Have You Heard From Johannesburg? (2010) produced and directed by two-time Academy Award nominee Connie Field is a seven-video documentary series chronicling global activism against South Africa’s apartheid regime. The series is bookended with episodes focusing on the country’s internal politics and the reactions to them by liberation movements. Have You Heard focuses on international activism against apartheid in Australia, New Zealand, Sweden, Denmark, the United Kingdom, and United States.
Have You Heard From Johannesburg – promo from Clarity Films on Vimeo.
This documentary series and subsequent lesson plans are especially useful for undergraduates and Social Studies students in high school classes like World History, European History, and AP U.S. History. Teachers may use this series to introduce students to South African history, the history of social movements, or discussions on civic engagement, social activism, multinational post-World War II organizations such as the United Nations, international commerce, the politics of sports, or legal history. The series’ focus on creativity within social and political movements, as well as its discussion on how and why activists function, will help instructors lead engaging discussions on abstract ideas like the moral directional compass.
DVDs may be used either individually or as a set. The following lesson plans are designed to elaborate on individual episodes and their sub-themes; teachers using the whole series may wish to focus on some of the over-arching themes.
Resources
Episode 1 • Episode 2 • Episode 3 • Episode 4 • Episode 5 • Episode 6 • Episode 7