Journal

Please submit a 1-2 page double spaced journal entry reflecting on what you have learned so far. This is an informal assignment, so the structure can be a bit loose or colloquial, but it should be thoughtful.

These journals should not be just a summary of what you learned. They should, instead, focus on the hows and whys of the course. How and why were things of interest to you? Any particular examples from lecture or the readings (and these should be specific)? A particular presentation that was your favorite? Why?

The response should pull a bit from lecture reading and the presentations, about a half page each, to be thorough. You do not need to address every item in the course so far, quality far exceeds quantity. A truly reflective (looking at preconceptions and biases and comparing them after, AND/OR direct experiences in your life that reflect the concepts covered or are illuminated in a different light as a result) coverage of one topic far exceeds a long listing summary of all the course materials that does none of the above.

Some potential things to consider: You do not have to address all of them, but should use this as a guide on how to structure your response

1. What concepts have really stuck out to you from the book or lecture?
2. What was surprising in the course?
3. In what ways do some of the concepts presented impact you and your daily life?
4. What has worked and not worked for you in the course so far (materials, study habits, time management etc.)
5. What questions are you still struggling or confused on?

**** Use pages 557-606 from the attached pdf copy of the textbook (chapters 16 and 17) to write this journal. It is based on chapters 16 and 17 (pages 557-606), from the lecture reading. ****

**** The following are some of my classmate’s responses to the presentations. These responses mention what has been learned from the presentations (as listed above ^ in the instructions to use the information from them in the journal):

(the presentation topic is: Persistent inequality: South Africa, Namibia, USA)

“Hi everyone! I really enjoyed watching Jessica and Ishkhans presentations. Through their presentations, I was able to learn more about how, even though by law discrimination had been ended, wealth, land, and power still keep discrimination alive. I was also able to learn about how, even though there is a black majority government in South Africa, there is an economic inequality that keeps people separated. White nationalism is one of the main causes of inequality, such as wealth, health, and economic inequality. I would like to learn more about how the US, South Africa, and Namibia handle inequality now, and if they have any plans on working to improve it further than they already have.”

“Hello everyone,

Thanks to all the presenters this week; you all did a great job.

I liked both Daniel’s and Ishkhan’s presentations because they examine how inequality persists even after discrimination becomes illegal.

In Daniel’s presentation, what stood out to me was how he explained apartheid in South Africa and how Black people were controlled in where they could live, work, and go to school. I also found it interesting when he spoke about Namibia and how the land is still mostly owned by white communities because of colonization. His main point is that new laws do not erase the old inequality, which really made sense to me.

For Ishkhan’s presentation, I liked how he discussed what follows legal equality. He added that the laws do change, but wealth and power take their time. His own example of redlining in the United States and then mass incarceration helped me understand how inequality is being created today, not just in the past.

Both of these presentations helped to develop a better understanding of the linkages between history, power, and inequality.”

“Hello everyone,

Iskhan and Tatevs presentation taught me that power structures limit changes. Although legal equality ended segregation, inequalities in land ownership, wealth, and policy remained. Many policies are described as race-neutral, but their effects are still unequal. In the United States, voting rights have been weakened through court decisions and voter ID laws. In South Africa, economic inequality remains high, even though the government is led by a Black majority. After policies changed, people still faced inequality rooted in the history. For example, Black people couldnt buy houses in U.S so this effects black people economic conditions today. In South Africa, most farmland and wealth are still controlled by white people. In Namibia, land policies have remained the same. In terms of justice, many Black men in the United States are incarcerated, which effects voting rights and families. In South Africa, policing disproportionately effects poor Black communities, while in Namibia, the justice system is heavily influenced by class. Although policies have changed over the years, racial discrimination and class differences in South Africa and Namibia have not changed significantly.”

“Hi everyone! I want to thank all of the presenters for this week. Everyone did a really good job. I especially liked the presentations by Jessica and Daniel. Jessicas presentation helped me understand how inequality in South Africa did not disappear after apartheid ended. Even though the laws changed, many people are still affected by income inequality and lack of access to land and resources. Daniels presentation also stood out to me because he explained how colonialism in Namibia created long-term inequality that still exists today. What I learned from both presentations is that legal equality has limits, because changing laws does not automatically change economic power or social conditions. Discrimination after legal equality often continues through systems like land ownership, housing, education, and wealth. These presentations helped me see that history still shapes inequality today, and real equality requires more than just equal laws.”

“Hello everyone,

My biggest takeaway from these presentations is that racial discrimination in the United States, South Africa, and Namibia was enforced through laws and institutions that controlled land, wealth, and political power. In the United States, slavery and Jim Crow laws segregated Black Americans. They denied access to housing and economic opportunity, while South Africa’s apartheid system legally reserved political and economic control for the white minority, and Namibia experienced land dispossession under colonial and apartheid rule. Legal discrimination ended through civil rights movements, anti-apartheid resistance, and independence, granting political equality in all three countries. However, these legal changes did not dismantle the economic structures created under segregation. Inequality continues through historical legacies such as redlining in the United States, which is now illegal but still shapes wealth and housing disparities. At the same time, active policies like mass incarceration in the United States and property protections in South Africa and Namibia continue to reproduce inequality today. Together, these cases show that while laws changed, land, wealth, and power largely remained concentrated where they were before.”

Now using the information that was gained from the presentations, and the textbook pdf that is attached of chapters 16-17, write the journal with the instructions above^^^