Introduction to multidisciplinary studies

The course is obligatory for the Bachelor and One Year Program in Northern Studies. The course is taught online for One Year Program. The subject can be taken as a single course. 

The course introduces students to and provides:

• An understanding of the historical development and cultural dependence of all knowledge-systems and how they speak in favour of interdisciplinarity.
• An orientation to the challenges of good governance on Northern issues when socio-political and economic evaluations are based on the advice of too few, or many different specialists and stakeholders.
• Insights as to how to handle the risks of being superficial and missing relevant theory and crucial data in an interdisciplinary inquiry.
• Historical and contemporary illustrations of the above, found in the regions of the Euro-Arctic as well as in the Circumpolar Arctic.
• Methods of conceiving and planning interdisciplinary research and development projects.

Students will be trained in operationalising viable interdisciplinary approaches to complex issues based on case studies from the Subarctic and Arctic Regions.

Admission requirements:

Nordic applicants: Generell studiekompetanse. Admission procedures for foreign applicants, please read: https://en.uit.no/education/art?p_document_id=351800

Admission code: 9199

Upon completion of the course, students will be able to:

Knowledge

• Understand the epistemological contingency and general historical dependence of all knowledge-systems, and how they motivate interdisciplinary Northern Studies.

Skills

• Detect overconfidence in too narrow a solution to complex socio-economic issues.
• Discuss, with the help of relevant literature, a reasonable scope of an interdisciplinary investigation relating to a Northern issue within a given frame of resources at the students' disposal.

General competence

• Provide academically sound standard criticism to a narrow specialism.
• Argue for an interdisciplinary approach in social, political and historical analysis.

Bachelor students: Mainly teacher presentations., group work and group discussions, supported by digital learning resources.

Online students: The course is composed of separate modules for online studies.  Students are required to submit answers to the individual module questions. Teaching and feedback will be given. Streamed materials will also be available.  A guideline for self-study will be provided.

Quality assurance; Before the end of every course, an evaluation of the course will be arranged in collaboration with the teacher and the student.

Language of instruction and examination

Applicants from Nordic countries: 1 June

Exchange students and Fulbright students: 15 April  

This course is available for inbound exchange students.

This course has academic prerequisites. Please see the "prerequisite" section for more information 

Do you have questions about this course?  Please check the following website to contact the course coordinator for exchange students at the faculty: https://en.uit.no/education/art?p_document_id=510412

More info about the coursework requirements

Assignments on-site Alta:

Assignments to teacher-supplied questions - Alta

Class attendance - Alta (75%)

Assignments on-line:

Assignments to teacher-supplied questions - Nett

Re-sit examination