Arctic Geopolitics and Climate Change

About

The course will introduce different perspectives on contemporary Arctic geopolitics and different discourses of climate security. Based on these introductions, the course will explore questions such as whether climate change can be viewed as violent, whether resilience is a valuable term for empowering adaptation or a term that depoliticizes climate change and renders the individual responsible for its effects, and what the role of indigenous communities in the Arctic ought to be in mitigating climate change. From reindeer to NATO soldiers, to Arctic explorers, and from the local, everyday life of those making a home in the Arctic to the offices of those with global power, the course will seek to equip students with knowledge about geopolitics and climate change in the Arctic as well as critical thinking skills in relation to how these are being portrayed by different actors.

The course will consist of 5 in-class lectures and 5 online lectures, each lasting 2 hours. Each lecture consists of teacher presentations of assigned material as well as tasks, small presentations and discussions lead by students. The exam will be a short, written essay on a self-chosen topic related to the course content.

Target group

University students and graduates from around the world.

Course aim

Through this course, students will develop knowledge of and critical, analytic thinking skills in relation to Arctic geopolitics, the politics of climate change, and climate security.

Fee info