Current active course description (last updated 2025/26)
Peoples and Cultures of the Arctic
NOM1002
Current active course description (last updated 2025/26)

Peoples and Cultures of the Arctic

NOM1002
The course will introduce the students to the traditional cultures and contemporary peoples of the circumpolar North through indigenous and Western perspectives. The course will provide an integrated and multidisciplinary understanding of the circumpolar peoples and their adaptations and contributions to social, economic, political and environmental change. This includes an introduction to indigenous cultures, an examination of contemporary northern peoples and a discussion of Western presence in the Circumpolar North. Social, cultural, economic and political aspects of the colonization of the different regions of the Circumpolar North will be presented and discussed. In addition the course will discuss the importance of language, media, arts and education for the formation and management of identities and for expressions of self-determination by circumpolar peoples.
The course will introduce the students to the traditional cultures and contemporary peoples of the circumpolar North through indigenous and Western perspectives. The course will provide an integrated and multidisciplinary understanding of the circumpolar peoples and their adaptations and contributions to social, economic, political and environmental change.
Admission occurs based on general study competence (university entrance) according to current Norwegian regulations.
Admission occurs based on general study competence (university entrance) according to current Norwegian regulations.

Knowledge

The student will get:

  • Knowledge of thematic challenges, processes, and issues within cultures of the circumpolar north
  • knowledge of research work on people and cultures in the circumpolar north, including theories and research on colonisation, politics, economics, social and cultural change.
  • contemporary knowledge of people and cultures in the circumpolar north, knowledge of the circumpolar areas' history, cultures, traditions and uniqueness, as well as social and cultural change.

Skills

The student: will be able to

  • apply knowledge and relevant results from research work to practical and theoretical issues
  • to reflect on their own academic practice and adjust this under guidance
  • find, analyze and refer to specialist material and present this in such a way that it illuminates a problem
  • will be able to master relevant academic forms of expression within studies of people and cultures in the circumpolar north.

General competence

The student will:

  • have knowledge of relevant academic issues within the study of cultures in the circumpolar north.
  • be able to plan and carry out student assignments with academically relevant content.
  • be able to convey central subject matter such as theories and research results related to the Nordic societies in written form.
  • be able to exchange views and experiences within the subject area and participate in discussions about the development of good practice.
No costs except semester registration fee and in some cases, syllabus literature.
Compulsory for one year programme in the Circumpolar and Nordic Studies. Elective course for other students at Nord University

Lectures on Campus, seminars and written submissions (answers to module questions).

Beyond these, there will also be online sessions and discussion exercises.

The written submissions are compulsory and must be passed, together with the oral exam, before credits can be awarded for a completed exam.

Annual evaluations which are included in the university´s quality assurance system.
None

Written assesments task and oral exam:

The written assessment task (answers to 4 module questions) are preliminary examinations and have to be successfully completed (approved/ not approved, i.e. no grade), together with the oral exam (graded A-F), in order for the student to be able to receive the formal grade and credits.Successfully completed preliminary examinations (approved assignments) are valid for the two subsequent terms after the first attempt.

Oral exam is in English. There will be one final grade using the regular Norwegian grading system (A-F).

Generating an answer using ChatGPT or similar artificial intelligence and submitting it wholly or partially as one's own answer is considered cheating.

All means including course literature, internet, library, etc. but no artificial intelligence.
None

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:

BCS125X - Peoples and Cultures of the Circumpolar North - 10 credits

Choose start semester
Curriculum literature
Leganto
Course language
English
Credits
10
Study location
Bodø, online
Responsible faculty
Faculty of Social Sciences
Course coordinator
Information about the course coordinator for the selected semester is no longer available. Please contact the current course coordinator.