Arctic Vulnerabilities in Context: Critical and Systemic Regional Analysis
In this course, we examine Arctic vulnerabilities through systematic, multi-disciplinary approaches. The aim is to provide doctoral students with deep knowledge of the Arctic as a complex and multi-layered system linking social, environmental, economic and geopolitical process across time and space, including issues such green transition, governance complexities, Indigenous self-determination, and security challenges. Through lectures, workshops, and fieldwork in the Bodø Region, students will develop critical perspectives on how historic legacies, shifting geopolitics, and theoretical or methodological choices shape Arctic research.
Course gatherings:
Online gathering: Friday 11 September 2026 13.00 - 17.00
Physical gathering: Monday 21 - 25 September 2026
This course examines Arctic vulnerabilities in context through a critical and systemic approach that integrates multiple knowledge domains. Contributing to the ambition transforming Arctic studies from fragmented expertise into systematic scholarship, the course investigates how contemporary dilemmas (i.e. climate change, environment justice, governance, and social and geopolitical change) are linked to histories of the Arctic and have ongoing consequences for resilient and equitable futures. The course is situated in discourses of power, legitimacy, responsibility and justice, making space to examine how different ways of knowing, being, and doing affect perspectives and understandings of Arctic vulnerabilities.
Students will engage with changes in the Arctic across time and space, while linking these to (de)colonisation, sovereignty and legitimacy claims, changing land uses, and transboundary concerns such as security, environment, and governance. The course integrates historic, geographic, political and sociological perspectives on the Arctic, examining how place and space are understood, contested, and experienced across different communities and scales. Through three fieldwork excursions* in the Bodø region 1) Sulitjelma (Old Sulitjelma mine and Balvatn Reindeer Herding District), 2) Kjerringøy (Old Trading Post), and 3) Bodø City Centre (Smart City and JRCC), students will engage directly with diverse Arctic contexts, connecting theoretical frameworks to lived realities of vulnerability across historical, rural, and urban settings.
The course provides reflective insights on theoretical and methodological pluralism used by Arctic scholars, including qualitative, quantitative, and participatory approaches, incorporation of local perspectives and Indigenous knowledge. Students will develop comprehensive Arctic literacy that moves beyond sensationalist narratives toward deep, contextual understanding that contributes to resilient and equitable Arctic futures.
*Fieldwork sites subject to change based on site availability and travel conditions
All students must be fluent in English and hold a completed master’s degree within a relevant subject area.
PhD students will be given priority.
The course is aimed at doctoral students in the Arctic Vulnerabilities specialisation and other social scientists working on Arctic-related topics. This includes those working in sociology, geography, political science, anthropology, Indigenous studies, historical studies, and related fields. Students must have previously obtained a Master’s degree, or else be registered upon a PhD programme at the time of the course.
The course has 20 seats, with a minimum number of participants of 5. If the number of applicants exceeds the available number of seats, applicants will be ranked from category 1-4.
Category 1: Doctoral students in the Arctic Vulnerabilities specialisation at Nord University
Category 2: Doctoral students enrolled in a PhD program
Category 3: Applicants with a relevant master's degree (120 ECTS) or equivalent. (A Norwegian Master‘s Degree of 5 years or 3 (bachelor's degree) + 2 years (master's degree)).
Category 4: Postdoctoral researchers
After completing the course, the student must have obtained:
Knowledge
The candidate will have:
- relevant knowledge of critical and systemic approaches to understanding Arctic vulnerabilities across multiple knowledge domains
- knowledge of cutting-edge research in Arctic social sciences
- can evaluate how power, legitimacy, responsibility and justice inform Arctic discourses and perspectives
- can contribute new knowledge of the connections between (de)colonization, sovereignty claims, land use changes and transboundary concerns are part of the everyday lived realities in the region.
Skills
By the end of the course, the participants can:
- apply their knowledge and skills from the experiences and scholarship of the course in order to identify, explore and critique complex problems and issues in relation to Arctic Social Science
- formulate problems and use creative, critical, logical and intuitive thinking in processes of conducting Arctic research
- can handle complex issues and carry out research of a high international standard in the field of Arctic Social Science, including research ethics and reflexivity
General Competence
By the end of the course, the participants can:
- identify relevant ethical issues in their own research and Arctic research including questions of power, legitimacy and responsibility
- communicate and participate in public and academic debates on Arctic issues and challenges
- plan and carry out complex social scientific research within the field of Arctic Social Sciences with integrity
- draw conclusions that are compatable with the realities of environmental conditions contextualising living in the Arctic
There is no fee for this course.
The student must cover curriculum literature; it is assumed that the student has a laptop computer at his/her disposal.
Students must arrange for their own travel and accommodation.
Theory course. Elective course.
The course is elective for students at PhD in Social Science.
Format and content:
1) Lectures about key topics and research findings in Arctic vulnerabilities.
2) Three field excursions in the Bodø region (2 full days + 1 half days)
3) Workshops and collaborative discussions
4) Student presentations of their PhD projects
5) Opportunities for individual supervision by the invited experts (1-2 hours)
Most of the course consists of five intensive days of in-person teaching in Bodø, (lectures, field excursions, workshops) supplemented by online sessions before (student presentations of PhD projects) and after the intensive week (final presentations and individual supervision). The in-person component includes lectures, workshops, field excursions, and collaborative discussions. Students are expected to attend not less than 80% of the in-person sessions and participate actively in all activities as this will be necessary to complete the assignment.
The field excursion components enable students to engage directly with Arctic challenges in context of the Bodø Region, connecting concepts and discourses to the lived realities of vulnerability. Students will practice ethical field research methods and reflexivity.
Each PhD student should present their own project for discussion and participate actively in workshop discussions and peer feedback sessions.
- OD Compulsory participation: Mandatory attendance minimum 80% of the course, this includes at least 2 of the 3 fieldwork trips (Assessed pass/Fail). Compulsory participation must be approved in order to hand in assignment (OP).
- OP. Individual written assignment: Critical Reflection essay on Arctic Vulnerability. Participants are required to submit a course paper that explores and critically discusses vulnerability in Arctic contexts through the conceptual frameworks and field experiences from the course. The essay should be a synthesis of course themes and connect to the student’s own research context or interests. The paper should draw on relevant course literature. The paper should be between 4500 and 6000 words, including references and will be assessed on a pass/fail basis. All assessment components must be passed to receive a final grade (pass/fail).
