D2:Circumpolar World - ENVS 295 OL1 - Course Syllabus

1 ENVS 295 A Circumpolar World ONLINE Kathleen Osgood, PhD * [email protected] Over Thin Ice, Sámi on migration near Lovozero, Kola Peninsula by Yulian Konstantinov, Spring 2010 Course Description: Based on the curriculum of the Arctic Council’s university without walls, this exploration of the circumpolar world examines the ecological, cultural, and political processes of the Far North, laying a foundation for further exploration of this relatively unexplored and potentially valuable region. With the completion of the International Polar Year i n 2008 and increased attention to global climate change, with increased attention to northern shipping routes and Arctic oil, this vast and fragile region constitutes an untapped reserve of critical importance to a sustainable world. Using a circumpolar, comparative, and interdisciplinary approach, we will investigate the physical and natural processes of the Arctic and Sub-Arctic, as well as the indigenous and local peoples and cultures in the region. The Circumpolar World introduces students to the landscape, peoples and issues of th e circumpolar region. Beginning with an examination of the geography, biological and physical systems of the Subarctic and Arctic, it then turns to the aboriginal and contemporary peoples of the region. The history of the Circumpolar World is treated in a broad fashion, to provide a grounding in the events and developments that have created the region’s contemporary qualities. The second part of the course surveys some of the particular issues facing the region, including climate change, economic, political and social development. This course ultimately is intended to stimulate interest in the circumpolar world and provide an understanding of region building. Our course is online, in seminar style, with each student being responsible for researching in detail two northern communities on different continents, or Comparative Circumpolar Communities. Each week, you will read about a particular aspect of the circumpolar world (e.g., geography, economies, environment, self-determination), then research and report on those realities in your particular communities. Because the North is so sparsely populated and resource rich, community case studies are extremely interesting from an environmental studies or community development or regional/area studies vi ewpoint. Much strategic research su pport will be provided throughout the semester, and research w ill culminate in final presentations, using fully documented

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D2:Circumpolar World - ENVS 295 OL1 - Course Syllabus