Worldwide Universities Network (WUN)
Teaching & learning: Joint learning
Many WUN collaborations produce resources for use in teaching. Researchers share their knowledge within their field in order to develop joint modules for the purpose of teaching Masters Degrees and postgraduate research.
Southern Crossing: Australia and the Cape 1750-1850
Professor Nigel Worden (University of Cape Town) teaching on the Southern Crossings course to students at the University of Sydney
Southern crossings: a collaborative teaching and research project established between the History Departments of UCT and the University of Sydney in 2010. The key element of this is a joint Honours/Masters level course entitled Southern Crossings: Australia and the Cape, c.1750-1850.
This fourth-year Honours seminar is run jointly by Professor Nigel Worden at the University of Cape Town and Associate Professor Kirsten McKenzie at the University of Sydney in 2010 and 2011.
A key aim of the course is to encourage postgraduate research into the themes of transnational significance in the Indian ocean region, with a particular focus on the South African and Australian experiences. The historiographies of these regions have been vibrant over the past two decades, but it is now recognised that a more transnational approach is desirable. Themes for such work have been identified, such as the flow of commodities and human migrations, the impact of slavery and convictism on labour policies and practices across the southern region, the forging of distinct regional identities, and the experience of settler and indigenous encounters and resistance.
In sum, Southern Crossings explores the history of the Cape Colony and Australia in the period c.1750-1850. In particular researchers discuss in what ways writing about one region might be applied to the other and how current interest in transnational and imperial history approaches might be used in Cape and Australian research.
The seminar connects students internationally through a designated website, video conferencing, and cross-institutional visits by staff. This enables collaborative research and co-supervision across both institutions.
Students are primarily assessed on the basis of preliminary research, utilizing resources available in each country. A key aim of the course is to further a joint research programme between the two departments, and to encourage the best students to continue research in this field at MA and Ph.D level.