Module GEOG3521: THE ARCTIC

Department: Geography

GEOG3521: THE ARCTIC

Prerequisites

• GEOG2472 (SOCIAL RESEARCH) or GEOG2462 (SCIENTIFIC RESEARCH)

Corequisites

• NONE

Excluded Combination of Modules

• GEOG3501 Berlin: Field Research in a European Context; GEOG3581 Territory and Geopolitics; GEOG3491 Alpine Landscapes and Processes; GEOG3691 Iceland: Field Research in Glacial Environments; GEOG3971 Cape Town: Geographies of Energy Transition; GEOG3731 Dynamic Mountain Environments, GEOG3701 Mountain Hazards; GEOG3551 Chicago: Sites of Global Change

Aims

• The aim of this module is to examine interactions between human and physical processes in the Arctic. On the one hand, political institutions, individual livelihoods, and economic development strategies are adapting to an Arctic environment that is increasingly accessible to outsiders. On the other hand, key elements of the Arctic environment are undergoing rapid change due to transformations wrought by human activity both within and beyond the region’s borders (e.g. permafrost degradation, reduction in sea ice and glaciers, etc.). This module joins perspectives from human and physical geography to interrogate the interface between these trends in social and environmental change.

Content

• Four two-hour lectures will be held during the summer term in Year 2. Indicative topics to be covered include:
• The Arctic Environment
• Climate of the Arctic
• Arctic biogeography
• Permafrost
• Arctic glaciers
• The Arctic Ocean and sea ice
• The palaeo-geography of the Arctic
• Defining the Arctic
• Determining the Arctic’s borders in space and time, from a human and physical perspective
• Outsiders’ perspectives on Arctic barrenness and Arctic abundance
• Arctic indigenous peoples
• The Arctic as site of exploration and colonial expansion
• Arctic identity in northern nation-states
• The Arctic in the Cold War
• Contemporary dynamics concerning population, resource extraction, economic development, urbanisation, regional autonomy, and regional integration
• The Arctic amidst Climate Change
• The ‘Arctic Amplification effect’ and ‘Global Warming’
• Recent and future changes in Arctic ice (permafrost, glaciers, sea ice)
• Future changes in Arctic environments
• Governance in a Changing Arctic
• The Arctic’s growing economic significance (e.g. oil, gas, shipping)
• Indigenous rights and pan-Arctic solidarity
• The Arctic Council
• A fifth lecture prior to the field trip will specifically prepare students for the field experience, detailing health-and-safety issues, logistics, field site orientation, etc.
• During the summer vacation there will be a one-week field trip to Tromsø (and vicinity), northern Norway, which is the seat of the Arctic Council’s permanent secretariat and a centre of Arctic tourism, resource extraction, urbanisation, and government, as well as a key hub for Arctic-orientated scientific research. Guest lectures and group field work in Tromsø will focus on the workings of the Arctic Council and on the perspective of the Council and its constituent members toward key issues that join environmental management with economic development (e.g. opportunities for regulating offshore oil and gas drilling in the High North; the significance of black carbon emissions; the environmental impact of increased Arctic cruise tourism). To prepare students for conducting independent research on these issues, field-based lectures in Tromsø may include, for instance, meetings with representatives of the Arctic Council, indigenous peoples, and environmental groups, as well as lectures from Durham staff and relevant colleagues at UiT (University of Tromsø – the Arctic University of Norway) on related issues pertaining to the Arctic environment. Part of the fieldtrip will also involve 2-3 days of fieldwork in the Lyngen Alps and environs, 2 hours inland from Tromsø and close to the border with Finland and Sweden. Here, students will have the opportunity to study recent glacier retreat and the impacts of climate change on an Arctic environment.

Learning Outcomes

• On completion of this module, students are expected to be able to:
• Understand the present-day Arctic environment and demonstrate detailed knowledge of key changes that are occurring over a range of time-scales
• Understand the relationship between the Arctic environment and ongoing efforts to foster and regulate economic development, state governance, and indigenous self-determination in the Arctic

• Comprehend and evaluate key issues impacting on Arctic environments from both a human and physical geography perspective, with a particular emphasis on recent and future climate change and how this may affect global systems (including climate, sea level, economic activity, migration patterns)
• Understand fundamentals deployed in advocating, making, and implementing environmental policy

• Critical analysis and interpretation of data and text
• Gain practical experience in researching, articulating, and negotiating the perspective of a political (state or non-state) organisation
• Solving problems and making reasoned decisions
• Develop team work skills at the interface between human and physical geography
• Communicate effectively in writing and through discussions, debates and oral presentations
• Identify, retrieve, sort, and exchange information from a wide range of sources

Modes of Teaching, Learning and Assessment and how these contribute to the learning outcomes of the module

• Lectures will introduce students to key topics in the human and physical geography of the Arctic, building the necessary foundation from which students can embark on independent reading and semi-independent study of the focus topic for the field trip. At the end of the lecture period, students will be tasked with writing an essay on one of a number of set questions, to be due early in the Autumn term
• The fieldtrip, to occur during the summer vacation, will consist of four components, including:
• Organised tours and lectures that will introduce students to Tromsø, the workings of the Arctic Council, and the Arctic environment and development issue that will be focus of their field experience.
• A largely physical geography component that will involve observations and data collection of relevant physical processes in an Arctic glacial environment
• Independent research, using resources available to them in Tromsø, including the Arctic Council secretariat, consulates, advocacy organisations, and business associations; secondary datasets pertaining to physical processes (e.g. climate, glacier, sea-ice, sea-level data, etc.); and data gathered during the human and physical geography field visits.
• A mock Arctic Council meeting at which student groups will present their organisation or state’s position on the Arctic environmental issue in question and demonstrate their understanding through engagement with other student teams representing other constituencies. The topic, and the specific question to be addressed will draw on both human and physical geographic knowledge. Participation in this component will be assessed through two means: 1) a written draft declaration¹ produced by each group that reflects the group’s position, its knowledge of the issue, and its understanding of both Arctic politics and the Arctic Council diplomatic environment; and 2) an assessment of the group’s presentation and its members’ participation in subsequent question-and-answer sessions and debates.
• Following the end of the field trip, students will be tasked with writing individual policy memos on the same topic that was the focus of the mock Arctic Council meeting. Tutorials held in the first two weeks of the Autumn term will review findings from field work and prepare students for their policy memos.

Teaching Methods and Learning Hours

Summative Assessment

Formative Assessment:

During a lecture session, students will be given a quiz on the Arctic topics covered during the previous lectures and associated readings, and answers will be discussed in class. Results will serve to increase students’ awareness of gaps in their knowledge which can direct their efforts to improve performance on the summative components. Staff will also schedule one-on-one meetings on the fieldtrip when students can receive verbal feedback on their essay plans. Additionally, peer feedback during the debate portion of the presentation day– as one team rebuts the arguments made by another – will foster learning that can lead to improvement on summative policy memos. Further peer feedback takes place in the follow-up workshops during Term 1 of level 3 and will further assist students in preparing their summative policy memos.

■ Attendance at all activities marked with this symbol will be monitored. Students who fail to attend these activities, or to complete the summative or formative assessment specified above, will be subject to the procedures defined in the University's General Regulation V, and may be required to leave the University