Indigenous Revitalization - Languages, Literature and Arts

The course is a compulsory component of the Master's degree in Indigenous Studies, and complements SVF-3025 and SOA-3006.

Other master students who meet the admission requirements are welcome to take it as a singular course.

This course examines the ways in which Indigenous languages, literatures and arts have impacted processes of reclamation, restitution and cultural revitalization in the 20th and 21st centuries. Responding to our location in Sápmi and the North, the course centers on Sámi cultural expressions, but draws connections to and comparisons with other Indigenous cultures.

The course examines Sámi and Indigenous oral and storytelling traditions and other prose through analyses and discussions of Indigenous creation stories, poetry, short stories and the Sámi luothi (yoik). The course further examines concepts, practices and worldviews relating to Sámi art, craft and aesthetics, and engages discussions of historic and recent works by Sámi and Indigenous artists in relation to histories of colonization and cultural resistance, restitution and revitalization. Additionally, the course examines processes of language reclamation, focusing on an ecological approach to language work in Sámi and other Indigenous language contexts.

The course invites reflections on the role of Indigenous methodologies when doing research on Indigenous cultural productions and performances. Students develop analytical skills through participation in class.

Bachelor's degree (180 ECTS), or equivalent qualification, or an equivalent qualification, with a minimum of 80 ECTS within social sciences, humanities, in education or in the social practice of law. An average grade equivalent to C or better in the Norwegian grading system is required.

Application code: 9371(Nordic applicants)

Knowledge

Students will

• Develop an understanding of linguistic and cultural expressions base on recent analytical and methodological approaches to the study of Sámi and Indigenous cultures.
• Gain knowledge about select Indigenous works (fine art, duodji, literature); their form, meaning, contexts and terminologies.
• Gain insight in how language and cultural expressions have played an important role in the reparation, reclamation and revitalization processes of Sámi and Indigenous cultures that have taken place in the 20th and 21st centuries.
• Develop a better understanding of Indigenous methodologies and the connections between global and local Indigenous philosophy and contexts.

Skills

Students will be able to

• Consider cultural expressions specific to the Sámi from local and global Indigenous perspectives.
• Develop skills in using theory and methods appropriate for analysing Indigenous literature, visual arts, craft and other media, and for analyses of compelling linguistic issues.
• Demonstrate orally and in writing the ability to analyse and compare a range of Sámi and other Indigenous linguistic and cultural expressions.

Competence

Students will be able to

• Use the skills and knowledge they have acquired throughout the course to produce high quality academic work.
• Critically analyse and undertake research on Sámi and other Indigenous language, literature and art.
• Use the thinking and terminology of Indigenous studies in art history, language and literature to communicate academic work to specialists and the public.

If you pass the examination in this course, you will get an reduction in credits (as stated below), if you previously have passed the following courses:

• HIF-3620 Representations and self-representations 10 ects

Classes consist of lectures and seminars where students actively participate in groupwork and discussions. At the end of the semester, we summarize and reflect on the course in a round-table discussion.

This course is interdisciplinary and taught by lecturers specialized in one or more of the following areas: Sámi literature, art history, linguistics and cultural studies.

Language of instruction and examination

Schedule

This course is open for inbound exchange student who meets the admission requirements, including prerequisites. Please see the Admission requirements" 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.

More info about the coursework requirements

• One essay (1200-1500 words) that focuses on one or more of the texts on the reading list.
• Participation in the round table discussion held at the end of the course.

Re-sit examination