Contemporary Issues of the Circumpolar North
This course introduces students to important structures and forces affecting the development and sustainability of circumpolar communities. The students work with the demography and population trends in the circumpolar region, different types of natural resource use and extraction, like reindeer herding and oil and gas production, as well as the increasingly globalized economies of these communities. Indigenous rights, as well as social and health issues and education and knowledge systems are also covered in addition to issues relating to governance and politics in the High North.
This course provides students with knowledge of the main challenges confronting the peoples and communities of the world's northern regions. As such it will be beneficial to students attempting better to understand the current issues facing the North as well as to those planning to pursue advanced studies related to the region
This course is made up of the two courses BCS331 and BCS332 offered by the University of the Arctic.
Knowledge and understanding
The student should:
· Have basic knowledge about key societal changes, including demographic, economic and social, in the circumpolar region.
· Have basic knowledge about resource management in different parts of the region and the interaction between local, regional and national actors.
· Have an understanding for legal and political conditions for human activities in the circumpolar north.
· Have an understanding for circumpolar cooperation as well as security challenges in the region.
Skills
The student should:
· Be able to discuss key premises for human activity in the circumpolar north.
General competence
The student should:
· Be able to reflect on political conditions and contemporary trends in the circumpolar north.
Individual compulsory coursework (OA): 4 hand-ins. The compulsory coursework are prerequisites for determination of the final grade.
Four days individual home examination.
The compulsory course work and the individual home exam must be answered in English.
Overlap refers to a similarity between courses with the same content. Therefore, you will receive the following reduction in credits if you have taken the courses listed below:
BCS131X - Contemporary Issues of the Circumpolar World I - 7.5 credits
BCS131X - Contemporary Issues of the Circumpolar World I - 7.5 credits
BCS132X - Contemporary Issues of the Circumpolar World II - 7.5 credits
BCS132X - Contemporary Issues of the Circumpolar World II - 7.5 credits
BCS331 - Contemporary Issues of the Circumpolar World I - 6 credits
BCS332 - Contemporary Issues of the Circumpolar World II - 6 credits
NOM1000 - Contemporary Arctic Politics - 5 credits