I had a strange experience academically while in Durban. I took three courses: one in anthropology, one in religious studies, and another on deejaying. The anthropology course was very poor and was pretty much useless except as a good situation for meeting and speaking with local students. The religious studies course was fun and took a distinctly South African perspective on the many religions of the country, including African Traditional Religions, which I had never had the chance to learn about before. Finally, the deejaying course was lekker (Afrikaans for cool or sweet). I now know how to put together deejaying equipment as well as basic deejaying skills. Probably the best part of the class (which is one of only two such courses in the world) is that half of the final requires you to deejay at one of the best and more upscale clubs in Durban.
Overall however, I would say that academics at UKZN are not nearly as strenuous as in the US, but they do provide a unique point of view that cannot be found anywhere else.
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