New Online Circumpolar Courses at The University of the Arctic
For more information contact:
Chris Southcott (chris.southcott [at] lakeheadu.ca)
or Greg Poelzer (poelzer [at] unbc.ca)
January 29, 2003 - Building upon the success of last year's pilot of the
introductory course of the Bachelor of Circumpolar Studies program,
BCS100: Introduction to the Circumpolar World, the University of the
Arctic (UArctic) has begun both web-based and classroom delivery of
BCS331: Contemporary Issues in the Circumpolar World.
Twenty-five students at eight sites around the circumpolar North are now
enrolled in the online version of the course. Additionally, a second
group of fifteen students are taking the course in a traditional
classroom setting at the University of Northern British Columbia, in
Prince George, Canada. A second course in the Contemporary Issues unit,
BCS332 will be piloted online later in this academic year. This unit is
the first in a series of three sets of upper level courses that, along
with BCS100, comprise the heart of the Bachelor of Circumpolar Studies
program.
"The Bachelor of Circumpolar Studies program is a key tool in
solidifying the long term sustainable development of the Arctic.
Building human capital through education, combined with our rich
cultural traditions, will empower the residents of the circumpolar North
to be able to manage and use the vast human and natural resources of the
region n for the benefit of both the inhabitants of the Arctic and the
rest of the world," says Lars Kullerud, the Director of the University
of the Arctic.
The curriculum of the BCS331 and BCS332 courses provide an opportunity
for students to get a solid understanding of the most important
challenges - and opportunities - facing the region today. The focus is
on contemporary issues of sustainability, such as personal and community
well-being, health and health care, political development, tourism,
sustainable wildlife management, land claims, and indigenous rights. The
modules in the courses also address key environmental issues, cultural
diversity, women and gender relations, and economic diversification.
"Putting together a course that is written both for and by individuals
in all regions of the circumpolar world has been a major challenge,"
explains Professor Dr. Chris Southcott of Lakehead University, Canada,
the coordinator of the team that developed the curriculum for the
courses, and also the teacher of the online pilot. "This particular
course on Contemporary Issues of Sustainability took almost two and a
half years to put together and involved 20 academics in 7 different
countries."
The most exciting aspect of these courses is their ability to bring
together students from all across the circumpolar region, who share can
share different perspectives on issues they face in common. Bringing
together such diverse and distant institutions paves the way for new
linkages between northern communities across the globe and future
international collaboration on Arctic issues. As Dr. Southcott notes,
"The commencement of this course marks a major step forward in
international circumpolar cooperation."
The participating partner from Russia, Yakutsk State University, in
eastern Siberia, has a number of students taking this course after
participating in the previous BCS100 pilot. "All seven students are
prepared for the distance course because they all feel confident with
the Internet. They all have their paper versions of the course, they
have a CD copy and they are determined to seriously study the course and
do well," comments Dr. Claudia Fedorova, site coordinator for the pilot
at Yakutsk. "The course is really very deep, dealing with the problems
that the northern communities face."
Athabasca University, in Alberta, Canada is providing online access to
students in the course through UArcticis Arctic Learning Environment
(ALE) portal. Funding for the online pilot, which will develop the
delivery model for all later BCS courses, is being provided by the
Nordic Council of Ministers. The government of Canada has supported the
development of the curriculum of BCS331 and the other core courses of
the Bachelor of Circumpolar Studies.
The eight institutions participating in the pilot are University of
Greenland, Nuuk, Greenland; Bodø Regional University, Bodø, Norway;
Yukon College, Whitehorse, Canada; Aurora College, Fort Smith, Canada;
Yakutsk State University, Yakutsk, Russia; University of Alaska
Fairbanks, Fairbanks, Alaska; the University of Northern British
Columbia, Prince George, Canada; and the University of the Highlands and
Islands, Scotland.
The Bachelor of Circumpolar Studies is a comprehensive curriculum
program that provides a solid understanding of northern issues with a
circumpolar perspective, an integrative approach that includes social
and natural sciences, and local knowledge, and at the same time reaches
a broad base of students. The University of the Arctic aims to promote
cultural diversity, language plurality, and gender equality while
highlighting the partnership between the region's indigenous peoples and
other northerners. UArctic is also focussing on the sharing of knowledge
and history, as well as provide for quality discussion on contemporary
issues related to the circumpolar North.
Additional contact information:
Chris Southcott
BCS331 Web Pilot Coordinator
Lakehead University, Dep. of Sociology
955 Oliver Rd
P7B 5E1 Thunder Bay, ON
Canada
Currently Invited Researcher, CNRS, France
chris.southcott [at] lakeheadu.ca
Greg Poelzer
Bachelor of Circumpolar Studies Chair
University of Northern B.C., Political Science
3333 University Way
V2N 4Z9 Prince George, BC
Canada
Tel. +1-250-960 6636
Fax. +1-250-960 5545
poelzer [at] unbc.ca