Extractive industries have triggered huge social and cultural change all over our planet. Especially among people who do not have their own states in many cases their rights are precarious vis à vis the industries and the authorities. The situation where local people bear the environmental costs of industrial development, while the benefits go somewhere else has given rise to indigenous political movements worldwide.
In the course sessions after a general introduction and examples from the teachers' work in the Russian Arctic, we shall discuss significant articles of such situations from all Arctic countries and compare them to other regions on the planet. Students are required to read the assigned articles / chapters BEFORE each session and contribute actively to the discussion.
After all the reading sessions, the final session will take the form of a staged role game where participants assume the role of the different interest groups involved in industrial development of a fictive site in the Arctic. The roles will be: members of a local community, representatives of a company, local politicians, and employees of a consultancy. Active participation in the role game will be assessed for the grading in the course as well as the article discussions.
This course is in English and will be taught once a year starting from 2024 onwards. The masters programme is called in Finnish "Arktinen Maailmapolitikka" but will be launched in English in 2025. The extractive industries course is taught in English.
For further information: Florian Stammler (florian.stammler@ulapland.fi)
This course is part of the activities of the UArctic Thematic Network on Arctic Extractive Industries.