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This course takes South Africa as a point of departure for a broader investigation of how mining shapes morality in modern life. Focusing on diamond and gold mining between the late-nineteenth century and the present day, we will read across different and sometimes contradictory frameworks for posing questions of right and wrong, e.g. Christian theology, moral economy, moral reasoning, Black Consciousness philosophy, and Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR). Our syllabus will draw from a wide range of fields and genres, including Calvinist and liberation theology, literary fiction, social and economic history, political speeches, and corporate mission statements, and include visual as well as written texts. Students will also have the chance to converse with guest speakers who have historical, scientific, and/or industry expertise in mining on the African continent. The overarching course objective is to understand how the problem of mining in Africa – in all its exploitation and innovation, ground-level grime and c-suite extravagance – has shaped evolving and conflicting moral vocabularies.