AK1214 Environment and Society in a Changing Arctic 10.0 credits

Educational level	First cycle	Academic level (A-D)
Subject area	Techonology	Grade scale	A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

• https://www.kth.se/social/page/environment-and-society-in-a-c/

• Course page on KTH Social

Learning outcomes

After the course, the student will be able to:

1. Recount major climatic and environmental changes in the Arctic, with a focus on the last 15.000 years

2. Interpret climate change within the specific cultural and historical context of the Nordic region

3. Describe and explain the main processes of societal change in the Nordic / European Arctic: Settlements and colonization, Development of scientific research, and Development of natural resource utilization industry and tourism.

4. Discuss the main changes in international politics and economics in the Arctic and its relation to scientific research, military strategies and indigenous peoples

5. Conduct basic field research through documentation of natural phenomena, cultural remains or by interviews

6. Perform simple research tasks by using and combining different types of sources (i.e. those mentioned under point 5) and present it in written and oral form

7. Critically analyze current events in the Arctic, in relation to the course contents.

Course main content

AK1214 is a summer course, aimed at students from KTH, University of Illinois (Urbana Champaign) and other Swedish Universities. It is divided into three sections. Section 1 (mid June–early July) takes place at KTH and consists of A) a series of lectures which introduces the students to the themes of the course and B) seminars on literature and for preparing field work. Section 2 (mid July) consists of 10 days of intensive field work in the Arctic. In this period the students will be trained in field research and collect data for an essay. Section 3 (end of July) takes place at KTH and consists of seminars in which the students present their essays (examination tasks).

Disposition

The major learning activities are the following:

Lectures: 14 in section 1, six in section 2, normally lasting two hours.

Excursions: visits to museums in Stockholm, which in various ways deal with the Arctic.

Field work: The students will be trained in documentation of natural phenomena and cultural remains as well as interviewing, during a 10 day week field work period in the Arctic (northern Sweden or Svalbard). As a part of the field work, the students will collect data for use in their essays.

Seminars: The seminars will be in three different forms. In section 1 there will be literature seminars, devoted to discussing the course literature. In section 2 there will be field work seminars, focusing on the students findings during field work. In section three there will be essay seminars, devoted to presentations and discussions on the essays the students write.

Writing an essay: The students will write an essay on a topic they can choose from a given list of topics. The essay should be based on course literature, lectures as well as on data the students collect during the field work. The essay will be presented at a final seminar.

Eligibility

Basic eligibility and 120 credits or the equivalent in one or more of the following disciplines:engineering, science, architecture,history,environmental history, history of ideas, economic history, political science, anthropology, sociology, ethnology, literature, archeology and cultural geography. Exceptions can be made for Swedish if the course is taught entirely in English.

If there are more eligible applicants than places a selection is carried out based on a merit rating. Calculation of merits  is based on the following criteria: 1) Education Background, where the breadth of the subjects studied is particularly meritorious, 2)grades, 3)motivation letter and 4)academic credits.

Literature

Kursen behandlar pågående förändringsprocesser i Arktis, som för närvarande studeras av en bred och produktiv internationell polarforskning inom såväl naturvetenskapen som humaniora och samhällsvetenskap. Kurslitteraturen kommer att hämtas från fronten inom denna forskning, vilket gör att listan påkurslitteratur successivt kommer att förändras frånår tillår. Därför väljer vi att presentera kurslitteraturen senast tvåmånader före varje kursomgång, dels genom meddelanden och dokument påkursens hemsida, dels i utskick till kursdeltagarna.

Generellt kan sägas att kurslitteraturen kommer att hämtas i lika utsträckning från kursen tre huvudområden: 1) klimat- och miljöförändringar i Arktis, 2) Arktis i kultur och representation samt 3) vetenskap, industri och politik i Arktis.

Examination

• INL1 - Essay, 10.0 credits, grade scale: A, B, C, D, E, FX, F

Examination: 1) active participation in discussions on the course literature and essays during the seminars and 2) writing and presenting the above mentioned essay.

Requirements for final grade

Examination: 1) active participation in discussions on the course literature, field work results and essays during the seminars and 2) writing and presenting a final essay.

Offered by

ABE/History of Science and Technology

Contact

Dag Avango, avango@kth.se

Examiner

Supplementary information

The tuition fee for fee paying students amounts to SEK 24 167 for this course. All students must be ready to pay an additional fee in order to cover the costs for field work. The amount can be up to 16 000 SEK. There will be possibilities for students to apply for stipends, more information will be posted on the course website.

Information about the course and how to apply for it can be found on the course homepage KTH Social.

There you can also find links to application forms(docx , pdf) for grants.

Version

Course plan valid from: Spring 13.
Examination information valid from: Spring 12.