Old Wrongs, New Rights: Student Views of the New South Africa [Paperback]

Dan Connell (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: March 31, 2008

Old Wrongs, New Rights is a series of candid close-ups of South Africa s invigorating but unfinished journey from apartheid to democracy. The reporters are students from the Americas, steeped in idealism but quick to spot backsliding. Their vantage point provides a freshness that is absent from the seasoned, often cynical, professionals who usually mediate our view of this daunting experiment in social transformation. The stories focus on day-to-day struggles to attain the promise of South Africa s visionary Constitution, which not only guarantees every citizen equality and full participation in the political process, but also rights to housing, health care, education, personal security, and a safe environment for future generations. What has so far been achieved, the student reporters asked? What or who holds back change? Who is propelling the society ahead, and why does so much remain to be done? As journalists, the students sought answers not in pious pronouncements or paper pledges but in the lives of those now carrying apartheid s persistent legacy. Old Wrongs, New Rights gives voice to South Africans deeply felt aspirations, coupled with their intense frustration at the sluggish pace of change. It also tracks the ways in which the experience transformed the observers.

Editorial Reviews

About the Author

Dan Connell, the editor of this collection and a frequent writer on Africa, teaches journalism and African politics at Simmons College, Boston. The contributors are Simmons College students.

Product Details

• Paperback: 168 pages
• Publisher: Africa World Press; 1st edition (March 31, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 1592216293
• ISBN-13: 978-1592216291
• Product Dimensions: 8.2 x 5.3 x 0.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 7.2 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #4,174,760 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)