In the library of UWC (see picture) there were posters with stories of current students and their lives. One that especially impressed me was written by a student who had to juggle her academic life with being a wife, mother, and a full-time worker as well. This gave us some insight into the lives of people that could have been us if we were born in a different location. Some of the TU Delft students visited the Cape Peninsula University of Technology and were able to speak to students there.

During the minor, we have been researching and discussing politics, history, infrastructure, economics, and other aspects of the African continent and people. But actually going there has been invaluable for our understanding. I have had, for example, some of the most interesting political conversations of my life with Uber drivers. This has been the most fitting conclusion to an eye-opening minor.