Praksislæra Vár 2018 / Practice learning Spring 2018

2497.17_Practice_learning_in_West_Nordic_Studies__25_ECTS_.pdf2497.17_Practice_learning_in_West_Nordic_Studies__25_ECTS_.pdf

2497.17 Practice learning in West Nordic Studies (25 ECTS)


The aim of practice learning is to broaden the academic work skills of the student and additionally create a connection between the programme and the labour market. This should encompass:

  • Making the students qualified for the jobs in the field or theme they are working on in West Nordic Studies by applying theoretical knowledge in practice.

  • Creating a connection between the university education and the Faroese or international labour market, including creating networks and contacts within the field for each individual student.

  • Nurturing the analytical skills of the student through a practically-oriented and problem-based project.

  • Scientific workflow through a practically-oriented and problem-based project, where supervision and seminars aid this development.

Arctic Circle Science Diplomacy in Practice

AIM

This course will offer Faroese, Greenlandic, and Danish students a reflexive, critical, and practical understanding of science diplomacy in the Arctic. The course takes place in connection with Arctic Circle (Reykjavik, Iceland) and will focus on current Arctic challenges from Faroese, Greenlandic, and Danish perspectives. Students (master and PhD) will engage with Arctic Circle participants to discuss these challenges and together with course organisers students will discuss and reflect upon science diplomacy in practice.

CONTENT

The course is divided into three parts: 1) self-study and teaching based on academic state-of-the-art literature on science diplomacy and engaged scholarship. 2) Active participation in Arctic Circle. 3) Presentations at Arctic Circle based on students’ own work on Arctic challenges.

Green Student-House Projects (Autumn 2017)

Three types of projects are offered; 5, 10 and 15 ECTS points. 

All courses will offer students hands-on experience with a sustainability project in connection with the university’s Green Student-House (also called Lindberg’s House).

Political Sociology of Governance and Sustainable Management in the West Nordic Region (Autumn 2017)

Course description.pdfCourse description.pdf

Aim

This course will offer students a necessary reflexive and critical understanding of knowledge and theories of governance and sustainable management. The course will apply an overall distinction between foundational and anti-foundational philosophies of science with which to discuss different governance and sustainable management approaches. The specific approaches will then be applied in analyses of West Nordic cases, and through discussions will give students a broad sense of actors and social dynamics in relation to the complex social issues that the small (micro) societies of the West Nordic Region are facing.

Content

The course content is divided into two parts: 1) The history of ideas, which will focus on the ideational content of different philosophy of science approaches informing governance and sustainable management. 2) The practices of governance and sustainable management, which will focus on the material and practical expressions of climate and environmental governance and sustainable management. Special attention will be given to examples from the West Nordic Region and the differences between “disciplinary approaches”; i.e. mono-, intra-, multi-, cross-, inter-, and transdisciplinarity. The course is connected to ongoing research activities at the University of the Faroe Islands.

Science, Economics and Politics of Sustainability, Climate and Environment (Autumn 2017)

Course description.pdfCourse description.pdf

Aim

This course will offer students a broad understanding of the scientific mechanisms and drivers behind climate change, and will offer students a thorough understanding of different theories of economics and politics in relation to sustainability, climate, and environment. The foundational knowledge of climate science will be incorporated in policy and economic analyses and discussions of national, regional, and global cases of how Science, Economics and Politics unfold in relation to questions of sustainability, environment, and climate change mitigation and adaptation.

Content

The course consists of three research-based parts; climate change science, economics, and political science. The parts will be taught both independently and will be integrated together through the use of empirical cases. The political economy approaches to be discussed include neo-classical economics, green growth economics, environmental economics, ecological modernisation, sustainable development, ecological economics, and deep ecology. Students will work with cases like the UN climate negotiations and Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) reports, West Nordic Green Growth approaches, and the Faroe Islands’ fishery governance.

WNS Thesis Seminar Spring 2018

Thesis-writing involves students using the theories and methods of the programme to produce a major, written academic assignment that analyses an issue chosen by the student.

A mandatory part of writing the thesis is the thesis seminar, which provides students with general knowledge and guidance in the formulation of research questions, research objectives, in the development and application of research design, use of methodology, writing assignments, structuring both the written product and management of the workflow, as well as other relevant elements. An important element of the thesis seminar is the students’ own active participation, and students are required to both present their own work and give critical feedback to the work of others.

The seminar is passed based on active participation. Participation in the thesis seminars may take different forms, but normally entails that the student(s) present(s) two draft thesis papers (between 10 and 20 pages), provide critical feedback to other students’ presentations, and participate(s) in discussions thereof.