PhD Course: Interdisciplinary Introduction to Arctic Studies
Interdisciplinary introduction to Arctic studies is the first out of four PhD student courses given within the framework of the Nordic Centre of Excellence REXSAC – Sustainable Communities and the Legacies of Mining in the Nordic Arctic. It is an introduction to the broad range of disciplines and fields of research within REXSAC, multidisciplinary across and between the humanities, social sciences and natural sciences. The course will also introduce ways of integrating these disciplines in research concerning sustainability in the Arctic.
After the course the students will:
- have a basic knowledge about the Arctic region in terms of its natural environments, communities, cultures, economies and institutions
- have basic knowledge about social science research on the Arctic, with a focus on the fields of economy and international relations
- have basic knowledge about research on the Arctic within climate oriented natural sciences, with a focus on the impacts of climate change on the environment
- have basic knowledge about research on the Arctic within the humanities, with a focus on the fields of history, representations and heritage
The course content in terms of literature and learning activities will be focused on the fields of research within REXSAC and the choice of main teachers will guarantee this broad content, according to the following:
- Kirsten Thisted, literary science, cultural studies, representations, heritage, qualitative methods
- Joan Nymand Larsen, economics, indicators, quantitative methods
- Ninis Rosqvist, climate oriented natural science, impacts of climate change
- Sverker Sörlin, history, humanities and social science in Arctic research in general
The learning activities in the course include lectures, seminars, individual reading of course literature and other text materials, and written assignments. The course takes place in connection to a coordination board meeting and program wide workshop of REXSAC. In addition to the main teachers mentioned in the above, some of the researchers present in Copenhagen in connection with the REXSAC meetings will contribute with lectures.
Date and time: March 14-21, 2017, from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM.
ECTS: 7.5 for participation and written assignment.
Venue: TBA.
Course plan:
Week 1 and 2: On February 8 from 10.00 AM - 1:00 PM, students in the course will meet online for a short introduction to the course. After this meeting students read and prepare assignments for the week in class in Copenhagen.
Week 3: March 12-21. Seminars and lectures at Copenhagen University + participation in program wide workshop.
Week 4 and 5: Preparation of final written assignment, to be handed in May 1.
Registration: Please register via the link no later than February 1st, 2017.
Course organizer: For further information, please contact one of the course organizers:
- Kirsten Thisted (thisted@hum.ku.dk), Associate Professor, PhD, Minority Studies Section, Department of Cross-Cultural and Regional Studies, University of Copenhagen
- Dag Avango (dag.avango@abe.kth.se), PhD, Researcher, Div of History of Science, Technology and Environment, Royal Institute of Technology (KTH).