Application deadline

Applicants from Nordic countries: 1st December, 2017

Exchange students and Fulbright students: 1st October, 2017

Type of course

Admission requirements

Bachelor degree in social-science subject is required as a general rule.  Prior completion of the courses STV-1000: Politisk Analyse and STV-1005: Global Politikk, or their equivalents, is recommended.

The minimum average grade requirement is:

                C - for Bachelor degree or equivalent in Europe, Canada, USA, Australia and New Zealand

                B - for Bachelor degree or equivalent issued in all other countries

Solid competence in reading and writing English is required.

Application code: 9371

Course content

The core theme is the changing relationship, now and in the past, between politics, space - especially territory - and the human subjects who constitute the political realm.  Particular attention will be paid to how the nexus of politics, space and society creates the conditions of both solidarity and conflict.  The core theme will be explored by means of a consideration of the following specific topics:

Theoretical and historical roots of modern geopolitics

Political economy of territoriality, property and an emerging mass society

Micro-management of mobility

Macro-management of migration and immigration

Race, gender and the politics of migration and immigration

The course is offered (in two different versions with different course-codes) to students at both the Bachelor and Master´s levels. The course-content will be similar for both levels but will include additional required readings for master´s students, providing greater knowledge-depth and facilitating the development of more advanced analytical skills.  Master´s students will also participate in two additional seminars, devoted to advanced analysis of the course material, and be required to complete a more comprehensive examination (in terms of both form and content).

Objectives of the course

Students who have successfully completed the course should have achieved the following learning outcomes:

Knowledge and comprehension

• Theories with a bearing on geopolitical issues
• Role of race, gender, and other intersectional categories in the history and practice of migration and immigration
• Historical roots of modern European border practices
• Historical roots of the mass society and associated institutions
• Nationhood and nationalism
• Contemporary developments in global border practices
• The micro-politics of managing urban space
• The macro-politics of managing migration and immigration

 Competence

• Master scholarly methods in the evaluation of issues of national autonomy and migration
• Systematically distinguish and relate empirical and normative dimensions of migration issues
• Place such issues in theoretical and historical context
• Connect such issues to broader political-economic developments

Skills

• Library-research techniques and experience, applicable to a variety of domains
• Research-paper formulation, applicable to a variety of domains  
• Methods of rigorous critique and comparative social analysis, applicable to variety of domains
• Theoretical tools of informed reflection on the ethics of public policymaking

Language of instruction and examination

Language of instruction and examination is English. Examination questions will be given in English but may be answered either in English or Norwegian/Scandinavian language.

Teaching methods

The course consists of:

10 x 2 hours of classes employing a variety of teaching methods, both directive and interactive, including mini-lectures, Q and A, and group-work

2 x 2 hours of review and discussion in a seminar format

Quality assurance for the course The course will be evaluated once during a programme period.

Assessment

The following coursework requirements must be completed and approved in order to take the final exam:

Oral presentation & power-point document  

Assessment and exam

The exam will consist of:

-Term-paper (2200-2500 words)                                                              

-Final exam (4 hours)                                                                                                                                                                                                                   

The final grade is based on an overall assessment of the term-paper and final exam.  Students will also be required to reach a minimum passing grade in both components. The exam will be assessed on an A-F grades scale. Grades are A-E for passed and F for failed.  

Retake

Retake is offered in in the beginning of the following semester in cases of grade F or Fail. Deferred examination is offered in the beginning of the following semester if the student is unable to take the final exam due to illness or other exceptional circumstances. In case of F or Fail, both exams must be taken again. Registration deadline for retake is January 15 for autumn semester exams and August 15 for spring semester exams.