A group of students stood on the windy, rocky coastline of Cape Point, the most south-western tip of Africa, and admired the breathtaking views of the horizon.
“Standing on the cliffs and looking out at the Atlantic Ocean felt surreal — the landscape was unlike anything I had ever seen!” says Kristen Lee, a fourth-year computer engineering student who was visiting Africa for the first time.
That was just one of the many unforgettable moments for Lee, who joined eight other students for a tour of South Africa, thanks to the International Course Module (ICM) program organized by the Faculty of Arts & Science’s Centre for Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies (CDTPS).
ICMs are designed to enhance students’ course learning through participation in an immersive, hands-on international experience. The trip was part of the course titled, Special Topics in Drama, Theatre & Performance Studies — Contemporary African and Diasporic Popular Culture.
Lead by Izuu Nwankwọ, an assistant professor with the CDTPS, the group spent a week touring Cape Town and Johannesburg.
“They’re completely different cities,” says Nwankwọ. “Cape Town is very European, with a Mediterranean atmosphere. Johannesburg is fast-paced, more culturally grounded, and perhaps also more African."
The group dove into that art, visiting a variety of museums, galleries and monuments as well as attending theatre and musical performances. In fact, Nwankwọ chose South Africa because of the region’s growing global popularity in the arts.
“A lot of students are familiar with South African songs already, as well as some of the performances we looked at,” he says.
For example, many of the students were already familiar with amapiano, a South African electronic music genre that blends deep house, jazz and local dance music known as kwaito.
“They're very familiar with this music because they hear it in clubs and different places,” says Nwankwọ. “So that's why I decided that rather than talk about everything in class, let's be in that space and see what we take from it.”
Located in one of the oldest buildings in Cape Town, the class visited Iziko Slave Lodge near Cape Town which intrigued both the students and Nwankwọ because of the different populations affected by slavery.
“That was the high point of my visit,” says Nwankwọ. “Interestingly, slaves in South Africa were not Black. They were mostly Asians, Malaysians and Indians who were brought by the Dutch in the 1600s and 1700s to South Africa. I had no idea; this was completely new to me.”
It was another museum that captured the attention of Hope Sucee — the District Six Museum.
“This museum details the forced displacement of residents of the former multicultural neighborhood District Six after it was declared a white area by the apartheid government,” says Sucee, a fourth-year sociology specialist student and a member of University College.
“We saw beautiful art made by former residents of the community, and pieces such as the original street signs that the residents saved. This experience was deeply informative, but also sad, because millions of people are still experiencing forced displacement today with similar characteristics to the District Six removals.”
The class also visited what might be South Africa’s most famous house — the childhood home of Nelson Mandela in the town of Soweto, a suburb of Johannesburg that he returned to after being freed from prison.
A fascinating fact: not far from Mandela’s home is the home of Archbishop Desmond Tutu. Mandela and Tutu lived on Vilakazi Street in Soweto, making it the only street in the world to have been home to two Nobel Peace Prize laureates.
While seeing incredible sights, artists and performances, some of the most enriching travel experiences happened in unexpected ways — like conversations with locals.
“I’ll never forget our conversations with our bus driver and tour guide in Cape Town,” says Sucee. “He made our experience so much more meaningful by sharing stories from his childhood in Cape Town, and providing historical context for all of the places we visited.
“As we drove, he prompted us to look out the window — sometimes to see wildlife like baboons and ostriches. Other times, it was to see visible legacies of apartheid: former Black townships and mixed-race townships right across the road from each other.”
One of the group’s last stops was Stellenbosch University in the picturesque region of Stellenbosch. Located about 50 kilometres from Cape Town, it’s known for its rolling hills and world-renowned vineyards.
“One of the most meaningful parts of the trip was speaking with the director of an advanced research program at Stellenbosch University,” says Lee. “He emphasized the importance of cross-disciplinary and experiential learning, which resonated with me and reminded me how valuable it is, as an engineering student, to step beyond the traditional curriculum.
“This experience showed me how much learning happens outside the classroom through conversations, cultural exposure and being in a new environment. It motivated me to encourage other engineering students to pursue opportunities like this.”
“I gained much more knowledge of and appreciation for the rich and diverse culture of South Africa,” says Sucee. “There’s an amazing blend of culture in so many aspects of daily life there, from fashion to food to architecture. South Africa is a beautiful place, and I would love to return someday.”