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old HIS 100 - Perspectives in History

Research guidance and example sources for HIS100 Perspectives in History research assignment.

Apartheid in South Africa


Apartheid was a system of institutionalized racism and segregation in South Africa from the 1940s to the 1990s. Among other restrictions, the government established laws that prevented non-white people from voting or participating in politics, segregated all schools and universities, and outlawed marriage and relationships between people of different races. Many comparisons have been made between Apartheid and racism in the United States during the same time period.

Apartheid is a broad topic. There is enough information about it to write an entire book, and people have! As you start your research, consider what facet of this topic you would like to focus on. When you do, it can be helpful to write a research question as a foundation for your research. Read Shapiro Library FAQs on writing research questions for more information.

Here is a research starter that can give you background information about Apartheid. This is an encyclopedia article, and like other background/reference sources, is a great source to give yourself context on a subject before you dive into deeper research. Background sources can help you decide how you would like to focus your research and which keywords might be helpful. They generally aren't acceptable sources to use in your papers because they summarize and condense information about a topic. The original research and primary sources reference sources cite can be a good place to start.

Continue on to the primary sources page to see some example sources and more resources for finding primary sources on this topic.