Course description for 2025/26
History, Politics and Northern Resources
SA218S
Course description for 2025/26

History, Politics and Northern Resources

SA218S
This course focuses on the historical development of the north, especially on Northern Norway, Spitsbergen and The Barents Region.
This course focuses on the historical development of the north, especially on Northern Norway, Spitsbergen and The Barents Region. Also former and present challenges in the international relations of the region, international cooperation and organizations and regimes such as The Arctic Council, Barents Euro-Artic Region (BEAR) and the United Nations Convention on the Law of the Sea (UNCLOS) are thoroughly addressed. The course also specifically addresses the fisheries, oil & gas activities, the environmental challenges, and the security policy issues in the High North.

Admission occurs based on general study competence (university entrance) according to current Norwegian regulations.

The course is compulsory in the one-year program in Circumpolar Studies. The subject is also open to students at other study programs and individual course students.

Knowledge

The student...

  • has knowledge of important topics, theories, problems, processes, tools and methods in studies on history, politics and northern resources
  • is familiar with research and development work on history, politics and northern resources
  • can update his/her knowledge about history, politics and northern resources
  • is familiar with the subject area’s history, traditions, distinctive nature and place in society

Skills

The student...

  • can apply academic knowledge to practical and theoretical problems and explain his/her choices
  • can reflect on his/her own academic practice and adjust it under supervision
  • can find, assess and refer to information and academic material and relate it to an issue
  • masters relevant academic tools, techniques and styles

General Competence

The student....

  • has insight into relevant ethical issues relating to history, politics and northern resources
  • can plan and carry out tasks and projects alone or as part of a group and in accordance with ethical requirements and principles
  • can present important academic material such as theories, problems and solutions regarding history, politics and northern resources, both in writing and orally, as well as using other relevant forms of communication
  • can exchange opinions with others regarding history, politics and northern resources and participate in discussions concerning the development of good practice
  • is familiar with new ideas and innovative processes in studies of history, politics and northern resources
No costs except semester registration fee.
Compulsory for one year programme in the Circumpolar and Nordic Studies. Elective course for other students at Nord University.

Primarily on-campus lectures, seminars and optional excursions. Beyond these, there will also be online sessions.

In relation to the optional excursions, we encourage students to familiarize themselves with safety measures such as insurance Forsikring for studentar. For internartional students, please follow the English guidelines for insurance Insurance | Nord.no

Annual evaluations which are included in the university´s quality assurance system.

Written assignments and oral exam:

The written assignments (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.

Generating responses using artificial intelligence (AI) tools, such as ChatGPT or similar, and submitting them entirely or partially as one's own work is considered cheating.

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:

SA218S-001 - History, Politics and Northern Resources - 4 credits

SA218S-002 - History, Politics and Northern Resources - 6 credits