Fault Lines: A primer on race, science and society

by Jonathan Jansen, Cyrill Walters (Editor)

What is the link, if any, between race and disease? How did the term baster as ‘mixed race’ come to be mistranslated from ‘incest’ in the Hebrew Bible? What are the roots of racial thinking in South African universities? How does music fall on the ear of black and white listeners? Are new developments in genetics simply a backdoor for the return of eugenics? For the first time, leading scholars in South Africa from different disciplines take on some of these difficult questions about race, science and society in the aftermath of apartheid. This book offers an important foundation for students pursuing a broader education than what a typical degree provides, and a must-read resource for every citizen concerned about the lingering effects of race and racism in South Africa and other parts of the world.

408 pages, Kindle Edition

Published March 31, 2020

About the author

Professor Jonathan Jansen is the Vice Chancellor of the University of the Free State, South Africa, where he has earned a formidable reputation for transformation and for a deep commitment to reconciliation in communities living with the heritage of apartheid. He is an educationalist, a former Dean of Education at the University of Pretoria, South Africa, who holds an impressive collection of degrees and awards, including the position as President of the South African Institute of Race Relations. He was born in the Western Cape, South Africa, and has lived in various parts of South Africa and in the United States. He is married with two children.